Locating the Ontario Curriculum in The Dead Poet’s Society
Dead Poet’s Society is a noteworthy coming of age story. Released
in 1989, but set in the late 1950’s, the film illustrates a pivotal year in the
lives of a group of young men. The boys’ struggles to navigate adolescence and
academics are dynamically shaped by the faculty members of Welton Academy. The
film pivots two educators, the young and liberal Mr. Keating, and the
experienced and traditional Mr. Nolan, against each other. In a heavy-handed
and overly simplistic manner, Dead Poet’s
Society aims to paint Keating and Nolan in black and white. Keating is
meant to be the obvious and enlightened hero, while Nolan exists as an antithesis
to the caring, protagonistic teacher. Though the film promotes the idea of
critical and free thinking, it aims to leave audiences homogeneously believing
that Keating’s way of teaching English is the “right” way. While Keating is indeed the better of the two,
neither truly embodies a well-rounded educator. In 2000, the Ontario English
Curriculum guidelines stated that “there is no single correct way to teach or
learn English” (page 3). Since its revision in 2007, this poignant statement
has been removed, but its sentiment holds true. Through a combination of
Keating and Nolan’s pedagogical styles, a truly balanced educator embodying the
Ontario Curriculum can be located.
Mr. Keating’s greatest strengths as an educator
lie in his care for his students and genuine passion for literature. Keating
encourages his students to embrace “Carpe diem!” as their motto and to live by “sucking
the marrow out of life”. He tells his students, “just when you think you know
something, you have to look at it in another way…don’t just consider what the
author thinks, consider what you think”, encouraging them to become free
thinkers and unique individuals (Dead
Poet’s Society, 1989). This approach to literature directly aligns with the
Ontario Curriculum’s recommendation stating, “by reading a wide range of
materials and being challenged by what they read, students become receptive to
new and widely varying ideas and perspectives, and develop their ability to
think independently and critically." (Ontario English Curriculum, Revised
Edition, 2007, page 5). The Curriculum states that teachers should “bring
enthusiasm and varied teaching and assessment approaches to
the classroom...using a variety of instructional, assessment, and
evaluation strategies" (page 6). Keating certainly bring enthusiasm – his own
love of poetry is infectious. He encourages his students to form a secret
poetry club where they are able to practice several of the underlying
principles of the Ontario English Curriculum, such as communication (“reading,
listening, viewing, speaking, writing, and representing – effectively and with
confidence”), thinking critically, “appreciating the cultural impact and aesthetic
power of texts” and “using language to interact and connect with individuals
and communities, for personal growth” (page 4). Todd Anderson, in particular,
exemplifies the positive personal growth resulting from his inclusion in the
poetry club – he progresses from a socially awkward and timid boy, to a central
figure within his friend group, able to more confidently communicate orally and
to literally stand up for what he believes in (as demonstrated in the film
scene of the film). Keating connects well with his students because he brings
varied approaches to their learning – in his debut scene he physically and
figuratively takes his students out of the traditional classroom setting. He
also uses cross-curricular lessons in order to engage the boys. Many of his
students enjoy Physical Education, so he combines oral recitation of literature
with soccer practice.
However, as previously stated in the Ontario Curriculum, varied assessment and evaluation approaches must be created by a successful teacher. Dead Poet’s Society only depicts Keating’s very liberal and ostentatious approaches to English class. His penchant for forcing students to publicly face their fears may not always be as successful as portrayed in the film. Not all students can benefit from such an open and liberal approach. Many students, especially those who struggle, can benefit from greater structure and more concrete assessment. Alternatively, Mr. Nolan represents an exaggerated caricature of the traditional, “old school” teacher. Yet there are some aspects to the traditional approach which can be beneficial. The Ontario Curriculum values the aspects of assessment and evaluation – two facets which have been mainstays of traditional education. Keating does not appear to engage with either in the film. Nolan upholds the concepts of “tradition, honour, discipline, and excellence” and takes pride in the fact that 75% of Welton’s alumni become Ivy League graduates. The Ontario English Curriculum focuses on “consolidating the skills and knowledge [students] need to prepare for their postsecondary destinations (page 3), and Nolan’s traditional approach does seek to achieve this. While no educator should aim to be a “Mr. Nolan”, it is worth noting that traditional education cannot be completely abandoned. Facets such as assessment, evaluation, structure and discipline should still be incorporated in a modern teacher’s approach.
By the conclusion of the Dead Poet’s Society, audiences are left believing the students have lost the one good teacher at Welton Academy, after Keating’s wrongful dismissal. Keating certainly is an exemplary educator – his student-centred approach far outshines Nolan’s teacher-as-authority style. However, Keating and Nolan both represent extremes in their pedagogical methods. In fact, it is the much-overlooked Mr. McAllister who is most likely to exemplify the Ontario Curriculum’s balanced educator. At the beginning of the film, McAllister adheres to a strict style of teaching based solely on Nolan’s approach. He questions Keating’s liberal tactics and describes himself as a realist. Yet by the film’s conclusion, we can see McAllister mixing his traditional style of teaching with approaches he has learned by observing Keating. When Keating watches McAllister from his window, he sees McAllister leading his class outside, still working within his original structure, but now blending his methods with a liberal setting and desire to engage his students. McAllister has learned some of the most important lessons of all; that teachers have just as much to learn as their students, and that there “is no single correct way to teach English”.
Dead Poet’s Society. Dir. Tom Schulman. Perf. Robin
Williams, Robert Sean Leonard, Ethan Hawke. However, as previously stated in the Ontario Curriculum, varied assessment and evaluation approaches must be created by a successful teacher. Dead Poet’s Society only depicts Keating’s very liberal and ostentatious approaches to English class. His penchant for forcing students to publicly face their fears may not always be as successful as portrayed in the film. Not all students can benefit from such an open and liberal approach. Many students, especially those who struggle, can benefit from greater structure and more concrete assessment. Alternatively, Mr. Nolan represents an exaggerated caricature of the traditional, “old school” teacher. Yet there are some aspects to the traditional approach which can be beneficial. The Ontario Curriculum values the aspects of assessment and evaluation – two facets which have been mainstays of traditional education. Keating does not appear to engage with either in the film. Nolan upholds the concepts of “tradition, honour, discipline, and excellence” and takes pride in the fact that 75% of Welton’s alumni become Ivy League graduates. The Ontario English Curriculum focuses on “consolidating the skills and knowledge [students] need to prepare for their postsecondary destinations (page 3), and Nolan’s traditional approach does seek to achieve this. While no educator should aim to be a “Mr. Nolan”, it is worth noting that traditional education cannot be completely abandoned. Facets such as assessment, evaluation, structure and discipline should still be incorporated in a modern teacher’s approach.
By the conclusion of the Dead Poet’s Society, audiences are left believing the students have lost the one good teacher at Welton Academy, after Keating’s wrongful dismissal. Keating certainly is an exemplary educator – his student-centred approach far outshines Nolan’s teacher-as-authority style. However, Keating and Nolan both represent extremes in their pedagogical methods. In fact, it is the much-overlooked Mr. McAllister who is most likely to exemplify the Ontario Curriculum’s balanced educator. At the beginning of the film, McAllister adheres to a strict style of teaching based solely on Nolan’s approach. He questions Keating’s liberal tactics and describes himself as a realist. Yet by the film’s conclusion, we can see McAllister mixing his traditional style of teaching with approaches he has learned by observing Keating. When Keating watches McAllister from his window, he sees McAllister leading his class outside, still working within his original structure, but now blending his methods with a liberal setting and desire to engage his students. McAllister has learned some of the most important lessons of all; that teachers have just as much to learn as their students, and that there “is no single correct way to teach English”.
Touchstone Pictures, 1989. Blu-ray.
Ontario Ministry
of Education. The Ontario Curriculum
Grades 11 and 12 English. Ontario: Queen’s
Printer for Ontario, 2000. http://edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/secondary/english1112curr.pdf
Ontario Ministry
of Education. The Ontario Curriculum
Grades 11 and 12 English, Revised. Ontario:
Queen’s Printer for Ontario, 2007. http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/secondary/english1112currb.pdf
Loose leaf, I really enjoyed your essay. I agree with you when you say that Mr. Keating and Mr. Nolan, both lie on opposite extremes of the educational spectrum. For the purposes of the novel / film, his style was successful in engaging the students. I am not sure if all students in our public education system would experience the same inspiration. Definitely his love for poetry models an enthusiasm and passion that students are more likely to respond to. However, like you said, weaker students might find his approach as "too much, too soon." Do you believe that what Mr. Nolan was teaching will lead to higher level thinking skills? Nolan seems to a 1-dimensional character of a teacher. While I don't fault the man for taking pride in administrating a school whose students find themselves in Ivy League Universities,he does ultimately do a poor job of teaching students to be critical and independent thinkers. I suspect that Nolan does not see value in student directed learning nor does he seem to employ varied assessment. So if he does succeed at something, it's teaching to the entrance requirements of the post-secondary institutions and the standardized tests. This seems to be done exclusively with no room to individualized education. While I agree with you that Mr. Nolan was successful statistically speaking, he failed in countless other ways. I also agree that traditional education cannot be completely abandoned. It needs to be blended with modern best practices that prepare students for the 21st century. During the time the novel was set the purpose of education was prepare students for factory work. It was very repetitive in nature, emphasis on rote learning, and discipline was a key focus of education. Today we ought to be focused on developing 21st century skills and competencies since factory jobs, while a large part of our past, are an increasingly smaller part of our future. Triangulation of assessment and evaluation practices that teachers rely on today, would have no place in Mr. Nolan's Welton Academy. I really enjoyed your essay. It was very well written and articulated.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the feedback Andrew! I do not believe Mr. Nolan's methods would lead to a higher level of thinking nor a great appreciation for literature.
DeleteTo be honest, I just didn't want to write an essay praising Keating's approach (I already did that in high school). As you say, Nolan's approach was likely only successful because of the time in which he was teaching. Today's learner deserves a student centred path for learning.
To be clear, I do believe that a successful educator needs to take cues from both the traditional and modern schools of learning. But I believe far more of those cues need to stem from the latter.
Thanks for reading :)