Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Introduction
The activities that follow have been selected with national and state learning
outcomes in mind, across the key learning areas of English, Studies of Society
and Environment and Music. Secondary
teachers are encouraged to select and
modify activities according to the needs
of their students.
Synopsis
When were young our dreams lie
out in front of us, there for the taking,
and our plans seem so clear. But like
many of us, Glenn Holland (RICHARD
DREYFUSS) never could have predicted
the course his own life would take when
he reluctantly accepts a job as a teacher.
A musician and composer consumed with his love for music, Hollands
true goal is to write one memorable
piece of music to leave his mark on the
world. But instead, he finds his calling
in the most unlikely place, sharing his
love of music with his students - to let it
fill their lives, the way it fills his. His students respond to his contagious passion,
and as the years unfold, Holland finds
himself on an unplanned path. Redefining success and his own dreams, Holland realises that his legacy will be
greater than he ever dreamed - the hundreds of students hes inspired and the
lives he changed. And with the help of
his students and his family, Glenn Holland learns that though our lives dont
always turn out the way we plan them,
life is what happens when you embrace
the unexpected.
Discuss in small groups, the most effective ways that you learn. Consider
thought he had a clear path ahead. Suddenly, his dream is compromised by the
need to earn money to support his family ... and for a time he is lost.
Was the decision to teach difficult for
Mr Holland? What choices confronted him in the early stages of his
Key Characters
We witness the evolution of Mr Hollands professional career and follow his
familys challenges. The film develops
his relationships with several students
during his thirty years teaching.
Gertrude Lang, Miss Lang, is a keen
but poor clarinet student who just
wants to be good at something, so
she can compete with other family
members talents. What impresses
you about the way Mr Holland treats
her? List the qualities he demonstrates when encouraging her?
When all seems pointless, he realises, weve just been playing the notes
on the page, He implores her to trust
yourself ... the music is in your head,
and he exhorts her to play the sunset, a
reference to her fathers admiring description of the colour of her hair, her
What is valued in a
culture?
In a recent visit to Australia, Doctor
David Suzuki, a famous environmentalist, argued that economists never take
the environment into account in their
economic ideas. They would not, for
example, take into account damage to
the environment caused by more cars
using a new freeway in considering the
costs and advantages of that freeway. In
Mr Hollands Opus, Mr Holland loses his
job when the school system says it can
no longer afford his music classes. The
decision-makers in that case were saying that they did not value the contribution of music to education in comparison to other elements which were still
valued (such as the schools sporting
teams.)
Look at your own schools curriculum and programs. What is valued
in your education community?
How will you work this out? You
need to look at the evidence of what actually happens in your school. For example:
- What evidence is there which reveals what your school values? For example, look at the awards which are
given at the end of the year.
Good teachers
At the beginning of the film, Mr Holland sees teaching as a necessary but
temporary interruption to his real aim,
to be a composer. He starts as a terrible
teacher - but ends up as a great one.
What makes a good teacher?
Think about the qualities which
make Mr Holland a good teacher,
and list them. Now think about the
best teachers you know. Is there any
pattern or consistency in these? And
what makes the opposite - a poor
teacher? List the characteristics of a
poor teacher. Is there any correlation between what makes a good
teacher and what poor teachers
lack?
Are there any teachers whom you
might change your opinion about in
the future - that is, ones who seem to
be good now, or poor now, but who
might appear the opposite in time?
If so, why might that be?
Being a hero
Effective communication
Music Section
Music in Mr Hollands Opus is of profound importance to the film, and the
scores and songs which accompany the
thirty-year span of the film have been
perform
some
Beatles
and
Beethoven music.
In Mr Hollands first music lesson,
music is defined as sound in melodic or harmonic combinations for
voice or instruments. What is your
definition of music?
Performedby LenBarry
Courtesy of MCA Records
SymphonyNo. 5 in C minor
Writtenby LudwigvanBeethoven
StrangerOn theShore
WrittenbyAckerBilkandRobertMellin
ALoversConcerto
WrittenbySandyLinzerandDennyRandell
MinuetinG major
Writtenby JohannSebastianBach
StoutheartedMen
Written by SigmundRombergand Oscar
HammersteinII
Performedby RichardDreyfuss
Louie,Louie
WrittenbyRichardBerry
Performedby The Kingsmen
CourtesyofOriginalSoundRecordCo.Inc.
Keep on Running
Writtenby JackieEdwards
Performedby The SpencerDavis Group
Courtesyof EMIRecords
Underlicenseof CEMASpecialMarkets
CourtesyofIslandRecordsLtd
by arrangementwithPolyGramFilm& TV Licensing
I KnowAn Old Lady
Writtenby AlanMillsandRoseBonne
Performedby RichardDreyfuss
TheStarsandStripesForever
WrittenbyJohnPhillipSousa
Performedby GrantHighSchool MarchingBand
Uptight(EverythingsAlright)
Written by Stevie Wonder, Sylvia Moy and Henry
Cosby
Performedby StevieWonder
Courtesyof MotownRecords
by arrangementwithPolyGramFilm& TV Licensing
Americans We
WrittenbyHenryFillmore
Performedby FortVancouverHighSchoolMarching
Band
SymphonyNo 7 in A major
Writtenby LudwigvanBeethoven
Imagine
Writtenand Performedby JohnLennon
CourtesyofCapitolRecords
UnderlicensefromCEMASpecialMarkets
Wachetauf,ruftunsdieStimme(SleepersWake)
Writtenby JohannSebastianBach
DayisDone(Taps)
WrittenbyGeneralDanielButterfield
ThePretender
Writtenand Performedby JacksonBrowne
CourtesyofElektraEntertainmentGroup
by arrangementwithWarnerSpecialProducts
IGotRhythm
Writtenby GeorgeGershwinandIra Gershwin
Someone to Watch Over Me
Writtenby GeorgeGershwinandIra Gershwin
PerformedbyJeanLouisaKelly
TheyCant Take That Away From Me
Writtenby GeorgeGershwinandIra Gershwin
SymphonyNo.3 inE-flatmajor
Writtenby LudwigvanBeethoven
BeautifulBoy
Writtenby JohnLennon
Performedby RichardDreyfuss
I Got A Woman
WrittenandPerformedby RayCharles
CourtesyofAtlanticRecordingCorp.
by arrangementwithWarnerSpecialProducts
EgoTrippin(PartTwo)
WrittenbyPaulHuston,DavidJolicoeur,KevinMercer and VincentMason
Performedby De La Soul
Courtesyof TommyBoy Records
ColesSong
Performedby JulianLennon
WordsbyJulianLennonandJustinClayton
Music by Michael Kamen
Produced by Steve McLaughlin and Michael Kamen
JulianLennonappearscourtesyofAtlanticRecords
VisionsOfA Sunset
Writtenand Performedby ShawnStockman(of Boyz
IIMen)
produced by Shawn Stockman
Courtesyof Motown Record Company, LP
Notes
Soundhouses Association of Australia. A
Project of the Directorate of School Education and the Brash Foundation. Contact Ken
Owen Ph:(03)9689 2362, Fax (03)9689 9048.
Mr HollandsOpusis releasednationallyon
March7 at cinemaseverywhere.