Today marks the 35th Teacher’s Day in China. Great teachers not only pass down their knowledge, but also teaches us about life. For some people, a good teacher can change their lives.

“The Sound of Music” is a classic known all over the world.

Maria, a nun who is a very outgoing girl that loves singing and dancing, was sent to be the tutor of the seven children of Austro-Hungarian Navy submarine Captain Georg von Trapp.

Von Trapp was a kind and brave patriot whose wife died young. There was no singing or laughter in his house for a very long time until Maria came to light up their lives with her songs.

Released in 1965, the film won five Oscars, and the powerful moving story left many classic melodies that people still sing today.

Not One Less

“Do you remember what it feels like to write a word carefully on a blackboard with chalk?” a fan of the film commented on Douban.

"Not One Less" focuses on the impoverished countryside and exposes the hidden pain in rural China back in the 1990s – dropping out of school.

The story revolves around the 13-year-old girl Wei Minzhi, who is appointed to be a substitute teacher at a remote school in the mountains of north China's Hebei Province. A boy dropped out of school because of his family's financial situation and went to the big city to look for a job. Holding the “not one less” spirit, Wei finally found him after much searching. With the help of those around him, the boy finally goes back to school.

Pretty Big Feet

Zhang Meili is a rural teacher whose only distinction is her big feet. Her husband was sentenced to death, and her child died of illness. So she poured all of her enthusiasm into the children of the village.

Zhang taught them to read and write sentences in her strong dialect. She led children in singing, dancing and playing games in a clumsy manner with a bad singing voice. As one of the village's head teachers, she had her students experience the fun of learning with enthusiasm and love.

The film won the Golden Rooster Award in 2002.

The Chorus

When faced with a group of naughty children, the teacher will either choose to guide them gently or just give up.

Clément Mathieu, a failed musician, arrives at Fond de l'Étang, a French boarding school for troubled boys, to work as a supervisor and teacher.

When Clément arrived, he found that the school's principal had used brutal and heavy-handed methods to control a class of troubled teenagers. Corporal punishment was common here. He tries to improve the situation in his own way. In his spare time, he writes choral music and decides to use music to open the closed minds of the students.

Taare Zameen Par

"Taare Zameen Par" centers around Ishaan Awasthi, a boy who is sent to boarding school by his father and is belittled by his teachers and peers for having difficulty with the subjects. His imagination, creativity and talent for art are often disregarded or unnoticed until he meets Ram Shankar Nikumbh, a cheerful and optimistic instructor. Nikumbh advocates that students should keep their own personality and ideas and develop freely. With his encouragement, Awasthi builds up his confidence and walks out of the shadow of depression.

“Every child is gifted, they just need a teacher who understands him," is a key message of the film.

(Cover image designer: Li Xiaojie)