Was the history teacher a dropped storyline?
Other than letting him go home early I didn't catch what his pupose was. I thought there was some potential there for some mentoring or catharthis but it just petered out.
That was dispointing.
**********RogueStout
I think the teacher's part of the story was really subtle. He didn't know Pete's name on the first day of summer school, so we know that they didn't know each other. The teacher sensed Pete's intelligence and knowledge, so he needed to find out why Pete wasn't participating. The newspaper scene where he makes Pete wait for the sports section was, I think, the teacher's way of assessing whether Pete was hyperactive or had attention probems. A kid with those problems wouldn't have been able to stand there and wait. Letting Pete leave early was a way to connect with Pete, as I think the teacher sensed that any offer to talk or discuss problems would send Pete running.
I think the beauty of the film is in the relationship between Pete and his dad. The dad is gentle with him, maybe partly because Pete was with his mom when she died in the accident. Pete would have been the last person to talk with her, the dad's connection with his wife. The scene where the dad takes something out of Pete's eye is beautiful, filled with unspoken feeling. So, I think having the teacher be a mentor or the person Pete talks to would detract from that focus on the relationship with his father. Even though they don't talk directly about things, they are very close.
I think the teacher's role was to find out why Pete wasn't achieving and get that back on the track.
you're right, it was very, very subtle but that was in fact what went on between them and i think the glance after turning in the test was to say "thanks" because pete knew he aced the test. i think this was turning point for pete in the movie.
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