Front of the Class
Over Christmas vacation a new Hallmark movie premiered called, “Front of the Class.” It is a true story based on the life of Brad Cohen, who has severe Tourette syndrome. During his childhood Brad was constantly being made fun of by his classmates and disciplined by his teachers because of the constant noises that he made. His tics included making noises like a dog barking. Today, he knows that they are caused by his Tourette syndrome, but he wasn’t even given this diagnosis until he was twelve years old. In school he was classified as a trouble-maker and one of his elementary teachers even made him go to the front of the classroom and apologize to his classmates for his loud interruptions. Many kids grow out of their tics, but this wasn’t the case for Brad. His tics stayed with him even after he had graduated from college with his teaching certificate. Unfortunately, so did the judgment of the people that came into contact with him. Brad was rejected by twenty-four elementary schools because people, educated people, couldn’t see past his Tourette syndrome.
I think the best part of the movie is the fact that it shows how Brad overcame the prejudices around him and achieved his goals. After getting a teaching job in Georgia he was named Georgia’s First Class Teacher of the Year. He has also been named the Sallie Mae First Class Teacher of the Year.
The movie gave me a new perspective on people who have Tourette syndrome. Before, I had always thought that people with Tourette syndrome only shouted curse words. Now I understand that cases like this are very rare. The movie also opened my eyes to see just how cruel both kids and adults can be to someone with a disability. I am looking forward to reading the book that was published by Cohen called, “Front of the Class: How Tourette Syndrome Made Me the Teacher I Never Had.” I recommend the Hallmark movie to anyone; it was great and very insightful!
Below you will find links to sites about the Hallmark movie, and some more information about Tourette syndrome:
http://www.pjstar.com/news/x2060888911/From-ostracized-to-front-of-class
http://corporate.hallmark.com/Current-News/Hallmark-Hall-of-Fame-Presents-Front-of-the-Class
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tourettesyndrome.html
http://members.tripod.com/~tourette13/
January 29th, 2009 at 10:56 am
This is a really interesting story. It made me think about the personal judgments I sometimes make about people without knowing them or their backgrounds. It is another reminder that every person is an individual and that we each have our own battles we have to handle every day.
February 3rd, 2009 at 11:34 pm
I feel like people are just too undereducated about any disabilities and tend to pick on people. This story is heartbreaking that people can’t look past someone’s disability. This blog makes me want to see the whole movie. I am very interested.