Mr. Holland has "earned" his opus

This past weekend, I watched Whiplash. While it was highly intense and engaging, it just made me want to watch Mr. Holland's Opus again. What is so similar about the two movies? They're both about music teachers. That's where the similarities end though. While Terence Fletcher, the teacher in Whiplash, was a complete tyrant, Glenn Holland was the ideal music teacher. The kind under whose patience and training, I'd flourish. He made learning music fun and meaningful at the same time, such as telling someone to "play the sunset." This is the opposite of Fletcher, who would throw chairs and scream in people's faces to get results. This all comes down to the fact that I used to take piano lessons and then completely gave up.

When I was first learning how to play piano, I had this awful teacher. She barely paid attention to me and would distract me from my scales by eating her dinner next to the piano, letting her dog run around all over the place, or talking on the phone. And then she'd tell me that I wasn't any good at playing piano. I was so frustrated that I hated practicing for her lessons. Thankfully, my parents found a new teacher for both my sister and me. She was kind and patient and I flourished under her training. I was excited about playing piano again. And then she moved out of state. I remember crying myself to sleep over the news. The following school year, my parents found another teacher for us to go to. She was nice and all, but I just wasn't motivated to play anymore. I think I gave up at some point and then participated in a chorus group at my junior high. Turns out, I loved to sing. (I still do, of course.) The problem was that I had no vocal strength and couldn't carry a note. So I took voice lessons for a few years in high school. That was definitely helpful. While I didn't get into any musicals or get any solos from chorus, I still had more confidence in my ability to sing. I sing all the time these days, just for fun. Even when I'm doing chores around the house.

Recently, I read an article about a teacher who was shaming her students into learning how to read better. How is that even helpful or effective? It just makes kids feel bad about themselves and leads to social issues, as well. I told a friend who is a reading instructor about this article and she was appalled, as well. Kids can still learn how to read well with kindness, patience, and encouragement to keep them motivated.

Back to my point....I don't get how Andrew (Miles Teller's character) was so motivated by Fletcher being so horrible to him all the time. I would have quit the first time he got in my face or started slapping me as a way to demonstrate "rushing." I don't see how anyone would want to be his student or perform in an orchestra or band that he was conducting. So not worth it.

On the other hand, Mr. Holland completely "earned" his opus by making an impact on each and every one of his students and helping them see their potential, even when they personally felt it wasn't there. I really think I need to see Mr. Holland's Opus again (it's only been nine and a half years since I last did), just to get the bad images of an abusive music instructor out of my head. It isn't always about being on the right tempo or playing mind games to get people to perform their best in a competition. It's about having a shared love for music and allowing people to see another side of it. All I know is that I performed way better when I had a kind teacher than when I had one who made me feel bad about myself.

Side note: I still can't play piano, but my younger son is starting to take after my husband in trying to create his own music. I only hope he'll have a teacher who is patient and encourages him to succeed. 

What kind of instructor motivates you: one who is kind and encouraging or one who shows no mercy?