SCHOOL TEACHER CREATES JAWS SHRINE IN CLASSROOM
My name is Larry Price. I am a 6th grade ELA and History teacher at Coalinga Middle School in Coalinga, CA. In addition to being a teacher, one thing that my students know as soon as they enter my classroom is that I am a Jaws fanatic.
Lining the top shelf along the southern wall of my classroom is a collection of Jaws memorabilia that I have acquired over many years of loving the 1975 movie that made Steven Spielberg a household name. The collection extends to the eastern wall, where you’ll find an amalgamation of skateboards, backpacks, posters, pictures, and student artwork that many 6th graders have contributed to my inbox over the years.
Jaws fan Larry with Bruce the shark at the Academy Museum Of Motion Pictures
I first watched Jaws when I was five years old. Back then, my love for the movie was defined only by the fact that it had a big shark in it. Later, in the year 2000, my mom bought me the 25th Anniversary VHS set. The second tape in the set contained The Making of Jaws directed by Laurent Bouzereau. It was after watching that compelling documentary that I gained a profound respect for the story behind the making of the film. One could argue that the story of the making of the movie is as gripping as the movie itself.
After that, I was hooked.
The item that started my collection is the reproduction poster that hangs on my classroom wall. I do have an authentic one-sheet at home though.
The most recent item(s) I added to the collection are a selection of awesomely detailed socks by a company called Odd Sox.
The most special item in my collection is a pinewood derby car that my dad made for me when I was eight. I was insistent on having a Jaws race car, and my dad was happy to oblige. We never won a race, but that was irrelevant to me. I had the coolest car.
As far as the future of the collection is concerned, it’s all very unclear. I’ve gone through two distinct periods where I’ve sworn that my classroom is too full of Jaws stuff, and that I’m retiring from collecting. But you know…Funko always has something up their sleeve. The students dig it too, so it’s exciting to introduce new items to them.
It’s a part of me, literally.
My first and only tattoo is my son’s name, David. The ‘a’ replaced by a Roger Kastel-style shark as featured on the paperback and poster.
I mention Jaws as often as I can when I’m teaching. Whether we’re writing an argumentative essay and I argue that Jaws is the greatest movie of all time, or we’re discussing inferences and I analogize Mayor Vaughn’s motives in the movie with those of characters in our readings, it’s something that is ever-present in my classroom.
I’ve yet to make the trip to Martha’s Vineyard, a Jaws fan’s Graceland, but I’ll get there someday. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Carl Gottlieb. I’ve visited Bruce both when he was sitting in the palm trees at the junkyard in LA, and now after he’s been restored by Greg Nicotero and his team, deservedly floating in glory at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. So what’s next?
I don’t know. But what I do know is that it means a great deal to me. At the very least, when it’s all said and done, I’ll probably have made a few more Jaws fans of my students. At best, I want to share with future generations what I think the real lesson and enduring message of this movie is:
Persevering, and making the right choice, even if it’s the toughest choice.
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