Episode 49: Top Ten Movie Quotes Related to Education with Grant Hightower and Craig Murray
**See the transcript for this episode under the Top Ten List.
Grant and Craig’s Top Ten Education-Related Quotes:
10 - Sandlot (Benny): “Everybody gets one chance to do something great. Most people never take the chance. “
9 - Rogue One (Darth Vader): “Be careful not to choke on your aspirations.”
8 - Fight Club (Doorman): “If you don't know what you want, you end up with a lot you don't.”
7 - Good Will Hunting (Sean Maguire): “Unless you want to talk about you, who you are, then I'm fascinated. I'm in. But you don't want to do that, do you Sport? You're terrified of what you might say. Your move, Chief.”
6 - Miracle at St. Anna’s (Narrator): “To not take sides was to take sides.”
5 - Karate Kid 2 (Mr. Miagi): “Lies only become true if person choose to believe.”
4 - Django Unchained (Calvin Candie): “I'm curious what makes you so curious?”
3 - American History X (Bob Sweeney): “Has anything you've done, made your life better?”
2 - 25th Hour (Monty): “You had it all, and you threw it all away.”
1 - A Bronx Tale:
Sonny: There's only three things you can do in the joint. You can either lift weights, play cards, or get into trouble.
Calogero: What do you do?
Sonny: Me? I read.
Transcript:
Melissa Milner 0:09
Hi, this is Melissa Milner. Welcome to The Teacher As… podcast. The goal of this weekly podcast is to help you explore your passions and learn from others in education and beyond to better your teaching. The Teacher As… podcast will highlight innovative practices and uncommon parallels in education. I have a new simple way for you to reach out to me, you can go to my website, www.theteacheras.com, and you will see a prompt that says send voicemail. It's a simple, quick process. And I would love to hear from you.
(Soundbite)
This is a top 10 episode where I have Grant Hightower and Craig Murray kind of face off to come up with a top 10 list. Hi, Craig. Hi, Grant.
Grant Hightower 0:55
Hey, Melissa, how are you?
Craig Murray 0:57
Hi, Melissa. How you doing?
Melissa Milner 0:61
Awesome.
Craig Murray 0:63
Good. So I'll introduce myself. My name is Craig Murray. I am currently Assistant Principal, Reading Memorial High School. And Grant, you and I can explain together because we kind of came up with this. And I hope… I'm pretty sure we're on the same page… I think we're a go.
Grant Hightower 1:13
All right. So I'm Grant Hightower and I am the Director of Community and Equity at Concord Academy, formerly at Reading Public Schools. So, although that was bittersweet, happy to be here with you all today.
Melissa Milner 1:25
Thanks for coming back on, Grant. I appreciate it. Grant was my second episode of The Teacher As… it was The Teacher as Change Agent with Grant Hightower. So definitely check that episode out. For this episode, you're going to collaborate and hopefully you have not shared your picks. So what is your topic that you're going to be finding a top 10 list for?
Craig Murray 1:50
Alright, so you know… so when Grant and I were talking, we kind of had… I would say… let's bring it back to even when we're just kind of shooting the breeze, we talk about movies a lot. And we're kind of both kind of movie nerds. We know very specific, strange, like oddities that usually when you bring it up in a crowd, like no one knows what you're talking about. Well, Grant and I are the ones that understand each other's language and where we're bringing up those specific things. And, you know, I think mixing that in very much like how, how that influences education, or at least something that we see in film that influences education. So we kind of mulled it over, him and I, and what we came up with was a top 10 list that would lend itself… it would illustrate films or scenes in particular that have an overarching theme, and how that theme lends itself to our pedagogical approaches within our specific educational professional.
Melissa Milner
Wow. That’s awesome.
Grant Hightower 2:45
That's spot on. Yeah, I went down the route of more using specific quotes from specific scenes and still like ranking those in order around, like how those things impact the way that I engage in education. So we're all, we're both on the same page.
Craig Murray 3:02
Okay, so this is a list of movies. And then you'll mention quotes, or this is a list of quotes,.
Grant Hightower 3:11
Both.
Craig Murray 3:13
Both. They'll probably be… you know, for this, like, you won't see more than one specific movie with a with a number next to it. But you may see several quotes from one specific movie, and how that's adapted into our… into our professions.
Melissa Milner 3:30
Oh, my gosh, I love this. I love the specificity. And I also am a movie geek. So I have my own preferences.
Grant Hightower 3:37
No, I figured you'd like it. I figured you'd like it.
Craig Murray
Thanks for inviting me, Melissa, this is this is a lot of fun. You already had me when you said, you know you'll be facing off and that this sounds, this sounds like a lot of fun. But what I didn't do was I didn't list them in order because I think I didn't know if we would do a random drawing. So I kind of mixed them up a little bit.
Melissa Milner 3:53
You'll decide what you want to use. Why don't we jump in and I think you'll see how it works. And you can make decisions about where you think it belongs in a ten to one ranking as we go. So the way this is going to work is we have a player A and Player B, and Player A gets pick 10, 8, 7, 6, 4 and 3. So you get two more picks than Player B and you get one veto, and I'll talk about the vetoes after. Player B gets pick 9, 5, 2 and 1. So you get two less picks but you get the top two picks, and you get two vetoes. Reasons to veto: One reason to veto is if you feel it's just not a strong enough contender to be on the list. The other reason you would veto is if you love the pic, let's say Grant says something at, you know, pick eight and you have that. You really thought that would be pick one or two. You can veto it, and then you or Grant can play it again later. But if your pick is vetoed, you then need to pick another one in that spot. That's sort of how it goes. Any questions before we decide who is A and who is B?
Craig Murray 5:16
No, I think I'm good.
Grant Hightower 5:17
No, I guess I just ask whoever you choose, just remind us of when our spot?
Melissa Milner 5:23
Oh, absolutely. I know. It’s a lot of numbers. Absolutely. No, I have it all here. So what I'm going to do is, I'm going to go ahead and flip a coin. Grant, since you're a returning guest, do you want heads or tails?
Grant Hightower 5:39
Oh tails. Tails never fails.
Melissa Milner 5:41
Okay, so what we're doing is we're flipping to see who gets to choose the A, B, and then whatever… If Grant wins, Grant chooses and the other person gets whatever. Does that make?
Craig Murray 5:53
Make sense.
Melissa Milner 5:54
All right, we're looking for tails.
Melissa Milner 5:57
It is tails. Whoa, okay.
Grant Hightower 6:00
Never fails. I told you.
Melissa Milner 6:02
So do you want more pics? But not the top two? Or do you want less pics, but have the number one and number two pick?
Grant Hightower 6:14
So I'm happy with my picks. So I will go with… But I, you know, I'll let Craig have the top two picks. So I will go with what is it? A?
Craig Murray 6:24
Well, thank you.
Melissa Milner 6:25
You want more picks? Okay. So Grant is going to be 10, 8, 7, and 6, and then 4 and then 3. All right. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Great. That's all the business I think.
Craig Murray 6:45
All right.
Melissa Milner 6:46
All right, this is so exciting. I am going to get the ball rolling with Grant at number 10.
Grant Hightower 6:52
All right, so this quote. And I guess this quote comes from The Sandlot movie, which is a personal favorite from my youth. And this is during the scene when the Babe comes to visit Benny at night, as he's preparing for the big, the big showdown. And so the quote is “Everybody gets one chance to do something great. Most people never take the chance.” And so while I believe that there is more than one chance in education to do great things, and teaching, if you miss a forfeit the opportunity to be transformative, available or responsive to students, or families, or even faculty, it can be extremely damaging. And so I really believe that a huge part of why schools or teachers fail isn't because they don't execute well in attempting to support those folks, it’s because they're often too cowardly to even try it. And I've run across that a lot in my kind of tenure in this profession. And I do… I really do believe that when people have opportunities, a lot of times the paralysis that sets in around doing the wrong thing gets in the way of people showing up. And so I really believe that you know why folks get one chance to do something great. You gotta take that opportunity when it comes.
Melissa Milner 8:05
Very good metaphor. Oh, I love that movie. Craig, what do you think of Sandlot and the quote? And do you believe it belongs on the list?
Craig Murray 8:15
Yeah. I mean, that's a staple. I don't know if… yeah, it almost sacrilegious not to love that movie? I mean, tying it to education. Absolutely. I think it's a good. It's a good point. Now, my question is, if I veto that… if I say like, yes, I like it, but I think you can do better or we can do better. Do I replace it with something else? And then Grant can veto it.
Melissa Milner 8:37
Grant replaces it with something else.
Craig Murray 8:39
Grant can replace it with something else. I understand. Makes sense. So we keep that. Yeah, I mean, I'm kind of getting used to how it plays. I mean, I love the metaphor I completely understand. I think Grant and I talk a lot. I mean, and I know that he's never mentioned The Sandlot, but I can definitely understand exactly what he's saying about those chances. Sure.
Melissa Milner 9:02
So does The Sandlot stay, or do you veto and have him pick something better?
Craig Murray 9:07
Let's keep it.
Melissa Milner 9:09
All right.
Grant Hightower 9:11
I appreciate that. Thank you.
Melissa Milner 9:12
So number nine is Craig.
Craig Murray 9:16
Okay, so this comes from…this comes from two different movies, but it's the same character, so we'll just use it from one. This is Darth Vader in Rogue One and he says very simply, “Be careful not to choke on your aspirations.” Now, he also mentioned this… I think it was Empire Strikes Back. Now look. He kind of chokes a guy afterwards. So I'm not… I'm not saying we need to strangle anybody. But why this just very quick line I thought was so important, especially during this year in education was you had… basically I felt… and I don't want to make this dichotomous, but you had two different kind of educators. You had folks that recognize that this was a different year, and you need to be agile. And you'd have to have that adaptability to survive, to really get through to keep your feet moving. There was also a sense, I think, in all of us to of a rigidity, or a traditional approach to a non traditional year. I felt as though that, you know, if we were able to adapt, and we were able to avoid the current, rather than sort of keep with that, you know, nope, this is, this is the way it has to be, this is the way we've always done it. To me, I found that it was primed to be choked on. Okay, so when I, when I was going through this, and I saw and I remembered that particular scene with Darth Vader says, you know, “Be careful not to choke on your aspirations,” I felt like it was a warning to make yourself as flexible and as agile this year, because there's going to be a lot of curveballs that we've never quite thought of. But if you stuck with a traditional rigidity, that I think that you went to, you know, the only tools in your belt that you're used to using, I felt like that that could stumble, or synonymous with choking.
Melissa Milner 11:05
Interesting. It's sort of… it's sort of a Star Wars world version of you're gonna need a bigger boat.
Craig Murray 11:13
Yes, very much so. Yeah, that's, that's perfect. Yeah. Yeah.
Melissa Milner
Alright, Grant, what are your thoughts about… Rogue One was such an amazing stand alone Star Wars movie, but what are your thoughts about this quote, from Darth Vader?
Grant Hightower 11:30
So first of all, we're gonna keep it. I know that Darth is very dear to my and Craig's heart. It would be unfortunate to remove his presence on the countdown. But even more so I do… I think that everything that Craig speaks on in regard to being in situations where you're prepared to act on how things… like the ebb and flow and the change of the way things are, not trying to get ahead of yourself, finding a way to be humble because of the danger that's inherent in the decision making process. I think that's important to keep when you're… especially when you're a leader. So, I'm more than happy to keep this on the list.
Melissa Milner 12:09
Okay, this is going way too well.
Grant Hightower 12:13
We’ll get there. We'll get there. We'll get there.
Melissa Milner 12:15
Way too copacetic. To those who…
Grant Hightower 12:17
We’ll get there. Those are two good picks.
Craig Murray 12:20
Don't worry, Melissa, we're just warming up.
Melissa Milner 12:24
So here's how this is gonna roll now, Craig. The next three picks are Grant’s. Just to give you a heads up. Grant, number eight, what is your pick?
Grant Hightower 12:36
Alright, so we're going to go with the doorman from Fight Club. Fight Club as much as a movie would be probably in my top three. But but for the for the you know, for this countdown, I'm going to go with this a little bit lower. And so in the scene, he says, “if you don't know what you want,” the doorman said, “you end up with a lot you don't.” To me, this is important because you have to always understand where you want to go when you're planning for goals, especially for the year. And clearly for certain initiatives, it's really important to help you keep one foot in front of the other. At the same time, being able to create space to scan the environment for inevitable change. And of course, on threat to progress on those set goals. One of the things that was really important to me, and I guess a way to encapsulate that quote, is, when I first came into Reading, the Assistant Superintendent Christine Kelly gave us this activity to do where you write down a word that you're going to use to kind of guide your your year, and mine happened to be completion. And to be honest, if I did not use that as my frame for the year, I would never have been able to be as vocal and as present and as successful as I was in my first year in a new role. And it really goes back to the idea that if you're not if you're going into spaces where especially where you're the leader, or you're somebody who has the ability to be transformative, if you are willy nilly for lack of a better term, if you don't really identify clearly what it is that you're trying to accomplish where you want to go, what means you have or you're willing to try to gain to get to that position, you do end up taking on a lot of other things that you didn't necessarily ask for you didn't plan for and those things can be pesky at best and really, really detrimental to your to your tenure at worst. So the door man's use of it was a little bit more not as sinister but it was to play out on a larger scale but I do think that like you have to really know what you want in order to not take on a great deal of things that you don't.
Melissa Milner 14:34
Very cool to be quoting Fight Club and not quoting Tyler Durden. I think his name is. That's that I love like some random doorman but he wasn't random but… Amazing. Craig, thoughts about Fight Club quotes.
Craig Murray 14:50
Yeah, you know what's interesting, and I think I can say this now that I had Fight Club as well. I can say that now. Right? Because we're gonna I'm gonna keep it I'm keeping that.
Melissa Milner 14:56
Yes. Yup.
Craig Murray 14:59
100 percent accurate. If you don't have, and just reiterating what Grant said, you know, have he so spot on because you really you can go for project A. And if you are not prepared from a systems from a teams, or just from an approach, you're going to come out with Project B, C and D. If A is not being systemized if A is not being put in a place where there is an objective of this particular project, and it's project A that's what we're going to do. And if it's like, I mean, for lack of better terms half assed, you're going to come out with Project B, C, D, and E. And also add to it and Grant, you probably agree that that is the first step in a depletion of a resource.
Grant Hightower 15:47
Yes, yes.
Craig Murray 15:49
And, and come June, the last thing we need is a depletion of resources. And I think that that we’re definitely keeping that for that specific reason that Grant said, but I would just piggyback and add just a little bit more onto that, too.
Melissa Milner 16:01
That's great. And from a teacher perspective, it's really just keeping those standards in mind, even though you're going to have many variables and you're going to have to differentiate but keeping your goals of what you want those students to walk out at the end of the year, knowing is Step A or whatever, Part A, or plan, plan A and everything else hopefully comes back to what they need. When they're… when they're walking out the door at the end of the year. Grant, we are on pick seven.
Grant Hightower 16:37
Alright, so this one is going to come from my main man Thomas Sams in Lean On Me, and this is towards the end of the movie when they are having the school committee meeting. And Sams stands up and yells, “We don't want a good principal, we want Mr. Clark.” The reason why I chose that one is mostly because of where I stand as as an educator. But more importantly, I guess, as a human being. And I think it's a really important that the human qualities that feed others are the things that last. And there's this quote, like people remember how you treated them, not, not what you said to them, or people remember the way that they were treated by you, not what you told them. And that means a great deal to me. And it is an example of…That quote is an example of that same rap that really concisely Sam's is like the example of failed youth throughout the movie. But he really is an example of all of us, especially when we're an educator, you're talking about your students or in my particular piece of education, the kinds of students that I serve. And so without someone really to evolve Sam's a self awareness and esteem to really look at the pride in himself or or develop that pride in himself. He is headed and we in our students are headed to a life that we all know is awaiting them. Without having somebody who kind of bends the rules, and really appeals to our human character. A lot of times, we're just left in the margins. And so Joe Clark, he didn't really follow the training manual on leadership, he wrote his own. And he did it with the well being of the people in his care in mind. And I know that that in the movie, right? He comes off as kind of a hard ass, but in reality, he's looking at what what is going to benefit. The people that I serve the most. And equity is really about making sure that people get what they want. Not, not everybody gets the same thing. And so a lot of times in my kind of dealing with general, people in general in education, they can't or won't acknowledge, understand or accept that that reality. And so what is standard is that always inclusive of everybody in the building, and you got to find your way of doing things, the way that makes sense for you. And you got to stand on that. And so Sam's is kind of cry out for Joe Clark was really more about he makes sense for us. Not that he fits the mold that you want him to fit. And to me, that's a really, really important part of being not only just a good human, but clearly a good leader in education, because you're serving a broad number of students and one size doesn't fit all.
Melissa Milner 19:07
Absolutely. What an incredible movie. Craig, what are your thoughts on this one?
Craig Murray 19:11
Yeah, that may be our strongest one. I mean, I think yet I mean, that in Joe Clark was a good principal. I mean, he individualized education on on such a, such a visible level. And when when Sams cries out, I mean, he really genuinely cries out. I don't want a principal I want Mr. Clark, it exemplifies the personal touch that he had. He could be hard on the students 110% but look what he did to anyone that tried to infiltrate, you know, his, his his place of operation, his building, his staff, his students. I mean, literally, I think it's a little hyperbolic, but he literally knocks a guy into next week, who you know, who steps foot on his property. So that's the kind of leadership that I certainly admire. Not literally, I don't want to see anyone drop kicking someone in the hallway, but it's it's definitely a metaphor for No, this is my building. what goes on in it is is, you know is on me. But I mean, he knows every single kid's name, he knows their medical situation he knows. And you see the progress in these students throughout it. So that is definitely I think our strongest one so far is no, no way I'm gonna even try to attempt to take that one out.
Melissa Milner 20:24
Do we want it higher on the list? That's your decision, Craig, you could veto it and either of you could play it higher up. And then Grant would have to pick something else.
Craig Martin 20:34
Can we replace it with one already?
Melissa Milner
Well, we… what would happen is, if you veto it, either one of you could play it higher up and Grant needs to pick another quote for number seven.
Grant Hightower 20:47
Whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do, Craig, whatcha gonna do?
Craig Murray 20:50
I think we veto it and look to put it higher up.
Melissa Milner 20:54
Allright. So Grant, what's your new number seven?
Grant Hightower 21:00
Okay, so my seven is going to be from Samuel Jackson's character in the movie Fresh, and his character's name is Sam. And fresh is a if you're not familiar with the movie is a story of a think he's a 12, or 14 year old, young black kid from New York City. And he finds himself in an interesting jam. So he's kind of a chess prodigy, his father teaches him how to play chess. And I guess the problem in the in the movie is that he is trying to liberate himself from a home life that is condemning him to a life of crime or jail. And at the same time, he's trying to save his sister who was, you know, engaged with this drug dealer. And he's also trying to navigate, you know, the world around him at the age that he is kind of coming of age. And so Sam's character, or Samuel Jackson's character, Sam is his dad, if I'm not mistaken, and they often play speed chess in the park. So this is during one of the sessions, this is what Sam says, he says, “You're playing each piece like losing it hurts, this ain't checkers, you want my king, you gotta come get my king. All these other pieces are just the means to do it.” This resonates with me, particularly in my role, because a lot of times, I work with students, whether they're black or brown, any number of you know marginalized traits, or intersectional students that are very, they get to a point where they are very wary of taking control of the decisions in their life, they don't want to advocate, they don't know how they don't want to advocate for themselves. And they are very much whether it was earned or not, they are very trepidatious of standing up for themselves standing for themselves speaking out about the things that they find important, really making their mark in the spaces that they enter. And so I think that there's a level of empathy that you have to always have, when you're speaking with young people, when you're taking in what they're saying to you. At some point, when you're talking about liberating spirits, you have to really let them know that if you want what's out there, you have to know that it's okay, to cut all the other things that you've been hearing that you've been told that you have kind of been fumbling around in your mind, to believe that you can just go ahead and try something different you have, you have to make that that stance. And so when he talks about if you want my cane, you have to come get it, you really have to lay up the idea that the things that you want are there. And as you know, nobody's going to come give that to you. Um, so what are you prepared to do to have that, and I think where the empathy piece comes in, that Samuel Jackson's character doesn't have, he's just very, very raw in the movie. But where as an educator, the empathy piece comes in, is really being able to listen to some of that fear and help kind of be patient around walking kids through the maze of their minds. But really, at the heart of these conversations that I have with these kids, it's about like, there's a lot of things out there that you can use to help get to your goal. But if the goal is what you want, you have to kind of steel down it and get after it. And I use that same philosophy or ethos, I guess, when I work with teachers, especially white teachers who are dealing with Black and Brown students, intersectional students. If if you're if you're telling me that you want to support these kids, and this is what you say you're about, you have to cut some of this other stuff out and really focus on what do I need to do to get to this goal that I say I want, which is to connect with the students. So that's, that's my quote. And my reasoning for that and the movie is excellent.
Melissa Milner 24:27
Yeah, I I have not even heard of that movie. So that makes me excited because I'm going to go after you described it. It sounds incredible. Craig, have you seen this movie? What do you think about this pick?
Craig Murray 24:38
I haven't seen it. My only question is I think that it abuts the overarching theme of Fight Club. Hmm, that's what I'm thinking of. Because the doormen there's also two more quotes that support in Fight Club. It's, it's you know, when he says you know, your life is ending one day at a time and also the scene. It's not a very playful wasn't seen but when he takes the shopkeeper and says, you know, what do you want to do? You know, you have six weeks to you know, he has a gun to his head and he says, you know, if you're not on your way to become a veterinarian in six weeks, I'm going to come back I'm going to kill you. That's obviously not the most pleasant scene but what he's trying to evoke is an internal in you know, he's trying to he's trying to spark that, that resolve within with a human being to be the very best they possibly can. The reason why I'm saying like maybe we should keep it is because I think at the end, Grant, you address the say do gap. If you're saying you really want to do this, then do it. Because other than that, it doesn't really it doesn't really register. I'm gonna veto it.
Melissa Milner 25:42
Oh!
Craig Murray 25:48
It's closer to the prior I think it's closer to Fight Club. I think it's closer to if you want my king come get it. I think it's, it's, it's closer to if you want something, you have to go for it. No one's gonna do it for you.
Melissa Milner 26:00
Wow, Grant, I hope you came here with enough pics. Cuz
Grant Hightower 26:05
Oh, I got picks. I came with my ten, so I’m good to go. I’m just gonna have to go to some of my, you know what I thought would be some of my gems. So now I'm gonna have to… just to stay alive, I’m gonna have to start digging.
Melissa Milner 26:17
Yeah, it sounds like Craig is hoping for different metaphors throughout the list not saying similar things. Interesting. Craig does not have any vetoes left. And Grant remember you still have one veto?
Grant Hightower 26:32
Yup
Melissa Milner 26:33
We still need pick seven from Grant.
Grant Hightower 26.36
Oh, here we go.
Melissa Milner 26:37
And this one sticks.
Grant Hightower 26:40
Fair enough. So this is from Robin Williams’ character in Good Will Hunting. I don't want to have I don't want to use the whole piece. But I'm going to read the whole quote. I mean, I guess I'll speak to the part that resonates. And so this is obviously when Will tries to psychoanalyze Robin Williams’ character. So the back and forth happens. And Robin Williams says, “You think I know the first thing about how hard your life has been, how you feel, who you are, because I read Oliver Twist. Does that encapsulate you? Personally, I don't give a sh- about all that because you know what, I can't learn anything from you I can't read in some f’in book. Unless you want to talk about you who you are. Then I'm fascinated. I'm in. But you don't want to do that, do you Sport? You're terrified of what you might say. Your move, Chief.” And so the last piece of that really is where I guess the crux of my work lives. And it's about having to approach a lot of students who believe in this facade that they've built around themselves around whether they're too smart or not smart enough too hood or not street enough too articulate or not white enough. And the danger of them not being challenged to look at themselves as more than whatever the stigma is, or whatever the false reality around them kind of has been left to fester and build around them as a facade. I'm trying to stay away from comparing it to some of the other quotes. But I think at the, at the heart of it. Really what I'm trying to do in my work is give students first and then adults second full vision of what is possible in their day to day. A lot of times the students that I serve, and the folks that I work with, have this kind of this consciousness that this understanding that things are just things just will be what they are, there's nothing that they can do about it. And really engaging them in ways that are going to get them to see the world outside of themselves and beliefs that they've kind of attach themselves to to shield themselves and guard themselves is what I love to disrupt and it pays dividends when you can get to the heart of that, especially in educators, but most importantly as students. So I think Robin Williams disrupting will sort of callousness and facetiousness and really, shame and pride are tools that I always kind of go back to when I'm working with a kid who's either really, really tough and doesn't want to come off of their, their stoop or really, really hurt and damaged and doesn't have the will have the ability in the moment to see outside of whatever they're kind of burdened with. So that's why I chose that. And clearly the movie is an all time movie.
Melissa Milner 29:24
It's not your fault. It's not your fault. Craig, what do you think?
Craig Murray 29:32
Yeah, yeah, this is a this is a I mean, this is up there with with Lean On Me. I mean, again, it's a great it's a great movie, but in the the scene in itself is incredible. And you know, just kind of thinking back but it's so perfect, because what he does is she What's the name? Sean? Yeah, Sean is relaying to will. I don't care if you're a genius or not. You still don't have the qualitative experience of life. Right? That's exactly what he says. Yeah. I don't care. You know, I don't care how smart you are, you still don't know what it's like to lose a wife, you don't know what it's like to experience love. And I think he actually says something to the effect of challenging will sexual experience. And, and you can tell it bothers Will because later on the scene he does and later on the movies that you know, I have, you know, I, I have and I have done that before, you know, and it's kind of like, and that's when you see that child come out. And you definitely see the mentor mentee. You know, that's when I think though those roles shift, you know what I mean? He becomes, and then he basically just shuts them down memory just does that quiet. When you watch. I was like how it goes. He wouldn't say anything. So you didn't say anything? he says no, I can't talk first. It's fantastic. Yes.
Grant Hightower 30:46
It’s a great scene. It's a great scene all around.
Craig Murray 30:48
Absolutely. I had, you know, a similar quote, that that touches on this stuff, too. And that touches on just that. The idea that education is a quantifiable experience. It's not. It's qualitative, and it changes daily. But I think this one is better encapsulated. So let's keep that one. In fact, I don't think I can veto it anyways.
Melissa Milner 31:11
You can't.
Craig Murray 31:13
So it ain’t even up to me.
Melissa Milner 31:14
All right. All right. But I like to hear what you have to say about all the picks. Alright, so Grant, pick number six.
Grant Hightower 31:23
All right, so we will go with. So this is a quote from The Miracle at St. Anna's, which was originally a book by James McBride that was adapted by Spike Lee, stars Derek Luke, and the narrator… And so I guess, to get the background of the movie, it's about a group of black soldiers in World War Two that get trapped behind enemy lines in Italy. And there's more to the story. It's a really, really interesting kind of historical fiction, you know, journey about a surviving member of this group and what happens to him and in his elder age, there's a point where the narrator says, “To not take sides was to take sides.” I'll say one more time, “To not take sides was to take sides.” This came up, comes up with me a lot, as usually one of one or one of few black or brown educators, wherever I go. Last year with the George Floyd murder, there was a lot of paralysis around the country, clearly, in different school districts and Reading, there was definitely hesitance at the leadership level to really delve into that and figure out where we were going to stand and what kind of stand we were going to take. And it was clear to me that there were folks who chose this, this ideology that if I say nothing, or if I tried to balance the anxiety and pain and emotions from, you know, either side of the of the spectrum, on on that particular situation, that I'm not, you know, I absolve myself of any sort of judgment or any level of responsibility. And you see that in a lot of cases, whether it's dealing with individual students and what they engage in, on a discipline level, when you're dealing with the way that some faculty deal with with different kinds of kids are with with each other, this idea that by not taking sides, you somehow save yourself from that judgment, or guilt or complicity, that was just ever present in my time in Reading, in particular, or most recently, and so, I always know that, even if you don't agree, or even if you don't anticipate something happening, you have to have this kind of core value as a way to know where to act, where to stand and how to act in those situations. And to me that quote, “To not take sides was to take sides,” just these values, because there's really no way to escape when you have to make a decision around humanity and the well being of others.
Melissa Milner 34:01
Very well said, and your letter that you sent out, was beautiful and inspired many, many of us, I just want you to know that. That was an amazing letter. So Craig, you can't veto this, but have you seen the movie? And what do you think of it?
Craig Murray 34:18
No, I haven't seen the movie. I can jump in and just say that working with Grant you know, that's it. This is an educator that doesn't flinch and you know, it's interesting there's that and as a former athlete too Grant, I'm sure you know it's usually the person that looks away first that's kind of lose the match. You know, and and I feel like when when we work last summer in some of our equity work here at the high school and you're really really admirable and impressive work, you know, just throughout the district and you're just just not looking away first, headstrong and going into things with a with a this is what I want going into any of these situations. This is what I want in the end. This is the this is the objective. You know, I think you didn't flinch, you know, and getting back to what you said specifically making decisions around humanity to me, you know, I know what you're saying it's also paradoxical, you know, concerning humanity. There are no decisions to make, you know, you you you knuckle down and you stare down and you know, look away for us, you know, and I think it's a it's well said on your end, and I think it's a perfect perfect space. I feel like, man, your last three are just... You are just cruising right now.
Grant Hightower 35:29
Man Listen, you You hit me with some of those vetoes. So I had to I had to go to the top of the list. So that's that's the only reason why it's, it looks good. But now I'm getting closer to the top up like oh, yeah, I don't even know, I gotta start screwing these things down.
Craig Murray 35:39
I don't even know. I think I just got more confidence as this has gone on. So I'm just like, No, I'm just gonna throw it out there. I'm just gonna create. I'll create a reason why, you know,
Melissa Milner 35:50
There you go. So we're moving on. Craig, you now have pick number five. But before we do that, I just want to go through and remind you of, you know the flavor of the list so far. At pick 10. We have a quote from The Sandlot. At pick nine we have a quote from Rogue One, Darth Vader. At pick eight we have the doorman from Fight Club. At pick seven we have Good Will Hunting. At pick six, we have A Miracle at…was it at St. Anne's or St. Anna's?
Grant Hightower 36:23
St. Anna's.
Melissa Milner 36:24
So Miracle at St. Anna's, which is another one I'm going to watch…and cause I have not seen it either. And here is Craig, pick five.
Craig Murray 36:36
I'm gonna go with another antagonist, Coach Riley from the Mighty Ducks. Now he's, you know, he's the bad guy, he's supposed to be awful through this whole thing because he just wants his team to win. That's what he wants. So he's painted as the bad guy. You know, he's dressed in all black, he's got the high, you know, kind of the high collared jacket. I personally think he does. He does a really good job at just you know, putting, putting Bombay in his place. You know, at one point he says to you know, and this isn't my quote but he just says you know what Bombay you know, even has been, you know, was, but before every game, the Hawks led by coach Riley, they chant. He says it's not worth winning and then the team says if you can't win big so the court is if your key if "It's not worth winning if you can't win big.” 100% resonates you know with me as a you know, this is my 15th year in education I you know, I taught for five and I've been an admin nine to 10 years at this point and you know, I say that piece because if you're not entering your school, or if you're not entering your classroom or if you're not entering your office, you're not entering the place you know that that develops young minds if you're not looking to win and not only win by a small margin by a considerable margin if you're not looking to win big it's not worth doing it it's not worth even trying because if you fail you don't let yourself down you let your teachers down your students down your community down your parents down into me that's completely unacceptable. So you know when I look at coach Riley throughout those you know when I look at coach Riley and then I look at coach you know Bombay played by you know Emilio Estevez said Man, I would much more benefit from a guy like coach Riley because it's not about hockey, it's really just about giving it 110% and not letting people around you down and not letting yourself down because that can become addictive too. So yeah, that's that's my that's my play on on the Mighty Ducks again I'm going to go the antithesis but as Grant knows, I also root for the dark side in Star Wars, so…
Melissa Milner 38:39
Alright, so does Mighty Ducks stay at number five, Grant?
Grant Hightower 38:44
So…so I appreciate how many vetoes do I have?
Melissa Milner 38:48
One. You might want to save it for number one and two, but it's up to you.
Grant Hightower 38:54
No, so I so I trust him to come with the heat for two and one which is why I'm going to veto at five because I appreciate his perspective on really taking what you do seriously and trying to maximize that you don't have the benefit of not trying or doing less than you're capable of doing when you're working with young folks and when you're just dealing with human beings you know period in general. However, I know this man and he is a true movie buff, a savant you might say, and I think that he might have some more he you know in the holster the than the the Mighty Ducks. I get it though I understand the connection. I think he can I think you can do a little bit some different.
Craig Murray 39:42
All right, no, I respect that. I do.
Melissa Milner 39:44
All right. So that is vetoed. So Craig we need a new number five.
Craig Murray 39:49
All right, new number five, Mr. Miyagi Karate Kid Part Two. He says to Daniel that, “Lies become truth only if a person believes it.” Lies become truths only if a person believes it. Poor leadership in any circumstance is unacceptable, especially as as the education game, you know, begins to tighten. I feel like this addresses, you know, from from a national level, state level, a local level, you know, say-do gaps, what people say and what they do in examining the canyon in between. So, I don't feel like when I thought about this last night, and I want to caveat lies with intentional lies versus just trying to appease the situation, either way, they're both lies as a malicious No, however, it's malicious not to take action. It's malicious not to make a decision. And maybe sort of it may be by accident, but, you know, the road to hell is paved, you know, with good intentions. That's one thing. But if folks sit by, and they listen to that, and they become okay with that, if they if they become congruent with that, and agreeable to that, those missteps become truths. And when we start building foundations on missteps, you know, in action and say do gaps, it's impossible to build studs, it's impossible to build walls, and it's impossible to build roofs. So, you know, I think that, you know, Mr. Miyagi’s call to action on that is don't believe everything you hear, question this, say, and the do and the canyon in between. Because if you're not establishing anything, whether it's a relationship with a student with a teacher with an administrator, if you're not establishing that establishing that based on transparency and truths, and you're not doing what you're saying you're doing, I think it I think it's a question of credibility on that educator. And, you know, I think it's a big piece of education where it's at right now.
Melissa Milner 41:47
Wow, Mr. Miyagi, I'm so happy that he made this list. All right. Grant. You can't veto, Grant. But did you have any thoughts about Mr. Miyagi?
Grant Hightower 41:57
I mean, Mr. Miyagi is everybody's favorite sage. I mean, you're never gonna turn your back on his advice. But I and I agree with the sentiment around what Craig was saying. It is the responsibility of folks to examine what you hear to examine what you see and to make your best choice and decision on that, because there's a lot riding on perspective and action. So I wholeheartedly appreciate and agree with that entry.
Melissa Milner 42:26
Fantastic. All right. So we have two… we have number four and number three from Grant. All right, Grant number four, and again, no vetoes anymore. So whatever we put on is what we put on. All right, go ahead, Grant.
Grant Hightower 42:40
Alright, so so these are my top two. So we're just going to ride with those. And so the first one is from what I would say is, I don't know if it's necessarily top five. If I was to really break down. Technically, all the movies that I love this in my heart has got to be top. Top Five, no problem. This is Django Unchained by my man. This is when Leo DiCaprio’s character. What is the name? Candy, the plantation owner says to Django in the parlor. I'm curious what makes you so curious? Yeah. And that was more of a sinister challenge. In the movie. However, what I love about it is that's the exact sentiment that I believe every educator every leader should have when they're dealing with interpersonal relationships, you should be in a position to always want to drill down deeper in somebody's mind to understand not only what they're saying in the moment, but what they are inferring, what they are projecting, really trying to get a deeper understanding of the human being and the complexities that we all have, these random complexities that we all contain. And in that scene, really what Candy was doing was, you know, almost in a funny way belittling Django. He was already kind of put off by his appearance, he was put off by his confidence. He was really trivializing, you know, Django’s existence, right? Like, I'm curious, what makes you so curious, why do you want to know so much about the situation? However, I think that that's, if you take away the belittling piece, and you really just work on the curiosity piece, really looking at somebody as a full human being and understanding that what they present to you sure, in the moment is one thing, but there's all these other things that are at play and beginning that interpersonal relationship, from a stance of, I see you, I hear you, I recognize you. And I want to know more about you. And you can do those things subtly, in so many ways. But I think that engaging somebody's curiosity, and even sometimes challenging that is really important to build a relationship with which we know make our industry or our vocation go round.
Melissa Milner 44:57
Fourth pick, fantastic. Very happy to have Tarantino on the list. Woohoo.
Grant Hightower 45:03
My man. And just a fun fact. Fun fact for you, Melissa, our friend, Craig has not watched Tarantino films and I've been trying to get him to.
Craig Murray 45:13
Can you believe it?
Melissa Milner 45:15
Oh my gosh.
Grant Hightower 45:17
It's a question of… it's a question of morality for him.
Craig Murray 45:23
Oh, man.
Melissa Milner 45:24
His movies are brilliant. They really are.
Craig Murray 45:26
Oh, 100%. I know. And I think I think honestly, I think of my like, stick in the mud comes from… He kind of weighed in on race back in the early 2000s. Yes. And his his articulation of race and his understanding of racial relationships was not I mean, it was it was archaic. And I remember saying I'll never… so if you name the big ones. I never saw Pulp Fiction. Never saw Django.
Craig Murray 45:57
Yeah. What's the other one he did? What was on Woody Harrelson was that Natural Born Killers did he do that?
Melissa Milner 46:08
He wrote… I think he wrote that. And he wrote True Romance, which was fantastic.
Craig Murray 46:12
Never saw it.
Melissa Milner 46:16
Did you see Inglorious Basterds?
Craig Murray 46:18
I did. You know, and this is gonna I did see that. But again, I didn't. I didn't think it was very good. I thought…
Melissa Milner 46:25
Oh, my God.
Craig Murray 46:26
Okay. Who was the guy? The guy from Boston that has this? I mean, it's an aluminum can in a garbage disposal Boston accent that is it's Eli. Rob, and he comes out and it's just like, Oh, come on. Stop.
Melissa Milner 46:43
He's the bear. Right. Isn't he the bear?
Grant Hightower 46:45
Yeah, the bear Jew.
Craig Murray 46:48
I did Reservoir Dogs. You know, I did see Kill Bill.
Melissa Milner 46:53
Yeah. One and two.
Craig Murray 46:54
Yeah
Melissa Milner46:57
I love his stuff. I love the what was the eight? I forget what it's called with Jennifer Jason Leigh. Hateful Eight. That was like, that was like a stage play. It was just brilliant.
Grant Hightower 47:10
Yeah, one of the best one of the most well written movies I've seen.
Melissa Milner 47:13
Amazing. All right. All right. So we have a not we have a lukewarm Tarantino person in our midst. Okay. All right. So Grant, this is your last pick of the list, number three.
Grant Hightower 47:29
Alright, so this is my number one. Overall, this, this movie is a movie that I have used to teach him over the last, you know, five years, I have mixed feelings about the movie in general. I mean, I like the movie. I don't know that. I'll put it in my top five. However, I do think that there is a seminal quote in it in a moment in the movie that materializes, a lot of, I guess, the heart of why I do what I do. And so the movie is American History X. And the quote was from Bob Sweeney, who was the principal at the school. This is when he goes to prison to visit Derek after he is assaulted in the shower scene, as everybody calls it. And so the quote is, there was a moment this is Sweeney speaking with their vineyard. And so Sweeney says there was a moment when I used to blame everything and everyone for all the pain and suffering and vile things that happened to me, that I saw happen to my people used to blame everybody blamed white people blame society blamed God, I didn't get no answers, because I was asking the wrong questions, you have to ask the right question. And then Derek responds, “Like what?” The quote that I that I use? And that I'm focusing on? Sweeney replies, "Has anything you've done, made your life better?” And, you know, we're often faced with obstructions and drains to our happiness and liberty. And our ability to feel fully human is connected to the endless occurrences and interactions and engagements throughout our lives. Some of those will completely derail us. It feels almost necessary to explode when we're in that in that space. But we rarely consider what the wreckage of collateral damage will be. When we lose control, because we're often craving the release only. You see that with students, you see that with faculty, you see that just you know, in society in general, this can really lead to cycles of behavior that keep us from growing and finding joy. So I posed that question, have has anything you've done made your life better to my students and colleagues who are caught in the cycles. You see all the time. I really am just saying though, I asked that question and get them to kind of self reflect and realize that the only thing that they can, that they can control is how they receive and metabolize the things in their world. It always gives them pause and time to reflect I often catch people off guard when I asked him that because I think that a lot of times they're only given directives are not often asked to be introspective. Rarely are they asked to be reflective. You know this that question that quote is really a core question in my own life, and I always try to draw on that for guidance, especially when I find myself stuck. To me, it's like a baton that I'll always pass to people, when I find myself or when I see them caught up. And I just think that as educators, it's really always important to ask are the other things that we practice is our pedagogy is our is the way that we build relationships is the way that we engage students is the way that we speak about the issues that we have with administration is the way that we engage the community or the art, or the things that we have done, traditionally, over time it has it made our careers, our life, our connectivity, our existence better. And if the answer is yes, then usually I'm not asking that person that question. Usually, I'm usually I'm engaged in banter with that person and gaining gaining tools. But often, the answer is no, in that building block that blank, concrete slab of it, that's what that question is, to me. It's a it's a beginning to folks building. And so that's, that's my number one quote. That's my number one pick. And I guess that'll be the number number three, the number three in our in our list.
Melissa Milner 51:11
Very powerful. That movie is brutal to watch just Ed Norton's performance is just shocking. Yeah. It's all top performance, in my opinion, that quote is amazing, Craig, thoughts about American History X?
Craig Murray 51:24
It's powerful, that one almost changes the trajectory of our top 10. You know, just because there's so much behind it. And I know that and I kind of, I don't want to say I saw her coming, but I kind of knew that was coming. Just because I know that, you know, Grant, I know that that's sort of a definitely a baseline jump off question when when a student's dysregulated or cycling into that, you know, it's just that I can't get out of my own space. face. You know, when we move to the next one, I'll probably piggyback on this. This was my This was my two. And I'm sure grant sees this from coming too. But I think I think like Derek Vinyard in general, he was so adamant may talk about objective face, that guy was like leaning forward all the time. And you know, and Norton does such a good job, just showing just how hateful and so how confused he truly was. And also the sick, just the cycle of racism in general. I know. That's not what you're saying, Grant. But I know we talked about just dad's role in that. You know, how his father was the one that really sort of, you know, kind of got him into that spot. And then he passed it on to his brother and look what happened, you know, but yeah, yeah, I know. It's a terrific pick, really, as well said.
Melissa Milner 52:35
Allright. Wow. We're down to the second pick, Craig?
Craig Murray 52:41
Geez, I don't know. I mean, it's a hard so I need to take you back on this one. Okay. How many? How many vetoes does Grant have left?
Melissa Milner 52:48
None.
Craig Murray 52:49
None. Okay.
Melissa Milner 52:51
I do want to remind you, I want to remind you about Lean on Me.
Craig Murray 52:54
Yep. Oh yeah. No, no, we're gonna we're gonna head to Spike Lee's 25th Hour. There's one scene in particular, where he's looking in the mirror, literally and figuratively. And this is a guy that is, you know, if you haven't seen the movie, he's going, you know, he's going away for seven years. This is, you know, an ex High School athlete, for the most part had a decent upbringing, I think, you know, I think he's suffering his own trauma with the loss of his mom, dad was a firefighter. He decides he's going to start, you know, selling heroin. His friends are conflicted about him going away. You know, you have one friend that saying, you know, come on, just let him go. He's a good guy. The other one’s like, No, he's sold heroin to our community, he needs to serve time and a story. You know, the whole movie takes place in the 25th hour, just basically, he's on borrowed time. And he's going away for quite, you know, he's going, he's going to prison for seven years. And there's one scene where he's having dinner kind of a last meal with his father. He's looking in the mirror, and then his reflection starts talking to him. And it's laced with expletives. And I'm not going to get into you know, specifics, but basically, he he really just sort of attacks every single person, by their ethnicity in the city. You know, it's the Dominican and Puerto Ricans, you know, you know, in the Bronx, it's blacks in Harlem, it's, you know, Jews in Manhattan. It's, then he goes to his friends, you know, you know, accusing his girlfriend of, you know, kind of cheating on him, accusing his best friend of just kind of being a, you know, a money hungry, horrible human being, you know, when he goes into this five minute tirade, it just really goes through, you know, the Indians and the Pakistanis. He's basically reclaimed... he calls them terrorists, and it's just a very awful scene where you can see just how angry he truly is because of everybody else. However, in the final, you know, line he says, No, Monty, you know, F U, you had it all, and you threw it away, you know, and you're the one to blame. You know, how this really relates is really when I deal with students, you know, in crisis, and that is a very common, it's this, it's this person, this person texted me This person did this, this person did that. But ultimately, that's where we want them to arrive is what is your role? And what is your stake in your own decision making? And how did you lead to this point? Sure. You weren't drinking at the party. But why were you there? You know, Oh, sure. You didn't throw a punch. But why were you at the fight? You know, so all of these things. You want that… I mean, it's such an ideal for a student to come to that conclusion. No, and I don't want the students say no few to themselves, but I do want them to say, No this was on me. You know, this was something that I did. And I may have not been the trigger, man, but I was the wheel man, if I wasn't the wheel, man, I was in the car. And you know, and if I wasn't in the car, then I was part of it somehow. So it really is sort of a utopia, of, you know, breaking down self righteousness. And, you know, I love when students come to the conclusion where it's like, yeah, you know what, I didn't do the whole thing. But I had my part in it and I'm just as guilty. And, you know, I think it's such a pivotal scene. I remember watching that I kind of went through it again, approaching this podcast, and I said, you know, geez, I wish every kid could come to that conclusion, like, what, what did I do to get myself in this position? And then how it goes back two or three pick is, has anything I've ever really done made my life better.
Melissa Milner 56:16
Right. Wow. I do just want to point out that this will be our third Ed Norton movie. So that's kind of funny.
Grant Hightower 56:22
That’s actually funny.
Melissa Milner 56:24
Yeah, Fight Club, American History, X and 25th Hour.
Craig Murray 56:27
Yeah.
Melissa Milner 56:28
Craig, that's an absolutely powerful message for number two. Grant, what do you think of 25th Hour?
Grant Hightower 56:36
Wonderful movie, great imagery, great story. I would say that, uh, the way Craig kind of folds in, like self awareness, but also like personal responsibility. I don't always like to use that, as I've been, like, put that high. It's like that the number one thing that I expect out of folks, but it's it's two and three, right? Like, easy. You need to be aware of self and you need to understand what your contribution to your circumstances, right? That might not be 100%. It might not be 80. But it could be and but whatever the percentage is in terms of what your role was in a situation. You have to not only be aware of that you have to honor that. And then you can begin to move forward. So I think that that's a hell of a movie to choose. And, and a great quote.
Melissa Milner 57:23
Absolutely. So this is amazing. Before we do number one, I'm just going to go through one more time number 10 was a quote from The Sandlot. Number nine was a quote from Darth Vader in Rogue One, number eight Fight Club, the doorman, number seven Good Will Hunting, number six Miracle at Saint Anna's, number five Mr. Miyagi in Karate Kid 2, number four, Django Unchained, number three, American History X, number 2, 25th Hour, and Craig, the number one pick?
Unknown Speaker 57:57
Chazz Palminteri’s A Bronx Tale. We have one particular quote that I think is vague, but we're going to wrap it all up. So he says that one point is sort of, you know, he's obviously taken young Calogero under his his wing, and it's kind of just taking them on like a son. And there's a discussion of jail, and Sonny, played by Chazz Palminteri says, “There's only three things you can do in the joint. You can either lift weights, play cards, or get into trouble.” So then Cologero says, “What do you do?” He said, “Me? I read.” You know, obviously, that that's, that's, that's literal, but we're not going to go there. We're going in pretty much any level of education. What is the X variable, that we're constantly seeking to individualize education to that specific student’s needs? Because you have your weights, you have your cards, and you have the trouble? Those are the parameters. That's their tradition. That's that's how it's always been done. And these are your options. But what is the X and the Y variables that we're constantly seeking to take that next step forward and education to individualize meeting students where they're at? And how do we continue to think outside of the of the box to meet each student's need at their level? I'm gonna say less, because I really want to hear what you guys have to say.
Melissa Milner 59:16
Oh, fantastic. Bronx Tale, I haven't seen that in years. I'm gonna have to watch that again. But I love the sentiment that you're talking about. It's it's very powerful. These are such amazing pics. Grant, Bronx Tale.
Grant Hightower 59:32
I think. I think Bronx Tale holds a special place. And anybody whoever's watching heart, right, like, I mean, you you remember what age you were when you saw it, you remember the emotions that are drawn from your connection with the characters, um, in a way that's maybe different than, I guess your typical, you know, top 10 movie. It's such a magnanimous story and there's like your youth is wrapped up in that your pension for romance is wrapped up in that you're there's so many things that come from that movie to speak to the to the scene and the idea and also the very savvy way in which my colleague, Craig was able to pull that together. It's true, right? Like you, you are faced with people like to keep things in these categories. And you're faced with these specific parameters that, you know, you're expected to work with. But I do feel that like, there's always going to be that X Factor, there's always going to be that other choice. And I think one, it takes us not a special kid, I think it takes a kid who has either something special about them to figure that out on their own, or an educator who has the ability to see that in some body, or the environment and again, pass that on are passed up a ton to the people who need it. So again, that's a hell of a number one choice. Nothing bad to say about the pic. Like that was great.
Melissa Milner 1:00:51
Thinking outside the box for number one, I love it. It's not on many top 10 lists. And it's it's such a great movie. So I would love, if it's okay with you, to hear any of your discards titles and quotes that you had on your list that didn't make it on to the actual podcast.
Craig Murray 1:01:10
Honorable Mentions. Grant, you go first. You go one, I’ll go one?
Grant Hightower 1:01:14
Sure, I'll throw him out. I'll show him out, though. So my sixth pick was Laurence Fishburne’s character and search for Bobby Fischer. And he says, “He didn't teach you how to win, he taught you how not to lose. That's nothing to be proud of. You're playing not to lose Josh. You've got to risk losing, you got to risk everything, you got to go to the edge of defeat, that's where you want to be boy on the edge of defeat.” And so it was in a similar vein to some of the other ones that I had. However, I do think that there's a lot that goes into that quote, as well. But I'm actually kind of happy that I didn't have that one because it did match a couple of the other ones that I had. And then I picked actually the seminal anime movie, Akira, from 1988. And there's a there's a, there's a character named colonial. And he says, “My job isn't to believe or disbelieve, it is to act or not act.” And so that again, kind of speaks to pedagogy. And you know, where you position yourself as a leader. That was my fourth pick. So I've pretty much everything else out. Besides those two.
Melissa Milner 1:02:15
Wow, awesome. Craig, how about you?
Craig Murray 1:02:19
I had sure I definitely had Tyler Durden when he says, “Your life is ending one day at a time.” You know, and then in the piece with the guy, the guy explaining the convenience store that that whole scene. I had Ty Webb from Caddyshack saying, “Stop thinking, let things happen, and be the ball.” That some things you just can't I'm reading this great book right now. That is it's just it basically says, you know, don't discount luck, we take on too much of ourselves. So thinking is actually our fault, when there's a ton of variables out there that are really a complicated algorithm of chance. So I like that, that quote.
Melissa Milner 1:03:00
It would have been good to have Chevy Chase on the list.
Craig Murray 1:03:04
Oh, it would have been awesome. I have one of my favorite actors of all time, Ossie Davis in Do the Right Thing saying to Mother Sister, “One day you're going to be nice to me. We may both be dead and buried but you're going to be nice to me.”
Grant Hightower 1:03:16
I almost chose an Ossie Davis quote from Do the Right Thing.
Craig Murray 1:03:22
It's a great one. He's great. He's great in everything. And one that didn't make it was Dark Knight Rises where Bain says to Batman, “Victory has defeated you.” I think I just wanted to tie that into sort of the mirage of greatness that is just a mirage. But I think I left that last because I was I was kind of like thinking like, how do I tie this in, but I kind of left it as like, no, it's a mirage. And, you know, then I think honestly, I replaced that with it's not worth winning if you can't win big from Coach Riley.
Melissa Milner 1:03:52
Yeah. And Bain. You couldn't hear what he was saying half the time anyway.
Craig Murray
Yeah, but man, can he fight?
Melissa Milner 1:04:01
Oh, that's great. Well, this was amazing. I can't thank you enough. It's inspiring me to come up with my own top 10 list. I really I didn't want to do that. I want it to be like clean slate coming in. But these really have inspired me and I have my own that I I definitely think I'm gonna make a list. But I think the most important thing about this was all the talks you gave about the movies that were very much cemented in just good pedagogy and especially from a leadership position. Both of you are in a you you really I just feel lucky to know you. And I want to thank you so much for doing this.
Craig Murray 1:04:49
Likewise. Thank you so much for the invite this this is great. If anything ever pops up again. Please don't ever hesitate to reach out. There's a lot of fun.
Melissa Milner 1:04:58
Absolutely. I just wish there was a Wes Anderson or a Coen Brothers on here otherwise, I'm very happy.
Craig Murray 1:05:08
Don't discount Grant and I. If you gave us a genre, we could probably figure this out.
Melissa Milner 1:05:11
I know, right? I know.
Grant Hightower 1:05:13
Definitely. Definitely.
Melissa Milner 1:05:14
Because Royal Tenenbaums is just amazing.
Craig Murray 1:05:17
Yeah. Yeah. That's quite heavy.
Melissa Milner 1:05:20
Yeah, there's a lot. There's a lot there. All right. So thank you again, and I appreciate it. You know, you're taking the time out like this.
Craig Murray 1:05:27
Thanks so much again. Thanks, Grant.
Grant Hightower 1:05:29
Thank you. Thanks, Melissa.
Melissa Milner 1:05:30
If you enjoyed this episode, and have not done so already, please hit the subscribe button for The Teacher As… podcast, so you can get future episodes. I would love for you to leave a review and a rating as well, f you have time. For my blog, transcripts of this episode, and links to any resources mentioned, visit my website at www.theteacheras.com. You can reach me on Twitter and Instagram at Melissa B Milner. And I hope you check out The Teacher As… Facebook page for episode updates. I am sending a special thanks to Linda and Lester Fleishman, my mom and dad, for being so supportive. They are the voices you hear in the Zooming In soundbite and my dad composed and performed the background music you are listening to right now. My intro music was Upbeat Party by Scott Holmes. So what are you zooming in on? I would love to hear from you. My hope is that we all share what we are doing in the classroom in order to teach, remind, affirm, and inspire each other. Thanks for listening. And that's a wrap.