Top 6 Fictional Teachers

Today is World Teachers Day, every year since 1994 October 5^th has been celebrated as the international day of the teacher. Over the past 22 years the day aimed to foster praise for teachers across the globe and to provide support in the work that they provide.

In this blog we will look at our top 6 fictional teachers of all time.

Minerva McGonagall – Harry Potter Series
We struggled with this one as Albus Dumbledore, Severus Snape or even Remus Lupin have strong arguments for them, and were they in any other franchise they would have all probably made this list. However our office favourite is by far McGonagall. During the course of the story she staunchly supported Harry, Ron and Hermione against all opponents and more often than not, did it with a style that actress Maggie Smith is famed for as the Dowager Countess, Lady Grantham in Downton Abbey. Let’s all be honest, we all hated Umbridge more than any other character after what she did to McGonagall and who can forget the iconic scene where she silently duels Snape, chasing him out the castle in the last film! Minerva McGonagall truly is magical!

Dewey Finn / Mr Schneebly – School of Rock
School of Rock is one of our all-time favourite musical films, thanks in part to Jack Blacks musician/ substitute teacher, Dewey Finn Aka Mr S. Mr S, masquerading as roommate Mr Schneebly, took a job in a prep school teaching primary school children. Instead of following the curriculum of reading writing and arithmetic, Mr S instead opted for lessons based on classic Rock & Roll. Along with his newly formed musical troupe, which consisted of a guitarist, drummer, backing singers, security and fashion team, Mr S entered a battle of the bands in hope of gaining enough money to pay his rent! Mr S was eventually found out but not before the whole class got behind him and eventually formed their own after school music club. You rock Mr S!

Ross Geller – Friends
Everyone’s favourite palaeontologist is next on our list. Along with being an expert on dinosaurs, Ross also taught classes at New York University. In all honesty Ross was not particularly good at his job. His students had been known to fall asleep in his classes and he himself was known to forget to attend his own lessons. That being said, Ross did once teach a lesson while on roller-skates and who doesn’t love roller-skates? Outside of the classroom Ross was a hoot. His antics whilst on dates is legendary, particularly with teeth whitening and leather trousers. Who hasn’t shouted “Pivot, Pivot” while moving furniture around, and who can forget his adorable pet capuchin monkey, Marcel? We couldn’t not include our Friend Ross on the list, even if British accent leaves a lot to be desired.

Jess Day – New Girl
A recent addition to our favourite teaching faculty, Jess Day is the New Girl on the List. Played by Zooey Deschanel, Jess is a school teacher who always seems to put the needs of her students first, even when this could potentially cost her the job she loves or ruin relationships. Jess loves to sign instead of speak, something that we remember from school as being particularly successful in helping remember things such as spelling difficulty, “Mrs D, Mrs I, Mrs FF” etc. Alongside being an all-around good person, Jess is also delightfully up beat, listing amongst her assets on her rental application “Limitless smiles and a positive attitude – what else do I need?” Who’s our favourite teacher? It’s Jess.

Mr Belding – Saved by the Bell
Our retro choice on the list goes to Mr Belding, the Principal at Bayside High School. Although initially seen as a bumbling authority figure, one that Zack and the rest of the students loved to outwit, as the show went on we warmed to Mr Belding as he showed that through his prickly exterior he genuinely seemed to care for the kids. Along with being the principal, Mr Belding was one of the main sources of comedy relief in the series, we all knew things were about to fall apart when we heard the famous “Hey, hey, hey, HEY, HEY! What is going on here?”

Yoda – Star Wars Series
While not technically an official teacher, the Geeks of the office have forced us to include Yoda in our list, citing “How to save the galaxy” as his specialist subject. Famed for being the grand master of the Jedi, Yoda trained a young Luke Skywalker in the ways of the force so he could overthrow his corrupted father, Darth Vader and the Evil Emperor Palpatine. While small in size, Yoda is grand in stature and even with only a very small amount of screen time, particularly in the original trilogy, has provided us all with some valuable quotes to live by. “Do or do not, there is no try” and “Death is a natural part of life” May the Force be with you Master Yoda!

Do you agree with our list? Who would you rate as your top 5 fictional teachers?

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