The Pop Culture Teacher Types You’ll Recognize From Your Own School

As a kid, you sorted adults into three categories: parents, teachers, and everyone else. Teachers, those keepers of knowledge and red pens, held a particular mystique. Since each one came with their own set of rules, ticks, and expectations, switching between classes was more like entering different kingdoms than different rooms. Part of the game of school, then, was cracking the code for each classroom (and teacher).

Given their importance in a person’s coming-of-age, teachers also make fantastic movie and TV characters. We bet you’ve encountered some of these pop culture teacher “types,” for better or for worse, during your own school days.

If you’re lucky, you crossed paths with one (or more) teachers who changed the way you think about the world. So, in honor of National Teacher Day, let’s give a shout-out to the adults who put up with us, encouraged us, challenged us, and drove us to all-nighters. Here are the best (and worst) pop culture teachers.