Movie Clips
I was immediately terrified of Terence Fletcher from the first time I watched Whiplash. As a musician, I can relate to the struggles Andrew (the main character) experiences throughout the movie, which is part of the reason this clip in particular spoke to me.
In this scene, Andrew is playing the drums in the high-intensity, prestigious jazz ensemble conducted by Fletcher. Andrew repeatedly fails to play the tempo requested by Fletcher, which builds tension until Fletcher throws a chair at Andrew’s head. He then proceeds to slap Andrew across the face until he gets the correct tempo.
This clip offers a prime example of problematic teaching because, aside from the obvious fact that Fletcher is physically
and verbally abusive, he is impatient, manipulative, and takes his teaching methods to the extreme. While pushing your students to do their best is good and healthy, Fletcher takes this concept too far by showing aggression and violence towards his students when his standards are not met.
If there is one thing I would like people to take away from viewing this clip it is that patience and compassion are key. Teachers have a strong influence on their students not just in the material that is being taught but also in how they act. A teacher’s personality traits and treatment of others can easily be copied by the student; therefore, not only is a hostile teaching method a problematic way to teach in terms of the students understanding the concepts being taught but it is also detrimental to the students’ personality and well-being.
The first time I watched Mean Girls when I was around 12 years old I thought Ms. Norbury was the coolest teacher. Since then I have watched the movie several times and, knowing what I know now, can still safely say that Ms. Norbury is one of the coolest teachers ever. One of the reasons this clip in particular resonated with me is because of the way she deals with the students’ problems.
In this scene, Ms. Norbury is asking the girls to share their thoughts, feelings and experiences on bullying and things that were bothering them after pages filled with insults and rumors about the girls of the high school are shared. The girls are then gathered as a group in efforts to control and fix the situation.
When Ms. Norbury asks Cady (the main character) if there is anything she would like to share, she does not admit to anything despite being part of the group of girls that wrote the rumors.
Although she is not directly teaching in this clip, it depicts an excellent example of effective teaching because of her approach to reshaping the way the girls think and treat each other. Rather than yelling at the girls to be nicer to each other or give them all detention, she instructed the girls to calmly talk out their issues and listen to what each other had to say, which is an extremely important skill to have. When Cady provides her with an answer she did not like and was not expecting, she does not get mad or yell at her to tell her the truth but rather simply says “I’m really disappointed in you Cady” (2:27).
If there is one thing I would like people to take away from viewing this clip it is that the ability to develop relationships and truly get to know your students is so important. Getting to know your students on a personal level allows you to most effectively teach to their learning style and connect with them on a more personal level, which is what is depicted in this clip.