You CAN sit with us... while we discuss the evergreen quote machine and endlessly memed teen comedy Mean Girls. We ponder whether all teachers are pushers, and have much to praise in the practice of our first maths teacher Ms Norbury (Tina Fey)! We also talk the lost potential of Lindsay Lohan, the politics of the cafeteria, the tragedy of Noughties fashion, the struggles of being an Asian goth, and imagine what a Brummie version of the film might entail... 

An excellent cast (Issa Rae, Marsai Martin and Regina Hall) encourage us to consider whether or not we would seek closure by returning to school as our thirteen year old selves. We also discuss teacher crushes (thanks to Justin Hartley's Mr Marshall), classroom microaggressions and the joys of the school talent show. 

Cameron Diaz stars as our antihero Elizabeth, a feckless teacher coasting through the job and waiting for a wealthy husband (or Justin Timberlake) to she attain her life's goal: a boob job. Her arch nemesis, the Type A snitch Amy Squirrel (Lucy Punch), rang a bell with Shain, begging the question: do all teachers have a pinch of Amy Squirrel within? We also talk the forgotten joys of the TV trolley, the millennial obsession with scamming and scammers, and decide what truly makes a 'bad teacher'. 

We celebrate Alicia Silverstone's Cher Horowitz -still one the best depictions of a teenage girl in Hollywood cinema- and the brilliance of Amy Heckerling's eternal classic. Other topics include the rarity of Christian as a comfortably out gay teen in 90s popular culture, the value of debates in the classroom, and the tragedy of 'earning minor ducats at a thankless job' AKA teaching children for a living. 

This one caused our first major disagreement! Based on experiences of teacher Luann Johnson as written in her book My Posse Don't Do Homework, this film was a surprise hit (not least because of the huge Coolio hit Gangsta's Paradise). It also caused controversy for racist stereotypes and changes to the source material. We debate whether the film version of Luann, played by Michelle Pfeiffer, is a patronising white saviour or wonderful educator. Racism, victim blaming, and conservative ideology all come up in our disagreement; we also discuss the Hollywood obsession with depicting thin women eating junk food and Luann's strategy of rewarding correct answers with Snickers!

We discuss the BAFTA award winning, Oscar-nominated Dead Poets Society, starring Robin Williams as a poetry loving English teacher and Ethan Hawke as a shy pupil. One of the most famous films about teachers and the education system, we critique the emphasis on 'fun' over learning and Mr Keating's approach to introverted students. Other topics of discussion include Hollywood glamorisation of stalking, the downfalls of single-gender schools, feminism and the Bechdel test, and Hermione being the true hero of Harry Potter.

Sean and Shain, both teachers from Birmingham, discuss their love for the 90s classic Sister Act 2. Now a Las Vegas headliner, Doloris Van Cartier (Whoopi Goldberg) returns to the school of her youth to teach music to a group of disaffected but spirited teens, including a young Lauryn Hill and Jennifer Love Hewitt. Topics of discussion include the use of 'yo momma' jokes in the classroom, pupil pranks, and the confusion that arises when applying for a job in a Catholic school while wearing a hijab. Also: that music! Rap, gospel, soul and R&B fans were all fed in '93. Praise Whoopi!