Mr hollands Opus

The Career Cycle of Teachers : A Review of Mr . Holland 's Opus

NAME

COURSE NAME AND SEMESTER

PROFESSOR NAME

April 20 , 2008

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...