Although they are
teaching different subjects, teaching eras apart, and teaching a different
student population, Mr. Keating and Ms. Neuhauser, my high school photography
teacher, have two very similar teaching styles. The most apparent commonality
both teachers share with one another is their ability to encourage students to
explore their imagination through their eccentric personalities so the student
would succeed. If the students did not want to push themselves in the subject,
Mr. Keating and Ms. Neuhauser would shove them out of their comfort zone.
Another striking similarity is how other teachers would complain about the
loudness both Mr. Keating’s class and Ms. Neuhauser’s class.. One difference
between the two teachers would be that Mr. Keating did not have any apparent
favorites. On the other hand Ms. Neuhauser saw a great potential in a few and
took a special interest in those student’s success. In this paper I will argue
that Mr. Keating and Ms. Neuhauser are very similar teachers, despite small
differences.
Encouragement
is a key similarity between Mr. Keating and Ms. Neuhauser. Both teachers taught
a class not common to most students. Mr. Keating taught a class that did not
put much stock in learning poetry; Ms. Neuhauser taught photography, which at
my high school was a required art requirement for those who did not want to do
drawing or painting. However, both teachers were able to get their students
excited about the material by being excited themselves about the subjects. By
being so passionate about English and Photography, Mr. Keating and Ms. Neuhauser
were able to draw out passions in the students. Mr. Keating realized his
students had been constantly under control of their parents, and of society’s
expectations. He asked his students, “What will your verse be?” meaning, what
will your mark on the world be? By introducing his student to a new way of
thinking through poetry, Mr. Keating was able to get his students interested in
poetry. For a different subject, Ms. Neuhauser always encouraged us to look at
it from a different angle. Now, for photography, her meaning was literal. She
wanted us look at everyday items from a different angle through the camera. For
one assignment she did not want me to look through the camera when I took the
picture, and I could not take a picture at eye level. I always wanted to
perfectly compose each image and have each shot be meticulous. By having me do
this assignment my comfort sound expanded in terms of what photography was
interesting to me. It also caught
my fascination with photography; I realized that each photograph I take should
not be perfect, and that beauty sometimes comes from the imperfect.
If
students were not able to get out of their comfort zone themselves both Mr.
Keating and Ms. Neuhauser would push their students out of it. Both teachers
did this by having students present their work in front of their peers. With
poetry and photography there is no right or wrong answer, therefore there
should be no shame in presenting one’s work. In Mr. Keating’s class, Todd was
painfully shy when it was his turn to recite his poem. When Mr. Keating drew a
poem out of Todd, Todd was able to become success in the class. Ms. Neuhauser
knew that if the students had to present our photography in front of the class,
the pressure of the presentation would drive us to do better work than if we
had not had to show anyone. She used peer pressure to her advantage: by doing
showings in front of peers and peer critiques, the students were pushed to work
harder, and usually pushed to produce better quality work.
A
specific similarity between Mr. Keating and Ms. Neuhauser would be how other
teachers complained about noise when their classes were outside. Mr. Keating
took his class outside to demonstrate the effect of conformity. Mr. Nolan looked
upon the class with annoyance, and disgust at Mr. Keating’s teaching, when he
noticed the class outside. Earlier on in the movie Mr. Nolan told Mr. Keating
that he should not be encouraging students to become artists; Mr. Keating said
he is teaching his students to be free thinkers. Mr. Nolan never understood why
Mr. Keating had certain teaching methods, so later on in the movie Mr. Nolan
gets Mr. Keating fired. For photography class, Ms. Neuhauser took the class
outside frequently to explore new techniques, or to capture the light that was
shining just perfectly. Other teachers complained frequently that they were
trying to teach their subject while they saw other students walking around
campus, and heard the clicking of a shutter. Ms. Neuhauser always said shoot as
much as we could, and if that meant taking photographs during class, then that
is what it took.
The
only difference I found when comparing the two teachers was that Ms. Neuhauser
sometimes picked favorites to give special instructions to, while Mr. Keating
seemingly had no favorites. One could argue that the Dead Poets Society was a
group made up on Mr. Keating’s favorites, but that group sought out the Dead
Poets Society. Also, we have no information on what Mr. Keating’s relationship
with the other students were like. At the end of the movie when Mr. Keating was
leaving, most of the class stood up in support of him, not just the Dead Poets
Society. This suggests Mr. Keating might have had just as good of relationships
with the other students as he had with the members of the Dead Poets Society. Having
been in four of Ms. Neuhauser’s photography classes I noticed that she liked
the students who had more passion for photography. Ms. Neuhauser gave these
students more freedoms, such as having more time outside (especially when other
teachers had been complaining recently), or allowing these students to stay in
her classroom even after she left for the day. I do not know if this discouraged the other students,
because her favorites were typically the ones who enjoyed her class the most.
Although she had her favorites, Ms. Neuhauser was always equally supportive of
every single student, and wanted the entire class to succeed.
Despite
favoritism, Mr. Keating and Ms. Neuhauser are greatly similar teachers. Both
are eccentrically passionate about their subjects, and in turn excite their
students to learn more about the subjects. I have found that if I have a
teacher who is passionate about their subject I will end up loving the subject
as well. If every teacher were as devoted to teaching their subject as Mr.
Keating and Ms. Neuhauser were, I believe students would love school so much
more, because their excitement allowed students to become passionate about a
subject.
