dougdoepke Economic class is a touchy topic for America's power-brokers. That's because class cuts to the heart of how power and advantage gets distributed nationally. Moreover it cuts wider than racism since class affects whites as well as non-whites. In the movie there's an attempt to deal with educational problems of an impoverished urban highschool. There, middle-class innocent Ms. Barrett (Dennis) begins her teaching career fresh from college. Ironically, however, it's she who's about to get an education in class realities, but of a different sort than what she's trained for. Screen time is monopolized by her over- crowded classroom that at times borders on chaos. There, multi-racial teens engage in raucous antics while she bobs and weaves, forging ahead doggedly with lesson plans. Still, she's instinctive enough to know the best approach is not to micro-manage, but to keep a lid on things before they get too unwieldy. But then, why should the kids pay attention since they're basically trapped at societal bottom, viewing the teacher, rightly or wrongly, as an agent of the same system of entrapment. At the same time, administration is all about rules and enforcing them, which given the behavioral realities is, I guess, understandable. Too bad they can't do much about what needs to be fixed, procured, or replaced. Instead, they've learned to live with things as they are, without challenging the higher-ups. Thus, from an institutional standpoint, all sides appear locked into role-playing, where the end product is more like societal processing than education. It's this dead-end role-playing that the idealistic Barrett struggles against. Whether she will eventually be co-opted into the status-quo is, however, beyond the movie's frame. I mention these points because I think they amount to a meaningful background to the on- screen drama. Significantly, these more general points are only briefly touched on in the screenplay. Thus we're mainly left with the puzzle of uncaring student behavior without the societal context behind it.Then too, we see nothing of Barrett's home life, where she lives or with whom. Also, apart from one rather unhelpful mother, we see nothing of the kids' home life, though some home conditions are implied by random comments. Clearly, the movie wants to keep focus on the institutional setting. Thus, we get only impressions of individuals, and strictly through school interplay. In that regard, it's a highly disciplined screenplay.The movie itself does a good job of engaging at the teacher-pupil-bureaucratic level. Dennis is excellent as the determined neophyte, but you may need a scorecard to keep up with all the teens and administrators. Plumpish Ellen O'Mara especially registers as a suicidal teen, made forlorn by an uncaring teacher (Bedford) who apparently sees the kids more as punctuation marks than as human beings. No wonder he rants abusively to Barrett's class, before bolting from campus and his job. It's also interesting to see how Barrett finally makes contact with her class by using a passage from Dickens. In a lively discussion, the kids are quite ready to talk about what's wrong with things in their lives. Understandably, they're much more responsive to give-and-take like this than to isolating assignments like book reports or essays.Of course, the admirable Ms Barrett manages to reach a few students by year's end. And that, despite heavy misgivings, proves enough to sign on for a second year. Overall, it appears the story manages an eye-level contact with inner city high schools without too many commercial concessions. But one thing to keep in mind apart from the movie. Sure, some students will respond well enough to go on to college, and become tomorrow's Ms. Barretts. Then they will go on to cope with tomorrow's urban highschools. But, given that pattern, will anything basic change. And should we be content with that. In my little book, the movie remains a telling and provocative one.

Syl I felt that I was watching reality even forty years later. I too aspired to be an English teacher like Sylvia Barrett. Sandy Dennis was a terrific actress and this film shows her ability and wide range. The cast features well known and familiar faces. Sylvia endures a stark reality of the urban teaching world. Schools in the poorest sections of New York City are still under funded. The Calvin Coolidge High School appears more like a prison than a school. The atmosphere reminds me of going to the unemployment office where its grim and depressing. How can anybody believe learning is going on? Of course not, schools are supposed to prepare our students for the future but are terribly let down. Today's students believe technology will solve everything. We can't teach how to think as teachers. This film should be shown to all aspiring teachers about the reality of urban school teaching.

edwagreen Sandy Dennis was realistic as the young idealistic teacher trying to cope in a traditional urban setting in "Up the Down Staircase," based on Bel Kaufman's best seller.You really have to be a teacher or at least know one to have any idea of what is going on in our public schools.Jean Stapleton's Sadie Finch was perfect. As the school secretary, she thought she ran the place. She literally did being constantly on the intercom stating to ignore the continuously ringing fire alarms.To this very day, sadly, there is no solution to the problems of urban education. We try this program, this initiative, this idea-but nothing really works, when you have groups of students dedicated to the belief that nobody learns when they're around in school. Having taught in the NYC school system for 32 years before my retirement, I have to say that the film offers an extremely realistic view of what is occurring. We have an assistant principal here who treats the teachers in the same way that the students are to be treated. He lashes out at them. Besides being highly unprofessional, how do these supervisors expect a teacher to command respect when they are spoken down to in front of students? My first principal of cherished memory often said that a teacher has succeeded if they can reach at least 5 pupils in the class. In that context, this film certainly succeeds. Of course, it's unrealistic when we see this class of mostly losers catch on to Miss Barrett's methods so quickly. We see a principal who seems to go through the motions when addressing a student assembly. Yet, Sorrell Booke, is very touching in that role when he explains to Sylvia Barrett (the late Sandy Dennis) that she is a good teacher and that there are better schools. The librarian and guidance counselor brought back memories to me. Frances Sternhagen, as the former, showed how uninvolved many school librarians are in the education process. The fact is that they are exempt from teaching classes and are in a world of their own. Ditto for guidance counselors who treat to their small offices with their files and psychological jargon. Florence Stanley was so appealing in that latter role. Patrick Bedford epitomized the cool teacher who was guilty of a serious infraction. When you're free period 1, you still belong in the building as anything can happen as depicted. In New York City, our current school officials should see this excellent, endearing film.

jpuma The interior shots were of Haaren High School in Hell's Kitchen. I went there for 3 years, graduating in 1956. One of the exterior shots, where Sandy is going thru the door crowded by students, also looks like Haaren. It is the scene where the three doors were initially locked and she bangs to get in, and suddenly the doors open. That's exactly the way it was every day for me, for three years. I loved the movie, but a lot has to do with recognizing the background and the superb acting of Sandy. I seem to remember there being a rumor in the 60's about the original script calling for the girl who jumped out the window to die, but the preview audiences gave negative feedback and it became ambiguous in the final cut, claiming that she didn't die, at least not initially, because she hit a ledge on the way down. Anyone who wants to know what the interior of a typical New York City high school looked like back then should see this flick, they didn't spruce anything up. John P--Class of '[email protected]