Do's and Don'ts of Teaching as Offered by "Mr. Holland's Opus"

Because I’ve always responded strongly to film and entertainment, I’ve been watching a lot of movies lately about teachers and teaching that center around the challenges and rewards of the profession I’ve been pursuing for the last 2 years. Although I’ve ultimately decided that it isn’t for me, I still love the films that represent the love and self-sacrifice this career entails. The latest one I’ve watched is a film called “Mr. Holland’s Opus.” The film is about a musician who, to support his young family, abandons his dream of becoming a great composer to teach at a public high school. Mr. Holland is at first unwilling to fully invest himself into teaching as it isn’t, according to him, his calling, but he still becomes a great teacher who touches many lives with his passion for music and his commitment to his students. If you do not cry at the end of this movie then I regret to inform you that you have no soul. If you are not interested in watching the movie, but curious about the finer points of teaching that the film provides, below is a convenient list of tips that sums up everything you need to know in order to succeed as an educator. Your welcome ;P

1. Don’t ask students to define abstract concepts within the first 5 minutes of class. Ex. “What is music?” will not get a response.

2. If you encounter a student whose a little rough around the edges but extremely willing to learn, perform with him in a 5 minute montage where he learns to exercise the concepts of rhythm and harmony while also learning to believe in himself. It helps to play ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’ in the background.

3. Do, when discovering that your son/daughter is deaf/pregnant/in some kind of trouble, use the pain of that reality to fuel not only your passion for your subject, but also your passion for teaching.

4. When you encounter a disillusioned youth, world weary and jaded before his/her years, be tough and unfair with him/her just to show that someone gives enough of a damn to push him/her.

5. Fight back against uninspired colleagues who do not understand that education is more than dollars and cents, and cannot solely be measured in scores and grades.

6. The school play isn’t just a time to put on a show, but to teach your students about love

7. When one of your students tempts you with not only the chance to pursue your original dream, but also with passionate love, do not reciprocate. You will be arrested.

8. No matter what subject you teach, you can make an extremely creative and dramatic confession of love while using it.

9. Please remember that as you grow older your students will stay the same age but change dramatically as trends and attitudes change. Accept the challenge of seeming like a relic to them. As long as you still believe that you have something to offer them, your skills as an educator will adapt.

10. When your best is not good enough over and over again, change tactics and regroup. Or, screw it and retire.

11. Stay funny with an “incredible grasp of humor” even when things seem impossible. See following comment: “I’m sixty years old Walters. Who are you going to recommend me to? The morgue?”

12. If, at the end of a long and fulfilling career, your past and present students do not gather to perform a beautiful creative display of your life’s work, you obviously didn’t do that well.

“we are your symphony Mr. Holland, we are the notes and melodies of your life.”