Hollywood has been going back to school for decades. The classroom is a tried and true location for storytelling, particularly for those heart-moving tales of a struggling kid guided by a sensitive teacher. Besides entertaining, these movies about education can be as spiritually uplifting as they are enlightening. Most movies centering around the characters’ educational growth are based on true stories (one reason why most of them are realistically poignant and, of course, successful at the box office), while others are wholly fictional. In any case, while watching these movies you will find that even as you mull over the current state of the education system, you are led to reminisce about your own school experience, a trip down memory lane that is often beyond words to describe.

Here are a few of the best movies on education ever made in Hollywood:

1. Dead Poets Society (1989): This classic film is about a teacher who encourages his students at a boarding school to change their lives of conformity through his teaching of poetry and literature. The Washington Post called it “solid, smart entertainment”, and praised Robin Williams, the protagonist, for his restrained performance.

2. Stand and Deliver (1988): In another inner-city tale of will triumphing over stereotypes, Edward James Olmos plays Jaime Escalante, a math teacher who gave his students an education in calculus and taught them a big life lesson along the way: ‘rise above society’s low expectations to prove your worth.’

3. To Sir With Love (1967): This groundbreaking movie is all about the story of a black man who teaches white students in London. The film addresses issues of race and class and offers a window into the London of the mid-1960s.

4. The Breakfast Club (1985): A group of misfit teens learns more about themselves during the two hours they are trapped in the library than they ever did the rest of their four years in high school. The plot delves into the interplay between students and the education system.

5. The Paper Chase (1973): This movie tells the story of a young lawyer trying to impress his insanely demanding contract professor in an effort to gain his respect, get good grades, and continue dating his daughter. This was John Houseman’s first big role in a film, making his Oscar for Best Supporting Actor even more impressive. The movie provides insights into the challenges associated with teaching.

Matt Demon in Good Will Hunting

6. Good Will Hunting (1997): Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s Academy Award–winning screenplay, the film starred the young pair alongside Robin Williams, used the education of a mathematical genius as the backdrop to a story of self-discovery. Boston townie Will Hunting agrees to work as a janitor at MIT to avoid a jail sentence and in the process solves the problem he had been running from all his life.

7. Goodbye Mr. Chips (1969): An educator in this musical falls for a showgirl. The two get married, and they struggle to retain their relationship as Mr. Chips’ job as a staid teacher in a boy’s school doesn’t seem like the ideal fit for a showgirl.

8. Precious (2009): Based on a book, this movie is about an obese and illiterate girl living in Harlem. Part of a dysfunctional family, Precious has been abused physically, mentally, and sexually. However, inspired by a teacher in an alternative high school, she fights to improve her life and the lives of her children.

9. Dangerous Minds (1995): Based on the story of Lou Anne Johnson, a former US Marine, this film tells the story of a teacher trying to encourage teens from east Palo Alto, California, to take school seriously. This movie focuses on unorthodox teaching methods that can change the face of our education system today.

10. Freedom Writers  (2007): A group of at-risk high school students is inspired to live their dreams beyond high school, while learning the value of hard work and tolerance along the way.

11. Educating Rita (1983): A working class girl inspires her jaded professor to reconnect with his passion for teaching, while exploring issues of class in society.

12. School of Rock (2003): A supremely entertaining movie about a washed up wannabe rock star (Jack Black) who is forced to work as a substitute teacher at a prep school. When he finds talented students in his class, he helps them learn rock and follow their dreams.