Original subtitles

? What would you do if I sang out of tune? ?

? Would you stand up and walk out on me? ?

? Lend me your ears, and I'll sing you a song ?

? I will try not to sing out of key, yeah ?

? Oh, baby, I get by ? ? By with a little help from my friends ?

? All I need is my buddies ?

? High with a little help from my friends ?

? I'm sayin' I'm gonna get higher ? ?Try with a little help from my friends ?

? Whoa-oa-oa-oa ?

? Oh, oh, oh, oh ?

? Somebody who knows quite sure ?

? Baby ?

? By with a little help from my friends ?

? Said I'm gonna make it with my friends ?

? Try with a little help from my friends ?

? Oh, I'm gonna keep on trying ?

? High with a little help from my friends ?

? I'm gonna keep on trying now, baby ?

? Ooh, ooh, ooh ?

It seemed like my high-school teachers

came in every conceivable shape, size, and style.

There is your answer.

There were the hopelessly confused...

Hablo, hablas, habla. Again.

The terminally repetitious...

habla. Again.

The insufferably boring...

The hundred years war... Year four.

"I saw on that ivory face

"the expression of somber pride...

Of ruthless power..."

But of all the teachers I ever had...

I only ever had one...

Who was... A natural.

"Did he live his life again

in every detail of desire and temptation..."

Miss Shaw taught English 2-a.

She was a year out of graduate school,

and there was something about her that was...

Cool.

She didn't take attendance. She didn't need to.

She let us sit anywhere we wanted.

And she never, ever used the word "literature."

"He cried out at some image, at a vision.

"He cried out twice,

"in a whisper that was no more... Than a breath...

"'The horror.

The horror.'"

but maybe the most remarkable thing about her was...

She actually liked what she did.

Okay, everyone, open your eyes.

Any questions? Comments? Complaints?

Kevin, what do you think Conrad meant by "the horror"?

Well, I think Kurtz was...

Seeing his life.

And?

And he saw how...

Horrible it was.

And?

And...

He saw the truth.

Truth!

The horror, everyone, is truth.

You scare me sometimes, you know that, Kevin?

Yeah. We all felt lucky we got miss Shaw...

Even if some of us didn't get her.

Yes, Felicia?

Are we gonna need to know this for our midterm?

No, Felicia.

You need to know that... For life.

And the best part was...

The woman never failed to surprise you.

Everybody... You know what I have in my hand here?

"Ivanhoe."

733 pages that the board of education requires you read.

But I do not.

I mean, let's be honest.

It's long, it's boring, and it's old.

But do me a favor, huh?

Take one and keep it around for appearances,

you know what I mean?

Wait. Are we reading it or not?

Not!

We're reading this... "the catcher in the rye."

Does the administration know we're doing this?

Not unless they find out.

But what if they do?

Well, then...

We'll just have to take our chances, won't we?

And that was what was different about miss Shaw.

[ School bell rings ]

Hey, take one of each before you go.

She took chances.

And enjoy it.

And remember... they're your parents.

They can't help it.

In a word, she opened doors.

I can't get my locker open.

New combinations...

they changed them over the weekend.

Security problems.

Well, I have to get my books.

Maybe you should talk to Linzer.

[ School bell rings ]

Excuse me.

Unfortunately, in high school,

opening doors is no easy task.

I can't get into my locker. Do you have a key?

Uh, yeah.

Great.

You need a 29c, though.

A 29c?

Security authorization form.

Oh, of course! A 29c!

You can get one at the administration...

Between 12:00 and 2:00.

Yeah, but I have to get into my locker now.

Well, then, uh... You got a problem.

Well, that's what I told you!

Obviously, I was dealing, here,

with strictly middle management.

What I needed was...

Dr. Valenti, our principal, the top dog.

Excuse me, sir.

And you are?

Kevin Arnold.

Aren't you a little late for class, there, Kevin Arnold?

Well, see, that's the problem. I can't open my locker.

Oh! Well, we'll... we'll fix that right up.

Uh...

Finally, a man who could cut through the red tape...

Hmm.

A guy who could make things happen...

a mover, a shaker.

Talk to Linzer.

Good meeting you, son.

Glad I could help.

The horror. The horror.

But if school was the heart of darkness,

then English 2-a was a ray of sunshine.

So, why do you think Holden ended up in a mental hospital?

Obviously, Holden Caulfield has a problem

perceiving reality as it is.

Well, 'cause he's nuts!

He's not nuts!

He just couldn't put up with the system.

The system stinks.

Yeah. Kind of like school.

[ Laughter ]

Well, that's certainly one way to look at it.

That was the great thing about miss Shaw.

You never had to worry about anything you said in her class.

Everything was up for grabs.

Any other questions? Comments?

And I mean everything.

Anyone. Yes, Felicia?

Are you going to tell us our midterm grades

before you record them?

I wouldn't worry about grades, if I were you, Felicia.

I only give two... "pass" and "no pass."

Again, please?

I said "pass" and "no pass."

"Pass" and "no pass."

It was amazing, a ground-breaking concept.

And we reacted as any 10th-grade class would.

But my Dad gives me a buck for every "a."

But what will happen to my grade-point average?

You mean I'm not gonna get an "f"?

With total confusion.

This isn't a math class.

There are no right or wrong answers here...

only thought.

And you can't grade thought.

Besides, it doesn't matter what I think about you.

It matters what you think about you.

So, with those words, we set out to make history...

with one reservation.

Can you really do this?

I'm doing it.

"P"? What the hell's a "p"?

Oh, I think it means "pass," honey.

I can see it means "pass."

What I mean is, where is his grade?

Well, you see, Dad, miss Shaw doesn't...

you know, Jack, they're starting to do this

in a lot of the courses at the university.

Great.

When he goes to a university on his own money...

He can get a "p."

But as long as I'm paying taxes,

I want to see a grade.

Hmm.

Seemed this plan wasn't playing so well

in the hinterlands.

Dad, I don't think you really understand.

Oh, I don't?

Well, I mean... This isn't a math class.

There are no right or wrong answers.

I mean...

You can't grade people's thoughts,

or society would turn into...

An abyss of mediocrity.

Well, besides,

it doesn't even matter what you think of me.

It only matters what I think of me.

There.

Philosophically speaking, you couldn't argue with that.

As long as you're living under my roof,

you damn well better care what I think of you.

Right.

I think you're swell.

[ Snickers ]

So much for philosophy.

Miss Shaw?

What I needed was a little clarification.

Kevin, give me a hand with these, won't you?

What are they?

Attendance reports. Drag, isn't it?

Yeah.

So, what's up?

Well, I was just wondering if I could talk to you about...

your report card?

Yeah. You see...

it didn't go over too well on the home front, right?

Right.

And you're not exactly sure why we're doing this, hmm?

You're not the first person who's come to me.

Oh.

So, why'd you do it?

Why not?

Excuse me, miss Shaw?

May I speak with you for a moment?

Yes, Dr. Valenti?

I think we have to talk about your grading system.

Yes?

Well... We don't do this here.

You mean we haven't done this here.

Miss Shaw, students don't respond without grades.

But my students are responding just fine.

Why don't we discuss this in my office?

Why not?

And there you had it.

Catch you in class, Kevin.

So much for the great leap forward of 1972.

Seemed pretty clear to me we'd been stopped in our tracks,

shut down, busted.

[ Door opens ]

And there was nothing more to do

but settle in for the bad news.

Before we dig in, I'd like to tell you

about a very interesting conversation

I had with Dr. Valenti this morning.

Or, rather, one he had with me.

I was informed that I had broken

several important school regulations.

Now, according to policy,

it is required that each of you receive a traditional grade.

So, therefore, I have decided that all of you

will be getting traditional grades.

[ All groan ]

Bummer. There goes my "p."

I couldn't believe it.

With... One little wrinkle.

For your next report cards,

each of you will decide your own grade.

Any comments?

And, of course, we had only one.

[ All cheering ]

Over the next few weeks,

miss Shaw's class took on a life of its own.

The word was out. Things were different here.

The old rules just didn't apply.

Instead of lectures, we actually had discussions.

Unfortunately, I think you're right.

And not just about books, about... Ideas...

About life.

It was sort of like riding shotgun with Che Guevara.

It was pretty cool.

Oh, yeah.

[ Whistle blows ]

Ugh! What a crock!

Not that all the discourse was positive.

I can't believe she's letting you bozos

choose your own grades.

Why not? We're responsible students.

Oh, is that so?

What are you gonna give yourselves?

Gee, let me see.

I, uh, think I'll give myself an "a."

I knew it. It's madness.

Okay, a-plus.

Apparently, opinion on this question

was divided into two camps...

the revolutionaries... And the slugs.

Come on, Paul. Admit it... you're jealous!

No, I'm not.

I don't think it's fair, that's all.

To who?

To whom.

Sorry.

I mean, what if every teacher did something like this?

Well...

He's right. It'd ruin the curve.

You get a "b."

Still, it was clear this was one issue

that wasn't gonna just disappear.

They're not gonna let her get away with this, you know.

Who's not?

The school. The administration?

Come on, Paul, get off it. She knows what she's doing.

Oh, which is?

Hmm.

Miss Shaw?

Obviously, I needed more clarification.

You got a minute?

My time is your time. What's on your mind?

Well, it's about, you know...

The grades?

Yeah.

You see, people are talking about it, and...

they just can't believe I'd let a bunch of bozos like you

handle something like that.

What, was this woman clairvoyant?

Yeah.

Well... It is kind of different, you know.

And what's wrong with that?

Well, nothing!

Except we can't all get a's, right?

I see.

And is that what you're going to give yourself? Really?

No.

I guess not.

Big decision, right?

Makes you think, and that's good.

My guess is, when the time comes,

I'm gonna have to beg you guys to break even with c's.

And that's when I realized...

She had more than a lesson plan.

She had a whole concept.

Tell you what.

Let's go get a cup of coffee, talk it over.

Sure!

[ School bell rings ]

That afternoon, a couple of things happened.

Thanks.

I had my first... Cappuccino...

How is it?

They make them good here.

And I got to know miss Shaw.

So, what do you think?

Huh?

About the class... what do you think?

Oh. I like it.

Yeah. I like it, too.

? They rain and snow on everyone ?

We talked for hours... about football and dating...

And, of course, about books.

My Dad gave me a copy of "the red masque" once,

and I thought I'd never read a book like it.

It was like falling into another world.

I didn't even want to come up for air.

And I read it over and over until I broke the spine.

My Dad had to just keep taping it up.

And the amazing part was, it was never boring.

Anything else?

You want another?

Oh. I'm good.

The thing is, I'd never met anyone

who was so right for what she did.

It was incredible.

A woman with a gift...

A natural.

You know, they had...

Maybe it was the talk we had...

Or maybe it was the buzz I got off the three cappuccinos...

whatever.

That night, I found myself

doing something I never thought I'd do.

I picked up that copy of "Ivanhoe"...

All 733 pages.

I mean, hey, you never knew.

There might be a surprise or two.

Miss Shaw, may I speak with you?

But then, life is full of surprises.

Well, I am in the middle of a class.

This will just take a minute.

You heard the man. I'll be back.

In the meantime, why don't you guys

write me a descriptive paragraph

on anything that's on your mind?

What should it be about?

Anything you want, Felicia.

And have fun!

Yeah. Fun.

[ Indistinct conversations ]

I'd like to say I wrote something profound that day,

but the fact is... I didn't.

I don't think anyone else did, either.

Okay, everybody, turn in your papers.

I can see genius has been brimming.

I'll really enjoy reading these.

Well...

I guess there's no sense in keeping you in the dark,

so here goes.

Dr. Valenti and I had a talk.

Seems he got a call from the school board.

So he set me down and explained that, from now on, I must...

Follow state guidelines as they pertain to curriculum,

grading, the whole thing.

His arguments were well-thought-out...

And reasonable.

And he left it up to me to decide what I wanted to do.

And the way she said it, we all knew what it meant...

a fight to the finish between miss Shaw and the system,

a battle of right versus might.

So I've decided.

This... Is my last day.

Thanks.

Miss Shaw! Miss Shaw, wait up!

I couldn't believe it.

One minute she was teaching a class, the next minute...

Where are you going?

I'm sorry, Kevin. I have to do this.

You can't just leave, can you?

I'm afraid they didn't give me a choice.

Well, look, if it's about the grades, that doesn't matter.

Give us grades. It's okay.

It's not just the grades.

Well...

Then, if it's "Ivanhoe," hey, I already read it.

Kevin, it's really very simple.

I'm a teacher, but they don't want me to teach,

not the way I can.

So, I won't.

And then she said something I'll never forget.

It's just not worth it.

Not worth it?

And even though I'd heard it,

I just couldn't believe my ears.

It's not worth it?!

I know you understand...

Don't you?

'Course, maybe I should have...

about the hassles, about the frustrations.

But all I could think of was... She was walking out on us.

What's she doing?

She's sticking it to Valenti... that's what she's doing.

- Right on! - Yeah!

[ Applause ]

[ Crowd cheering ]

That afternoon, there was kind of a celebration.

They were celebrating youth, enthusiasm, idealism.

They were cheering for the best and the brightest.

? The dizzy dancing ?

Only they didn't know what I knew then.

But they found out.

The hero...

As defined in Aristotle's Poetics,

is a man not preeminently...

Virtuous or just...

But through some great...

I guess, in the end, miss Shaw did what was best for her.

After all, no compromises, no regrets.

The only thing is, she didn't do what was best for us.

Whom, however...

Succumbs to great misfortune...

But even today...

I don't know who to be angry at...

her...

Or the system that drove her away.

? I really don't know life ?

? At all ?

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