The Best Teacher Movies on Netflix

What it's about: After high school slacker Ferris Bueller successfully fakes an illness in order to skip school for the day, he goes on a series of adventures throughout Chicago with his girlfriend Sloane and best friend Cameron, all the while trying to outwit his wily school principal and fed-up sister.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix & Paramount+) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Fired from his band and hard up for cash, guitarist and vocalist Dewey Finn finagles his way into a job as a fifth-grade substitute teacher at a private school, where he secretly begins teaching his students the finer points of rock 'n' roll. The school's hard-nosed principal is rightly suspicious of Finn's activities. But Finn's roommate remains in the dark about what he's doing.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix & Paramount+) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: A young teacher inspires her class of at-risk students to learn tolerance, apply themselves, and pursue education beyond high school.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (PlutoTV, Plex & Crackle), stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix, Paramount+, Philo & 1 other) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: A lazy, incompetent middle school teacher who hates her job and her students is forced to return to her job to make enough money for a boob job after her rich fiancé dumps her.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Gripping, heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful, Waiting for Superman is an impassioned indictment of the American school system from An Inconvenient Truth director Davis Guggenheim.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Ishaan Awasthi is an eight-year-old whose world is filled with wonders that no one else seems to appreciate. Colours, fish, dogs, and kites don't seem important to the adults, who are much more interested in things like homework, marks, and neatness. Ishaan cannot seem to get anything right in class; he is then sent to boarding school, where his life changes forever.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix).

What it's about: Two high school girls are best friends until one dates the other's older brother, who is totally his sister's nemesis.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix & TVision) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: The dark secrets of a seemingly peaceful island threaten to swallow up an orphaned student when he grows close to a mysterious new teacher.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix).

What it's about: Bob Ross brought joy to millions as the world's most famous art instructor. But a battle for his business empire cast a shadow over his happy trees.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix).

What it's about: Lisa Spinelli is a Staten Island teacher who is unusually devoted to her students. When she discovers one of her five-year-olds is a prodigy, she becomes fascinated with the boy, ultimately risking her family and freedom to nurture his talent.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix).

What it's about: This year, over 5 million American kids will be bullied at school, online, on the bus, at home, through their cell phones and on the streets of their towns, making it the most common form of violence young people in this country experience. The Bully Project is the first feature documentary film to show how we've all been affected by bullying, whether we've been victims, perpetrators or stood silent witness. The world we inhabit as adults begins on the playground. The Bully Project opens on the first day of school. For the more than 5 million kids who'll be bullied this year in the United States, it's a day filled with more anxiety and foreboding than excitement. As the sun rises and school busses across the country overflow with backpacks, brass instruments and the rambunctious sounds of raging hormones, this is a ride into the unknown.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Bianca's universe turns upside down when she learns that her high school refers to her as a ‘DUFF' (Designated Ugly Fat Friend). Hoping to erase that label, she enlists the help of a charming jock and her favorite teacher. Together they'll face the school's mean girl and remind everyone that we are all someone's DUFF… and that's totally fine.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: The unexpected and gruesome death of a student threatens the existence of an old Catholic school for girls. Pat Consolacion, the school guidance counselor, involves herself with the students in the hopes of helping them cope, and at the same time uncover the mysteries of the student’s death. Most students suspect of the strict and borderline abusive Mother Alice, who also threatened Pat’s tenure in the school because of her continuous meddling with the case. But Pat’s unusual talents lead her to knowing Eri, a former student who's been watching the whole school for years. Piece by piece, Pat uncovers the secret of the school and the monster that it nurtured for the past century.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix) & rent or buy from $0.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

What it's about: The daily life of a school located in Saint Denis.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix).