Hey readers, I woke up to find the blog had reached the 10,000-hit mark. Wow! Thanks for visiting, and for the hundreds of comments you’ve left. Three months of disseminating random information, chatting with people electronically, and responding to questions — it’s like being a professor, only funner!
I’d also like to thank everyone for the great nominations. Tallying up the assortment of Facebook “likes”, Tweets, and comments, I’ve come up with a list of finalists for Best Bogus Teacher. Check ‘em out, and vote for your favorite at the bottom of the page!
Severus Snape – The only literary figure to receive multiple votes, although it probably doesn’t hurt that Alan Rickman plays him in the movies.
FUN FACT: J.K. Rowling does not deny that Snape is a “horrible teacher” but also admits that characters like him are tremendously fun to write.
Severus Snape
Edna Krabappel — For twenty years, Mrs. K. has served as a warning for what happens to optimistic idealists in educational settings.
FUN FACT: Mrs. Krabappel’s name was inspired by Mrs. Crabtree from the 1930′s series, The Little Rascals.
Edna Krabappel
Mr. Garrison — One popular way to fight burnout is to become completely delusional. Mr. Garrison does that on a grand scale.
FUN FACT: Mr. Garrison was inspired by real-life teachers that Trey Parker had in kindergarten and college. That must have been interesting….
Mr. Garrison
Dave Jennings — Kudos to Prof. Jennings for admitting Milton is boring — honesty is the best policy, right? — but as he reminds the students, “That doesn’t excuse you from the material!!”
FUN FACT: When Karen Allen didn’t want to show her tush in the love scene, Donald Sutherland sportingly offered to reveal his in a show of equality. How chivalrous!
Prof. Jennings
I voted, but looking back over the comments from Part I, I was surprised that no one mentioned Mr. Vernon from Breakfast Club. Or, maybe I missed it? Or, maybe because he was a Principal? (Or, maybe I’m totally dating myself…?)
Yes, you are dating yourself, as I found out the hard way when I made Breakfast Club references to my students and they looked confused! But I agree Mr. Vernon would have been a good option, and thanks for voting!
Wow. Cannot believe no one thought of Mr. Vernon. Surprised I didn’t…..
Yeah, he’s an excellent baddie. His pedagogy isn’t very interesting though, unlike Snape or Mr. Garrison.
Oh How Could I forget Mr. Garrison??? I am glad he made to the final
Mr. Garrison was the original frontrunner, but now Snape’s in the lead.
I know you have already chosen your finalists, but here’s a particularly awful example: David Van Dreissen from Beavis and Butthead. Click here and scroll down for the Wikipedia summary of his character
Ha! Mike Judge is particularly good at making fun of hippies. Guess we’ll get to see Mr. Van Dreissen again now that B&B is getting renewed!
You stopped too soon with your Sutherland quote. The best part is “Now I’m waiting for reports from some of you. Listen, I’m not joking. This is my job!” His plaintive wail delivery of “this is my job” cracks me up every time.
YouTube:
Ah, I stand corrected. And thanks for posting the clip — it’s still so good, and so true to life! And yes, nothing worse than the plaintive wail of a prof trying to do his job…