Ms. Stacey, if I don't say goodbye, I can imagine you're always
with me. Love, Maria.
Goodbyes are always difficult but it ain't
forever, it ain't the end. Still we got to move on with our lives and just
believe and hope that time will come when you would meet again. It isn't
always a bad thing, just think of it as a way to miss that someone.
Above are the example of the quote from the movie beyond the
blackboard. The Hallmark Hall of Fame offers another true story. It is Beyond
the Blackboard and it is based on the experiences of Stacey Bess, a first time
teacher in Utah. Her efforts on behalf of homeless students make for an inspirational
and emotional TV movie, and this film shows the power of one person making a
difference. Stacey is 24 years old in 1987 and fresh out of college. She has
wanted to be a teacher since she was a little girl. In flashbacks, we see her
as a little girl who has to listen to her father yelling at her mother, but
other than that we don't know the specifics of why her early life was not
pleasant. Then at 16 she becomes pregnant and drops out of school. Still, she
married with Greg, and earned her GED, then graduated from college, all while
raising not one but two children. This is the type of movie Hallmark does with
expertise, and thanks to a strong performance by Emily Van Camp it is one of
their best efforts of the year. The film follows the life of Stacey Bess (Van
Camp) as she enters the teaching profession. She has a husband and two children
but she is called to teach. When she meets the school administrator (Timothy
Busfield) in her area, he is quite adamant that she commit to filling out the school
term in the class where she is assigned. He also stresses that she must be able
to teach grades one through six.
The next day when Stacey arrives at the place where she has been
told to report she finds it is one room in an old building down by the railroad
tracks Stacey is interviewed by the head of human resources for the Salt Lake
City schools (Timothy Busfield), who has one opening for her, a school for the
homeless. It turns out to be much worse than she imagined: a dump of a
warehouse which is also the homeless shelter, with no textbooks or real desks
for the students who cover a wide range of ages and abilities, or anything to
make it look like a real school. Every time a train passes it's like an
earthquake. There is a class pet sort of which is a big black rat. The location
is a place where the homeless live and her students are the children of these
homeless adults. One exception is Candy, who doesn't understand her kids should
be in school so they can improve their status in life. After the first day,
though, Stacey has only one incentive to stay at this dump. She doesn't want
her own children to see her quit. So she perseveres, finally getting through to
the school children and really teaching them instead of just babysitting.
But the real challenge is dealing with the bureaucracy because
she has no actual principal, and no one wants to take responsibility for
anything. Eventually, Stacey gets Dr. Warren to listen, and things improve.
Some of the homeless people assist Stacey in her efforts, and one is so good at
his job he can be paid for it. Still, other challenges are ahead in this
environment. There is an additional complication in Stacey's life that has
nothing to do with her job, but it's just a challenge that adds to the others.
She won't give up. Slowly but surely Stacey begins to make an impact on the
kids and on the parents. She finally finds an ally in her school superintendent
(Treat Williams) who sees her as fulfilling the true meaning of teaching. This
program is everything audiences have come to expect a Hallmark Hall of Fame
production to be. It is dramatic but uplifting, emotional but true. And there
is an annotation at the end that explains what Stacey went on to accomplish. She
presents her as determined but compassionate. She dearly loves her students but
this also means she will fight for them. Nicki Aycox is impressive as the
mother of two of the children Stacey teaches. Among the children the standouts
are Paola Nicole Andino as Maria and Liam McKanna as Danny. They make the
biggest impression but each of the children in the cast is adorable and quite
the natural actor.
This was a really good movie, though one possible criticism is
the fact that these kids were too ideal. And Stacey's own children are too
perfect to be believed. But the movie is based on fact, and maybe this is the
way it was. Another omission: at the end the real Stacey Bess was introduced,
and she mentioned prayer. Not once was a specific religious faith brought up in
this movie. Was this an effort to be "politically correct" and not single
out one faith over others? Emily VanCamp does a very good job. All the leading
actors were very good. I would single out Paola Nicole Andino as Maria, a
sixth-grader intending to be a teacher but dealing with challenges. Also Liam
McKanna as Danny, who goes from Stacey's worst discipline problem (but hardly
anything to write home about) to one of the class leaders and a child with lots
of potential and at the end Stacey had make him concentrate to the classes and
become a good student.
I really admired the Hallmark of Fame for doing such a great
story of a real life teacher who overcome her initial fears and prejudices and
made a difference in the lives of the homeless children she taught in a
shelter's make shift classroom. I have never watched a heart-warming movie
focusing on the life of a teacher that’s why I am very amazed with the real Ms.
Bess Stacey for accepting a job on a “school with no name” (as what the
characters said) and for doing a great job working on the lives of her students
or; should I say homeless children in spite of her limited classroom resources.
Her bound, determination and strength helped her did her job so well that she
did not only taught her children academics but also important values that
influenced them to be a better person. It is good to see how Ms. Stacey’s
teaching and care for her adorable children makes them thrive and yearn to
learn. And when all these children adapt Ms. Stacey’s values, they all learn to
love one another also because at the beginning, these homeless children always
fight with each other. One thing I’ll never forget about this movie is when
Stacey did all she can do make the room look like more of a classroom. She did
not only paint the whole classroom but also tried her best to provide school
supplies and snacks for her children. It is truly a beautiful story about
serving others, no exception if you are rich or poor because these homeless
children, who had nothing, but gave their love and little gifts to their teacher,
in return for her teaching and love.
