Prime of Miss Jean Brodie Movie Review

Running Head: THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE: A MOVIE REVIEW

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie: A Movie Review

Marketa Brown

Dr. Renee Murley

Learning in the Urban Environment

ICL 7709

July 28, 2009

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie is a movie about a spinster teacher at a conservative all-girls school, Marcia Blaine, set in 1932 Edinburgh, Scotland. Miss Brodie is a charismatic, energetic, passionate, and colorful character who quite stands apart from the other faculty members in her mode of dress, in her thinking, and in her way of doing things. Miss Brodie is at odds with the administration, literally loved by the male faculty, and adored by the student body. Jean Brodie states, “Little Girls! I am in the business of putting old heads on young shoulders, and all my students are the crème de la crème. Give me a girl at an impressionable age and she is mine for life.” Miss Brodie’s role as a teacher and her relationship with four of “her girls” is the centerpiece of the movie. Jean Brodie, while flawed in many ways, exemplified a number of positive and negative behaviors that teachers of today can learn from.

A good teacher should inspire and cultivate the interest of his or her students. Miss Brodie’s lectures captivated her students. Jean Brodie was knowledgeable and passionate about her subject matter. She had her students’ full attention. Miss Brodie’s class was a good example of classroom management. In once scene, the students were milling around the class talking and laughing, as soon as Miss Brodie entered the room the students stopped talking, took their seat, and gave her their attention. Students did not speak until call upon. Her expectations for the behavior and actions of “her girls” were clearly and consistently communicated. After being suddenly called to the office of the headmistress, Miss Brodie gave instructions to the class to read a chapter in the text, and before leaving reminded students of her expectations for...