Republic of the Philippines

BULACAN STATE UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
City of Malolos, Bulacan, Philippines

FOUNDATIONS OF EDUCATION II
(Historical, Philosophical and Legal Bases of Education)
Submitted to:
Mr. Ernesto S. De Guzman
Assistant Professor IV
Chairman, Student Teaching

TITLE:
Mr. Hollands Opus

MAIN CHARACTERS:

Richard Dreyfuss as Glenn Holland, the main character of the movie who is
a musician and composer who took a teaching job at John F. Kennedy High
School.

Glenne Headly as Iris Holland, the wife of Mr. Holland.

Jay Thomas as Bill Meister, co-teacher and best friend of Mr. Holland who is
the coach of the school football team.

Olympia Dukakis as Principal Helen Jacobs, hard-edged principal at John F.

Kennedy High School who took notice of Mr. Holland unorthodox teaching style.

William H. Macy as Vice Principal (later Principal) Gene Wolters, the

antagonist in the movie who is the primary critic of Mr. Holland and later,
suggested and approved Mr. Hollands termination.

Joanna Gleason as Governor Gertrude Lang, one of the musically

challenged students of Mr. Holland who later became the State Governor.

Terrence Howard as Louis Russ

Damon Whitaker as Bobby Tidd

Jean Louisa Kelly as Rowena Morgan, beautiful and talented student, who
has her sights set on show biz, and who falls in love with Mr. Holland.

Alexandra Boyd as Sarah Olmstead

Anthony Natale as Coltrane "Cole" Holland, the son of Mr. Holland who is
suffering from hearing impairment.

SUMMARY:
The movie started off with Mr. Hollands first day of teaching in John F. Kennedy High
School as a music teacher on Music Appreciation subject. Time and again the movie
emphasized on the fact that it is Mr. Glen Hollands dream to be able to finish his
composition. As life went on, Mr. Holland transitioned from being a so-so teacher
into a teacher who went beyond the mediocre and lived for the purpose of teaching,
even as he saw for himself the benefits of his efforts in his students lives. This was
so with the help of his co-teacher friend who coaches the schools football team. He
told his personal story of how his very own teacher changed his life.
We saw that even as Mr. Holland touched his students lives with the way he
teaches, he himself also is brought into maturity in the very events in his personal
life. We evidently see the conflict within his family how he diverted his attention into
teaching his class in school while his actions totally suggest a denial of his sons
hearing impairment. Which is a major despair for him, even as he is so much into
music and the desperation was even more reflected with his realization that the
great Beethoven lost his sense of hearing in his adulthood, while his son was born
deaf.
It is interesting to note how Mr. Holland changed the lives of people around him, not
just his students, but even of the teachers and the schools principal, whom he only
rubbed cold elbows with in the beginning. With the duration of time and as people
saw for themselves, this teachers dedication to his craft and his character of a
man, peoples lives were changed, and showed their appreciation for his life
towards the end of the movie when they all showed him, that his lifes ultimate
composition/opus is the peoples lives which he has touched and changed.
But before that happened, it turned out that as human as he is, the casualty of Mr.
Hollands dedication to his work was his family as he took them for granted,
especially his son, who surprisingly was brought up by his mom to still be confident
despite the conspicuous rejection from his father, who obviously didnt bother
learning the ropes of signing for his sons sake. It was only when his son was
towards his adulthood that he saw how he missed all those years of growing up and
knowing him. From then on, he came to terms with his disability and accepted him
for what he is.
There came a realization of a hole in Mr. Hollands heart when towards the prime of
his life he has realized he has not fulfilled his dream of finishing his music . During
this time a temptation struck him. Rowena, a young lady with a golden voice who
looked up to him with awe and attraction, came into the picture offering him
affirmation of what he is as a truly gifted musician, which his wife has failed to
provide him because of her very own pre-occupation with attending to their sons
special needs. Mr. Holland stood in that crossroad of his life and he passed it with
flying colors when despite the many frustrations he must have had with his family,
he still chose his family over the hopeful future he might have with Rowena who he
knows can embrace his love for music and he knows he can finally finish his lifelong
dream to finish his opus, which he entitled after her name.
This crossroad wherein Mr. Holland selflessly chose to do whats right and not whats
convenient for him. Choosing his family over his personal interest. It was a test of
character for his part and as he chose to stick to his commitment to his family and
whats right rather than choose selfishly what he could have rationalized as
rightfully his (his finally finishing his composition). Towards the climax of the movie,
he saw right before his eyes, in total amazement, the rewards of all his selflessness
and dedication to the very purpose of his being. All of the generations of students
whose lives he has changed were all there playing the very opus he has put his
heart and soul into and has thought all along that day he will never get to see.

This is a very encouraging and inspiring movie that we could always go back to and
know in our hearts that there is always something that we can do that can make a
difference and even as we do it one day at a time, it piles up without our knowing it
and the difference that we make contribute a great deal to a hopeful future to
people that we influence and love.

REFLECTION:
Mr. Hollands Opus is a remarkably honest and truthful film in which the main
character (Glenn Holland) is not, at first, driven by an overwhelming desire to teach.
It is merely a job which is supposed to allow him the time to pursue his true
ambition - composition. However, as he reflects on how best to reach and influence
his pupils, he becomes increasingly involved in their development and their very
lives. Success as a teacher comes with focusing on and caring for his pupils and
their progress, putting aside his personal ambitions. With time he appears to accept
that, while this may not have been his dream, this is his fate or best option. Life has
overtaken him - while he has been busy seeing to the detail, somehow he has
missed the bigger picture, and because this is not the life he would have chosen, he
fails to see the impact and success he has had, taking entirely for granted the care
and influence he has exercised in his professional life, while nurturing a sense of
failure with regard to his ambitions as a composer. He appears to have come to
terms with his place in life, his sense of duty and his responsibilities.
Mr. Holland doesn't have an easy relationship with his deaf and dumb son Cole, but
here, just as in his professional life, he surrenders to responsibility and the
underlying love and caring lead him to unselfish acts.
This is a warm and very engaging film which uses the familiar domain of school and
teaching as its context, but this is used to paint a much broader picture of life, love,
responsibility, how to get the best from people, and perhaps most importantly how
to assess success and failure.
If you havent seen it, or havent seen it since it was released, its well worth
watching because it illustrates the difference it makes when someone
becomes present with the children in their family and the young people they teach
in high school.
Mr. Holland becomes a music teacher because he needs an income to support
himself while he composes a symphony. Because he really has zero interest in
teaching, he enters the classroom full of resentment. He just isnt present in his
workand neither are most of his students present, with one or two exceptions.
There comes a day when the principal confronts him on the issue, and everything
changes from then on because he becomes engaged in what he is doing.
Instead of teaching for four years as a steppingstone to fame and fortune, which is
what he originally planned to do, he goes on to teach for thirty years and never
achieves fame and fortune.
For a moment, as his career comes to an end, his egoic self kicks in and questions
the value of his life, given that he hasn't achieved his dream. The reality is that Mr.
Holland has far surpassed his dream, touching countless lives in ways he couldn't
begin to fathom. Because he became engaged in his teaching, present in it, he was
an engaging teacher. And that's what it takes to make a difference in the lives of
othersnot only students at school, but also our children and grandchildren,
nephews and nieces.
For most of his son's growing years, Mr. Holland wasn't engaged at home with his
own son in the way he was with other children at his school. That's because he was
attached to a son who would be a certain way, but who in fact was deaf from birth.
Indeed, theres a great deal of resentment on Mr. Holland's part and a lot of
avoidance of his son. The son is consequently deeply resentful. However, years
later, when the son has grown up, its he who becomes present and connects with
his dad.

This is a movie about becoming authentic. As Mr. Holland becomes authentic, he

connects with his students. As his son becomes authentic, he at last connects with
his father.
A side lesson of the movie is that even when we dont particularly like our life
situation, if we become present in it, we are likely to transform it into work that we
love.
To do something really well, we have to become present in it, so that we love what
we are doing. When we love what we are doing, its no longer a jobits
our opus, our life's work. Its our calling.
A great teacher is one who is engaged in what they are doing, and its the same
with parenting. The degree to which we are present, fully in the now in whatever we
are involved in, is reflected in how the children we influence either at home or in the
classroom turn out. A change of heart on the part of the teacher-parent is the theme
of this movie, which leads to the awakening of many hearts to their enormous
potential.

PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION APPLIED:

I strongly believe that the particular philosophy applied in this film is
EXISTENTIALISM for the reason that the emphasis for a holistic education or
education of the whole person and not just the mind is present in the film. The
subject of Mr. Holland which is music appreciation is just a facet of the different
parts of educating a student. Same is true when it comes to his son Cole,
wherein Mr. Holland allowed him to make own personal learning without
imposing on him anything. Like existentialism that believes on every individuals
responsibility for determining for themselves what is true, beautiful, right and
wrong the movie sheds light to the importance of own personal choice and
freedom.

CRUZ, MARK JULIUS S.

Student

CPTE-D ; 3:30-6:30