1 | Mr Chipping

...from Goodbye Mr Chips

Suggested by Thomas Bullemore, declan2112 and jamswee

Commentators protested with dismay the absence of Mr Chips, the teacher whose 43-year tenure at Brookfield Grammar School is recounted in James Hilton’s novella Goodbye, Mr Chips, published in 1934. The novel was adapted into a six-time Oscar-nominated film starring Robert Donat in 1939, and as an musical with Peter O’Toole and Petula Clark in 1969. His touching last words: ‘I thought I heard you saying it was a pity... pity I never had any children. But you’re wrong. I have. Thousands of them. Thousands of them... and all boys,’ makes him the number one contender for the list.

2| Mr Prezbo

…from The Wire

Suggested by TerminalDecline, Brian Hogan and Tombo

The absence of Roland Pryzbylewski, played by actor Jim True-Frost in the HBO drama The Wire, was greeted with incredulity. After the incompetent detective quits the Baltimore police force in disgrace – having shot a fellow officer dead in a case of mistaking identity – he finds his true calling as a middle-school maths teacher in season four, developing a capable and caring side. As Tombo notes, “his is in the end one of the more positive stories in the series in that he finds his place in the world as a teacher”.

3| Miss Honey

from Matilda

Suggested by kimeth and Marketeer83

The omission of the kind-hearted and mild-mannered woman who strikes up a bond with the young genius in Ronald Dahl’s Matilda (portrayed by Embeth Davidtz in the 1996 film) has been rightly raised by kimeth and Marketeer83. No best-teacher list can be complete without this kind and encouraging educator who, after her life of hardship, deservedly becomes principal of Crunchem Hall, head of her own household, and adoptive mother to Matilda.

4 | Trevor Garfield

…from 187

Suggested by Alexander Thirkill, enaskanenas and JohnLockwood

Alexander Thirkill echoed other readers with his suggestion “surely Samuel L Jackson in 187!” The actor plays a science teacher in Roosevelt Whitney high school who, having survived an assault by a pupil (who wrote the titular number, the police code for murder, over all Garfield’s textbooks by way of a threat), gets caught up in gang trouble at his new school in LA. Becoming unhinged and descending into vengeance and violence himself, Garfield finally pays a high price for his career, but among weak school administrators and the violent bullies who rule the classroom, his determination to teach in a threatening environment earns him a spot on this list.

5 | Dewey Finn

…from School of Rock

Suggested by PrinceFlorian and Steven Ryan

Jack Black’s 2003 role as a struggling rock musician-turned-substitute teacher at a strict private school deserves some recognition. While he may lack conventional teaching skills and be prone to saying things like “I have been touched by your kids... and I’m pretty sure that I’ve touched them,” Finn’s musical knowledge turns his students into confident contestants in a battle-of-the-bands tournament. Fans of rebellious, curriculum-spurning teachers can look forward to a TV adaption on Nickelodeon this autumn.

6 | Jaime Escalante

...from Stand and Deliver

Suggested by Jesús Rodriguez, Sheila Chick and salfordmatt

Jaime Escalante, salfordmatt points out, deserves a special mention as “it’s too easy to present the poetry of poetry, but much harder when you’re talking about algebra”. The 1988 film Stand and Deliver is based on the true story of the high-school maths teacher, portrayed by Edward James Olmos, who taught at Garfield High School in one of east Los Angeles’ most notorious barrios. He’s so successful in preparing his pupils for a college-level calculus exams, his teaching faculty suspects cheating.

7 | Andrew Crocker-Harris

…from The Browning Version

Suggested by BuhuHu, SmallCoot and yianni

“First person I thought of was Andrew Crocker-Harris from The Browning Version, but sadly he didn’t make the list”, lamented BuhuHu of the strict classics teacher from the 1948 play by Terence Rattigan, later made into two film versions and at least four television adaptations. Crocker-Harris is an example of an imperfect teacher who still has much to learn as he leaves an English boys public school after 18 years of teaching. When one of his pupils presents him with an unexpected parting gift, he realises his mistakes and admits his failings, to the applause of the boys.

8 | Professor Henry Jones Jr

…from the Indian Jones films

Suggested by Joe Howwe

Although more well-known for archaeological exploits that include but are not limited to: preventing Nazis from recovering the ark of the covenant; attempting to free enslaved children and fabled gemstones from a cult; recovering the holy grail and fighting Soviet agents in the search for a crystal skull belonging to an extraterrestrial life form, Indiana Jones does actually have a day job, teaching archaeology at the ivy-league Barnett College. He may not have time, as Tombo noted, to grade papers, but he certainly has a lot of anecdotes he could bring to the classroom.

9 | Mr Miyagi

...from The Karate Kid

Suggested by Addicks123

Surely anyone who has watched The Karate Kid wanted at one point in their life a mentor like Mr Miyagi? As Addicks123 said, “he takes the somewhat weedy and newly transplanted from New Jersey to California Daniel LaRusso and turns him into a karate champ”. Quite the feat, and quite the teacher. Played by Pat Morita, Kesuke Miyagi is a karate master and mentor to Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and Julie Pierce (Hilary Swank) in the four original Karate Kid films. Full of words of wisdom, his teaching style was clear-cut: “We make sacred pact. I promise teach karate to you, you promise learn. I say, you do. No questions.”

10| Mr Burton

…from Educating Yorkshire

Suggested by Kennedytown

Let’s make a diversion from the fictional characters and add to our list “the real thing, Mr. Burton on Educating Yorkshire”, as suggested by Kennedytown. The assistant head and English teacher gained popularity on the Channel 4 documentary for a teaching style including walking on tables, playing loud music and acting the fool to help engage his students, and particularly for his success with Musharaf, who he helps to overcome his stammer. Burton’s style of teaching also helped Thornhill community academy turn around their English GCSE results. He’s remained full of enthusiasm, saying: “What Educating Yorkshire has done is show off just how cracking the job is. People say it’s ‘hard’, ‘challenging’, ‘tough’, and I suppose it is all those things. Those words, though, have far too many negative connotations; I think the best way to describe it is ‘incredible’.”