The Career Cycle of Teachers: A Review of Mr. Holland’s Opus
In the 1995 film Mr. Holland’s Opus, we watch as the protagonist Glen Holland goes from a near novice to a distinguished teacher. Although the film ends at his (forced) retirement, judging by his past involvement I would imagine he will continue, in the teacher emeritus tradition, to mentor students and teachers and possibly as an advocate for arts education (Steffy & Wolfe, 16). There are two specific incidents I wish to compare to illustrate the career development of Glen Holland.
One is in the development of a senior revue that he devotes much of his time to during the later part of his career, and the other is his decision to incorporate methods into his teaching and conducting that offer ways for the deaf community to ‘hear’ music. These two incidents follow directly on the heels of each other, proving that the process of “reflection, renewal, and growth” (17) which Steffy and Wolfe discuss in their article on the career cycle of teachers is a constant, and constantly changing, process.
During the years previous, we are able to see many career-altering moments for Glen Holland, from learning his wife is pregnant to teaching a young man to “find the rhythm” (Herek). It is during his final decade of teaching when he helps to create and produce a senior revue in place of the senior play. His involvement in the school revue shows he has a broad influence across departments within the school.
Compared to his initial lack of involvement, to the extent that he would literally run to his car as soon as the bell rang at the end of the day, the amount of time and energy he puts into a non-academic activity shows his progression as a well-rounded teacher. At the same time, he has chosen to put energy into teaching that should perhaps be going into his family life, and particularly his deaf son, who he has never learned to communicate with properly.
Following this production, in which he encourages a young woman to follow her talent to New York instead of working at her family’s restaurant, he has a revelation about his family and son. His son, Coltrane, confronts him about his thinking that Cole, as a deaf person, can’t appreciate music.
This spurred Glen to learn ways he could incorporate new methods (specifically using lights to ‘play’ movements during a concert) into his teaching and performing. In an interview with Frank McCourt on PBS, he said that his turning point in teaching led him to discover that he “was the big learner out of this teaching experience” (Only). This experience seemed to light a new love of teaching in him, perhaps because, like Frank McCourt talks about, he has rediscovered his own love of learning.
These two points in Glen’s career demonstrate the unique career development process of teachers. As Pam Grossman points out in her article about the profession of teaching and the challenges facing it, there has been a flood of under-qualified teachers into schools (par. 2). However, as Mr. Holland proves, it is not just knowledge of methods that makes one a great teacher, but an intimate and profound knowledge of the subject matter.
Early in the movie, he tells a young woman who can’t seem to learn the clarinet that “Playing music is supposed to be fun. It’s about heart, it’s about feelings, moving people, and something beautiful, and it’s not about notes on a page. I can teach you notes on a page, I can’t teach you that other stuff” (Herek). On the contrary, his skill appears to be in teaching exactly that – how to love music instead of merely playing notes on a page. Throughout his career development, he shows that it is this love of his subject matter combined with his love of teaching itself that has touched so many young lives. Teaching may not always lead to monetary riches, but in Mr. Holland’s life it has led to a multitude of personal and professional riches.
References
Grossman, P. (2003, January/February). Teaching: From A Nation at Risk to a profession
at risk? Harvard Education Letter. Retrieved April 14, 2008
Herek, S. (Director). (1995). Mr. Holland’s Opus [DVD]. Hollywood: Buena Vista Home
Entertainment/Hollywood Pictures.
Only a Teacher: Interview with Frank McCourt. (2003). Retrieved April 18, 2008, from
http://www.pbs.org/onlyateacher/index.html.
Steffy, B. & Wolfe, M. (2001, fall). A life cycle model for career teachers. Kappa Delta Pi
Record, 38(1), 16-19.
