The real-life experiences of educators usually aren't the same as Hollywood depictions, but even movie characters such as the ringleader of CIA assassins, a 1940's baseball team manager and a talking insect can offer the basis of advice for new teachers.
The Rotary Club of Jefferson City hosted the club's annual luncheon Wednesday at the Capitol Plaza Hotel for new teachers in the area, and the Jefferson City Public Schools' 2017-18 Teacher of the Year Jana Forck gave a movie-themed speech meant to equip new teachers with advice on how to succeed at their profession.
The event is open to new teachers from all area schools and districts - JCPS, Blair Oaks R-2, Cole R-1 (Russellville), Calvary Lutheran High School, Trinity Lutheran School, River Oak Christian Academy, Lighthouse Preparatory Academy, and all the Catholic Diocese of Jefferson City schools in Jefferson City, Wardsville and St. Martins - but at least this year, every new teacher present was from JCPS.
JCPS Superintendent Larry Linthacum welcomed 88 new JCPS teachers and staff by name.
Forck - a 1985 Jefferson City High School graduate - teaches math and engineering at JCHS. She began her speech on "Teaching is just like the movies, right?" with some school-movie trivia, with gift certificates prizes to some local businesses.
"'My number one rule is hope for the best, prepare for the worst,'" Forck quoted actor David Strathairn's character from 2007's "The Bourne Ultimatum" - one of her favorite quotes when it comes to teaching.
She said there's still value when things don't go as planned, though. She shared another quote from Tom Hanks' character in 1992's "A League of Their Own": "'It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard, then everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great.'"
"You have entered into, or are already in one of the most demanding jobs, I think," Forck said, adding "it's also very rewarding."
"There will be times when things seem to be going wrong, and you have to just kind of step back, take a deep breath and ask yourself, 'What's one thing positive that's happened today? What are some of the things that I've accomplished?' Because there are days when you think that nothing is going right and that you are not doing your job the way you're supposed to," she said.
Another quote she shared was from 1998's Pixar film, "A Bug's Life" - "Together, even the smallest can achieve the greatest."
"I would encourage you all, being in a new job, to find your tribe, whoever that might be," Forck advised. "There will be people who understand what you're going through.
"Find that teacher that maybe you want to watch them, and see the things that they do in their classroom. I learned so much from the veteran teachers when I first started teaching, just getting in their classrooms, and I still learn from people that may be veteran or brand new," she said.
"Find people that can help you, find those classrooms to get into and observe. Find people who will come watch you, because you can help them, and maybe they can offer you advice as well."
Forck's advice on being ready for anything clicked with Arlicia Franklin, who's starting her first year with JCPS as a seventh-grade English teacher at Lewis and Clark Middle School.
Franklin said it feels good to be back. She did her first year of teaching last year at Fulton Middle School, but earned her undergraduate and graduate degrees at Lincoln University.
Caitlin Phoenix is also starting with JCPS at Lewis and Clark as an eighth-grade math teacher.
Phoenix said she's pivoted to teaching after a career in law enforcement - both professions were her career choices coming out of high school, but she did police work first, with five years as an officer with the Springfield Police Department and another two years as a marshal at Boone County Courthouse.
"I've got a family now," and so she looked for more stability and found it in teaching, Phoenix said, adding she has family in California, too.