Reflections #4

Movie: Mr. Hollands Opus (2006)

Reflection Foci:
Why do we choose to teach?
What are the lasting effects of why we teach?
How do we reflect on whether our teaching meets our goals?
How did Holland use reflection in accomplishing his vision by reflecting on the statement
below:
The Life and Times of a Teacher
I enjoyed watching Mr. Hollands Opus, especially that it traces the personal and
professional growth of an outstanding Music teacher. In essence his dedication to his teaching
career and the many lives that he touched one way or another represent his grand opus, his
collective body of work as a master teacher. I particularly liked how actual historical snippets
that span three decades are juxtaposed to the wonderful life and times of Mr. Holland.
Why choose to teach
If the Ron Clark movie made me wonder if good teachers are born, Mr. Hollands Opus
compels me to think that great teachers are made. In the movie, we see the development of Mr.
Holland both as a teacher and a person as his life experiences through time got enriched with
professional challenges and personal battles. While he initially planned to take on teaching as
merely a side job while he pursued his own musical aspirations, teaching ultimately became his
life and passion.
What made Mr. Holland stay? Why do we choose to teach? From the economic
standpoint, being a teacher may not be that lucrative to ensure one the kind and amount of
wealth we associate with high-paying business and industry jobs. For most part, I would say
people choose to be teachers out of personal passion that arises from a good grasp of their own
skills and capabilities. Without passion, we work mechanistically and treat everything as just a
job.
There was this old joke in middle school circles about comparing elementary, high
school, university and middle school teachers. They say that all teachers are crazy. Elementary
school teachers are crazy about their students. High school teachers are crazy about their
subjects. University professors are crazy about themselves. But, middle school teachers? They
are just plain crazy. This may strike as just a funny characterization, but I see some truth in it.
Character wise, the crazy stuff that we associate with our teachers actually spoke of their
nurturing, caring, dynamic, passionate and creative persona which are some key attributes we
see in the best teachers we have had. In fact, many of us teachers were also inspired from the
examples set by the great teachers who also inspired us to tread similar professional paths.
The lasting effects of teaching
It is also through this passion that we aim to make a mark, to leave a legacy. If we
consider how teaching can powerfully influence and inspire minds, the best personal reward we
can get, apart from retirement package, are essentially the lives that we touched and helped to
build. Psychic income is what it is called, I was reminded once by a colleague. With psychic

income, we also get to enjoy the fruits of our labor. Under good tutelage, we inspire students to
be their best and pursue their future based on their strengths. As they become viable and
productive citizens, we partake in that economy whose movers and builders once traversed our
classrooms.
More than the feeding workforce into the economic market, we also see the lasting effect
of teaching as we instill and uphold core values that promote peace, progress and
understanding in the society. Each time I see a kid carrying that heavy backpack full of books
and school materials, I can imagine the weight of dreams his own, his parents, our societys
he is expected to pursue. By going to school, we hope that he becomes a better and productive
individual. Yet more than collectively going through that lifes pilgrimage called schooling, its
also a place where we create our identities. I am because of who you are, is an African Ubuntu
saying that captures the essence of finding our own person as we interact with others. Teachers
have that challenging yet powerful opportunities to create learning environments that can
potentially shape a childs persona.
Reflecting on how we meet our teaching goals
Even with the kind of teachers who couldnt get the hang of writing lesson plans, I would
say teachers are basically goaloriented. We step into the classroom expected that we know
what we want to achieve at the start. Backwards planning is a technique many teachers are
familiar with. At the micro-level, a sound and effective instructional planning is indispensable.
We based the teaching and learning strategies based on students prior knowledge, strengths
and learning styles. We correlate the unit goals with the prescribed standards. Finally, we
attempt to determine how we achieved the learning goals through a variety of appropriate
assessment approaches. Then again, how much validity do we get just by pegging numbers
and descriptions to students performance?
I see a better indication of achieving our teaching goals when I encounter students finally
applying the concepts or skills they have learned in situations they deem relevant and
purposeful. To me, the real measure of their mastery is the lasting behavioral, intellectual or
affective change that they get to employ in circumstances that call for the consideration and
application of the concepts or skills. We also get to see these opportunities as teachable
moments even inside the classroom, and we could clearly spot students who go beyond the
usual contrived scenarios used in class. A teacher could be teaching elementary Math, but
consider the foundational skills laid out for future advanced Math subjects. Albert Einsteins
curiosity about why a compass arrow would always point north sparked his interest in Physics.
In essence, I find it professionally rewarding to look ahead when we reflect upon the ways we
want to achieve our teaching goals. In reflecting the way we want our students to retain and use
the things they learn, we should consider how we provide learning opportunities so that
enduring understanding is meaningfully fostered.
Teaching According To Mr. Holland
The movie showed the different stages at which Mr. Holland evolved in his reflective
practice as a music teacher. Some key episodes from history, as well as Mr. Hollands personal
journey particularly with his family life, all effectively contributed to depict how he developed to
become the insightful teacher of caliber through the years.

a. Technical level
Following Mr. Hollands early teaching career, one might say that he was an accidental
teacher. It could be that he knew all along he could effectively teach, but at that time, his artistry
and the potential economic gains from it were his priorities. Taking music teaching as a
somewhat a tentative career, he was clearly methodical at the start. Those scenes where he
would throw factual or definition questions (What is music?) would always met with catatonia or
disinterest. At such stage, he taught music mostly based on his technical experiences as a
musician. He focused on making students achieve mastery of technical skills. The dismal
performance during rehearsals with students always would bring the house down. He put much
efforts in paper-testing his students driven by the goal that by making them well conversant with
musical personages, movements and whatnot, they were, in fact, establishing music
appreciation as what his subject is called.
b. Contextual level
As Mr. Holland proceeded to teach his students at a more personal level, we see how
inevitably he utilized differentiation to help them learn at their pace and learning styles. When
the usual classroom methodology wouldnt work for some, he would arrange for individualized
tutorial sessions. He gradually saw his students individual quirks and needs, and utilized these
reflections for his instructional strategies. There was this poignant scene where Mr. Holland, on
yet another session, tried to help Gertrude Lang who had been struggling to play the flute.
Realizing where Gertrudes fixation was coming from (the feeling of unworthiness in her family
of achievers), Mr. Holland guided her to play the sunset from the heart. Years later, Gertrude
ended up becoming the state governor and spearheaded the tribute for Mr. Holland. There were
many other instances in the movie which showcased how Mr. Holland devised affective
approaches to teach certain students. In all cases, we see him connect with them by sensing
their socio-emotional pulse. He worked his way to them effectively through alternative affective

approaches that conventional classroom techniques would not achieve. I had great fun watching
those scenes where Mr. Holland animatedly helped Lou, another student, find the beat as he
learned to play drums from zero skills.
c. Philosophical level
As Mr. Holland emerged to become a well-respected and seasoned teacher at JFK High
School, we see how his collective professional and personal adventures, successes and
struggles have molded him to be more insightful about his roles as a teacher, father and
musician. Almost caught in a brief moral predicament with a female student, he wisely chose to
be more ethically grounded. In class, he was asked how Beethovens deafness affected his
compositions, which made him ponder on the irony of his life as a music teacher having a deaf
son. That special performance he organized for the deaf community was so emotionally moving
that we feel how his own music has taken a whole new perspective. Using sign language and
pulsating lights, he was able to express his music, and make it appreciated and powerfully felt
even for an audience who couldnt hear. Here we see Mr. Holland taking a renewed selfunderstanding of his own musical passion.
Another instance at which we see Mr. Holland reflecting at a philosophical level was
when he fought for the field of Arts (which included music) to be rightfully acknowledged and
remain as funded subject areas. At this stage, Mr. Holland did not only show theoretical
understanding of music or was driven by his own personal passion, he fought to articulate the
value of music in society. That apart from being a legitimate disciplined area of inquiry, he had
seen how music can touch and change lives and strengthen personal identities.