Two Movies That Shape My Approach To Teaching
Someone reached out to me recently about the movie posters on the wall in my videos—One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Rocky—and why those specifically. I have many other movies posters as well, but those two always stay up. No, they are not actually movies about teaching, like Dead Poets Society, Stand and Deliver, or To Sir, With Love. But as a teacher, these are my favorite.
First, I like the black and white images—they are very ‘70s.
Cuckoo’s Nest, which is also one of my favorite novels, is about a man who is certainly flawed (he’s a criminal) and doesn’t have much direction in his life. But he also sees a truth about the world that others don’t.
Everyone around him at the institution, the fellow patients as well the evil, authoritarian Nurse Ratched, believes the men are broken, that they are weak and unable to cope with the stresses of the world. They need to be protected, even to the point of embarrassment by the nurse. The women in their lives know better, so the men need to be turned meek and subservient.
McMurphy, played by Jack Nicholson, reminds the men that they aren’t crazy, that they don’t have to live in fear, that they are no different than anyone else.
He’s especially annoyed at the men because almost all are voluntarily committed. They want this. They have chosen this life because it’s safe and doesn’t require responsibility. They don’t want freedom.
McMurphy’s rebellion ends up only getting himself harmed, but he does inspire one other patient, the misunderstood Chief Bromden, to escape and start a new life.
What does this have to do with teaching?
I have always been a bit rebellious in my teaching, not liking being told what to do by administrators who think they know what’s best for me and my students. And I want to awaken something inside those I teach, to help them realize they can be strong, that they don’t have to be reliant on others. Independence of mind and body can be attained with the right training. Some might think I’m crazy for my values, but I think it’s crazy not to stand on those values. And I’ll resist any attempt to get me to conform to something I don’t believe in.
Part of education is helping students realize they don’t need to be mothered their whole lives. Stop choosing weakness just because it’s convenient. Choose independence, even when it’s hard. That’s the attitude I’ve always had in the classroom.
And it may not always work. After all, it’s McMurphy that suffers at the end, and the institution just keeps on humming as if he were never there. But if I can reach a few, then my time won’t be wasted.
My other poster on the wall is from Rocky, my favorite film because Rocky is my favorite character.
Rocky is a man without much hope—he doesn’t have love, he doesn’t have money, he doesn’t have quality friends, and he’s not even that great of a boxer.
But he has a realization.
He just needs to prove to himself, by taking on the biggest challenge possible, that he has value. He doesn’t need riches or fame, just the knowledge that he can do something important when he sets his mind and his spirit to it.
By taking on the heavyweight champ and standing tall after 15 rounds when no other fighter has been able to survive that long, Rocky proves to himself (and to the world) that he isn’t “just another bum from the neighborhood.” He is somebody.
While we all want to win in life, the real key is to stay standing. When life knocks you down, you just keep getting up. No one will live forever—we are all going to lose, as Rocky does in the big fight—but for the time on Earth we do have, never quit. And by simply not quitting, we can be a winner.
Too many students want to quit when things get hard. It’s easier just to not read the book or study that extra hour. It’s easier to drop the class instead of trying harder. It’s easier to make excuses than to be responsible.
But I always teach my students that not everything is going to go the way we want. Life is hard, and we will fail sometimes. But just keep getting up. You’ll prove to yourself what you are capable of. And you just might inspire others along the way.
So that’s why I have those two posters on my wall in each video. They are an important part of my personality as a teacher, and as a human being. They portray values I believe in and have tried to pass on to young people.
Keep tuning in!