Beyond the Blackboard

I. Characters:

Stacey Bess - a 24-year old young wife, who is a first time teacher and has a passion
for teaching,
Greg Bess – the ever supportive and loving husband of Stacey,
Nicole Bess and Brandon Bess – the awesome children of Stacey and Greg,
Dr. Warren – the emphatic school superintendent,
Maria – a sixth grader who also dreamed of becoming a teacher someday,
Danny – the leader of the class, who is disobedient at first but turned out to be a good
student after,
Dana – the curly girl who has a low self-esteem at first but Stacey made her realize
that she must have self-confidence,
Grace and Becca – the two siblings, who were always being pulled out by their
mother out of the classroom to do some household chores,
Candy – the mother of Grace and Becca,
Carlos – father of Maria, who was thrown out of the shelter because of his habitual
alcoholic intake,
Nurse Patricia – a volunteer nurse and she became Stacey’s friend in the shelter,
Nelson – a 65- year old homeless man, he became the art teacher of the students
School administrator – the one who hired Stacey and who is unreachable in terms of
the needs of the students in the shelter,
II. Setting:

The story revolved around the warehouse which was became the shelter of the
people who lived there. The school, where Stacey Bess teaches, was located in Salt
Lake City. The school that has no name was filthy and messy. The classroom itself
had no proper desks and chairs. There were no textbooks too that are appropriate to
the grade levels of the students. The shelter was also near the train that when it passed
by the whole classroom rattle and a resident rat would come out of the hole on the
floor.

III. Plot :

The plot of the story begins when Stacey Bess was hired to be the teacher of the
homeless students in Salt Lake City. Stacey dreamt of becoming a teacher since she
was a child. She never imagined that her first teaching experience will be at a school
that has no name. It had been a challenge in her part to teach such diverse students.
The children are at all ages. She was tasked to teach all of them, from grades 1 to
grade 6. In addition to these challenges, the classroom where she taught was messy,
had no books, and had mismatched desks and chairs. But she didn’t quit after all. She
decided to refurbished and redecorate the classroom with the help of the people who
loved to have a clean and conducive learning environment. The students and the
parents learned to appreciate all Stacey’s effort and passion towards teaching and to
them. A school superintendent also acknowledged Stacey’s eagerness and
determination that ended up giving the school supplies that the students badly needs
that time. The problems that Stacey encountered from the very start of her teaching
experience were all blown away because of her compassion and dedication to her
teaching job.
IV. Summary:

Stacey Bess is a 24-year old young wife of Greg Bess and a mother of two
amazing kids, Nicole and Brandon Bess. She was a fresh graduate and a first time
teacher. At the age of 16, she got pregnant and dropped out of school. She continued
her studies and graduated in college. She was hired by the school director for HR for
Salt Lake City schools. She was assigned to teach for homeless children. Stacey was
excited on her first day in class. She even dressed up for that day and brought all the
things that she might be using in teaching the kids. But when she got there, she was
greatly surprised of the situation of the school. There were incongruity of desks and
chairs. There were no suitable textbooks for the students. The school was also located
near the train wherein it passed by everything rattles and even a rat came out if the
hole on the floor. It was true enough that the school has no name because of the
scenarios that Stacey had observed. In addition, her students were unkempt, unruly,
and some our undernourished and one of them is Danny, who was the class leader.
The parents of the students weren’t even supportive of their children’s education.
Candy, mother of the two girl students, Grace and Becca, even pulled out her kids to
do some errands at their home. It was indeed a challenging tasked for teacher Stacey
but she never gave up. She faced all of these wholeheartedly. She made a lot of effort
in redecorating the classroom. She was able to create an environment that is
conducive to learning for the students. Maria, the girl who also wanted to become a
teacher someday, and Nelson, a 65 year old homeless man, helped Stacey in
achieving a well refurbished classroom for all. Nelson became the art teacher of the
students. The students learned to love their teacher because they have seen her
dedication to teach them and her heart to care for them. Not to mention her husband
Greg, who was truly a blessing to her because of his undying to support to her wife.
The parents started to help also in some of the school activities. The school
superintendent, Dr. Warren, also had seen the effort of Stacey. He extended some
help too wherein he was able to answered the school supplies needs of the school. He
also donated his family piano to the school. Still challenges came to Stacey’s way.
Maria’s father was thrown out of the shelter because of his excessive alcohol intake
 but the problem was that Maria didn’t want to move out too. Stacey decided to take
Maria to their home and surprisingly her family accepted Maria in their home. Stacey
also got pregnant along the way. And everything went well then. When she gave
birth, the students went to the hospital. They even claimed that they were all her
babies. After giving birth, she decided to teach, having her baby around her.

V. Reaction/ Reflection:

Beyond the Blackboard portrayed the true story of Ms. Stacey Bess who was a
dedicated and compassionate teacher. Quitting was not in her life’s vocabulary. She
never gave up in teaching the students. She never quitted in imparting knowledge to
the students.
The film was indeed inspirational. It taught us how to give to others without
expecting in return. She was able to move me in every part of the film. She showed
each and every one of us the true meaning of caring and loving. To care others in an
unconditional way was emphasize in this story. Loving the students as if they are
your children and your family was seen in this movie too.
This story was able to demonstrate the possible problems that a teacher may
encounter. It is somehow a realization of how an effective classroom manager a
teacher should be. The significance of having a conducive learning environment was
given emphasis as well. The effect of the atmosphere of the school is also essential in
the learning process of the students. In this film, the students were subjected to an
untidy and unsuitable classroom setting but Stacey was able to restore it in proper
condition.
One more thing is that, the parents support to their children should always be
there because these students will be motivated to continue studying if they have their
parents at their back. At the first part of the movie, they weren’t appreciating the
efforts of Stacey. But later on, they were able to love and value the dedication of the
teacher. They even helped her in cleaning and decorating the room.
On the other hand, the children in the movie are too good to be true even Stacey. But
yes, it is a true story though. They were all good and possessed nice attitude in which
 I believe there are few kids who are like them nowadays. Stacey on the other, as I
have said is too good to be true as well, it’s as if there was no hatred in her heart, only
care and passion for everybody. Yes, she yelled at some point but she was able to
asked for forgiveness to the student she yelled at. Though I believe there are still
teachers who are like her but there were only few who will let themselves pay for the
whole cost of redecorating the classroom and even feeding the students. Still, Stacey
is a role model to everyone. She didn’t only teach the subjects to her students but she
was able to touch their lives and even change their lives into a good one. She was able
to help her students grow and to learn to appreciate the love for education.

VI. Moral Lesson :

The movie serves an eye opener to all those first time teachers, to those who chose to
become teachers and even to those who are teaching already. Stacey Bess is
unremarkably a role model to everyone in terms of her compassion and dedication in
the teaching profession. The movie is like a great reminder to everyone who would
like to enter the teaching profession. It highlighted the problems and struggles that a
teacher might encounter in her teaching career. It only showed us the indeed teaching
is not an easy job. Teaching requires a lot of effort, a lot of genuine and pure passion
with the assigned task to you. Teaching is also sacrificing what you have for the sake
of your students. And lastly, being a teacher is also welcoming your students as being
part of your family.
 Republic of the Philippines
Don Honorio Ventura Technological State University
Cabambangan, Bacolor, Pampanga

Beyond
The
Blackboard
A film review
Prepared by:
Maria Glaiza M. Antonio

Submitted to:
Vicky Pineda-Vital Ed.D