Cecilia M.

Lacanaria

BSED Filipino 1B

When Stacey Bess gets her first teaching job, it’s not at all what she expected. She’s assigned to
the School with No Name in Salt Lake City, a space in a homeless shelter that is supposed to function as
a classroom. The ‘classroom,’ though, lacks basic supplies such as desks and books, and her young
students range in age from six to 12.

Beyond the Blackboard’ tells us the story of a determined teacher. The story I think took place in 1980’s
setting and follows a young, newly hired teacher named Ms. Stacey Bess who ends up teaching
homeless shelter children at a school without a name. She finds the classroom to be not much more
than a filthy shed with a few tattered books, one desk, several old mismatched chairs and a resident rat.
Her students are sullen, unkempt, and even unruly and so are their parents all present a reality Stacey,
nor any other teacher, were ever trained for. When the train passes along the building, the classroom
shakes as if it’s about to give in, and then a resident rat comes out a hole in the floor making some kids
to freak out and scream. The school head who hired her remains unreachable when she repeatedly tries
to ask for help. But with these circumstances at hand, can an individual really make a difference?

Knowing a one’s job that much tough, I believe that most of the people engage in that scenario would
have already simply quit after one day’s terrible and melancholic experience. In fact, it had me shaken
out my very nerves watching the movie. But as an eye-opener, this teacher — Ms. Stacey Bess, not only
made a splendid decision to go back to the homeless shelter (maybe she’s quite reluctant to admit to
herself her first job being failed without yet trying to give her very best), made an outstanding
performance as she fought for her students, transformed their attitudes and even helped them to have
the proper education that they deserve .