The following are a few scenes from "Mr. Holland's Opus." I edited the scenes together and posted them on YouTube. This video captures well part of my teaching philosophy. I usually show and discuss this video the first week of class.
Quotes to Discuss on the First Day of Class:
"A teacher has two jobs. Fill young minds with knowledge, yes. But more importantly give those minds a compass so that knowledge does not go to waste." - Principal Jordan
"There is a lot more to music than notes on a page... Playing music is suppose to be fun. It's about heart. It's about feelings and moving people and something in beautiful in being alive. It is not about notes on a page. I could teach you notes on a page. I can't teach you that other stuff." -- Mr. Holland
"You already know it. It's already in your head and your fingers and your heart. You just don't trust yourself to know that." -- Mr. Holland
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Note 1: This collection of clips begins with the first day of class and then on to subsequent student-teacher interactions throughout a semester.
Note 2: These clips are edited together in such a way to highlight questions about pedagogy, but not spoil the film, if you have not seen it. I'd strongly encourage you to watch the full film. There is much more in the film.
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Mr. Holland's Opus is one of my top ten movies (this means I watch it at least once a month). He learned to love teaching. One of my favorite quotes from the movie is, “It's almost funny. I got dragged into this gig kicking and screaming, and now it's the only thing I want to do.” He learned how to teach as he taught. I truly believe that some teachers I have had in the past simply didn't know how to teach. They knew how to transfer knowledge, but he didn't know how to inspire. I
ReplyDeleteAs for Dead Poet's Society, I love his method of teaching. In contrast to his style of teaching, I once had a teacher tell me that I was interpreting something wrong. I disagree and stated that it wasn't her interpretation, but that didn't make it wrong. She stated that the author's interpretation or intent was all that mattered. I didn't agree and didn't rewrite my paper - one of the only C's I ever got in college. I stand by the belief that I was correct.