STUDY GUIDE

IntroductionThe activities that follow have been se-

lected with national and state learning

outcomes in mind, across the key learn-

ing 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.

SynopsisWhen we’re 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 con-

sumed with his love for music, Holland’s

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 stu-

dents respond to his contagious passion,

and as the years unfold, Holland finds

himself on an unplanned path. Redefin-

ing success and his own dreams, Hol-

land realises that his legacy will be

greater than he ever dreamed - the hun-

dreds of students he’s inspired and the

lives he changed. And with the help of

his students and his family, Glenn Hol-

land learns that though our lives don’t

always turn out the way we plan them,

life is what happens when you embrace

the unexpected.

English and Studiesof Society andEnvironmentSections

Mr Holland’s Opus is a heartwarm-

ing and compelling story of an unlikely

hero. At a time when huge changes are

occurring in the ways students are

taught, and schools are examining the

many ways students learn, Mr Holland’s

Opus reminds us of several essential

truths. Whatever else happens in the

education process, this film celebrates

the critical importance of a strong hu-

man bond between teacher and pupil.

Mutual respect and commitment are at

the heart of the very best teaching and

learning.

BEFORE WATCHING THE FILM

• Discuss in small groups, the most ef-

fective ways that you learn. Consider

how your learning is advanced by

what you:

see

read

hear

are told

experience

• Who have been your teachers? Write

about an occasion when your

knowledge was increased by:

a school teacher

a parent

a friend

an experience

• Did your own circumstances and at-

titude have a bearing on how well

you learned?

• What makes a good teacher? Dis-

cuss the merits of good teachers you

have known. Make a list of their

qualities as teachers.

• Do good teachers need good stu-

dents?

AFTER WATCHING THE FILM

ThemesTeaching and Learning

Mr Holland becomes an uninten-

tional hero to many of his students. Yet

he initially joins the teaching profession

as a ‘fall-back position’ while working

on his musical compositions. His early

experiences are probably recognisable

for many young viewers.

• How would you describe his early

attempts to teach his classes? Was he

doing anything wrong? Were the

unresponsive students at fault?

• Mr Holland receives some early ad-

vice from two colleagues. The Physi-

cal Education teacher, Bill Meister,

first tells him that ‘teachers don’t

wait in the canteen queue’, because

‘school is not a democracy’. How

does the fact that Mr Holland did line

up, give a clue to his later success?

• Principal Jacobs advises a struggling

Mr Holland that he must not only ‘fill

the students’ minds with knowledge’

but must then ‘give their minds a

compass’. What does she mean by

this? Can you identify any specific

occasions when Mr Holland applied

this advice?

Mr Holland is overwhelmed by his

early classroom experiences, and con-

fesses to his wife, Iris, ‘I am putting my

kids to sleep ... It never occurred to me

at school that the teachers didn’t want

to be there.’

• What is the turning point for Mr Hol-

land? When does he start to become

an effective teacher? What changes

does he make in his classroom?

What teaching aids does he use?

Why do students suddenly start lis-

tening to him? What seems to moti-

vate him?

• What values does Mr Holland’s

school seem to have? Does Mr Hol-

land agree with them? How do deci-

sions made by the administration af-

fect his teaching? Are you aware of

your School Charter and the values

your school prioritizes?

• Speaking at Mr Holland’s farewell

assembly, the now adult Gertrude

Lang assures Mr Holland, ‘We are

your symphony, the music of your

life.’

• Construct a conversation that might

have taken place between Mr Hol-

land and former students who at-

tended this assembly. Try to reveal

why they held him in high regard

and how you think he would have

responded to their views.

Dreams and Ambitions• The film’s title suggests Mr Holland’s

dream of writing a memorable piece

of music is the main focus. Discuss

the title choice.

Many of us have hopes and dreams

for our futures. Some remain mere fan-

tasies, others come to fruition as we

work towards them. Mr Holland

thought he had a clear path ahead. Sud-

denly, his dream is compromised by the

need to earn money to support his fam-

ily ... and for a time he is lost.

• Was the decision to teach difficult for

Mr Holland? What choices con-

fronted him in the early stages of his

doned his dreams? Did he appear to

have regrets about his career

choice? Why did teaching Rowena

Morgan confront him with a tempo-

rary crisis?

• Share your future hopes with class

members. Have you decided on a

career path? What choices are likely

to confront you?

• The director of this film, Stephen

Herek, believes that, ‘Life is what

happens while you’re busy making

other plans.’ What do you think this

means? When does this observation

seem to apply to Mr Holland? How

does he cope, for instance, with the

realisation that his son is deaf?

• What is Mr Holland’s finest achieve-

ment? When does he realise that his

life has not been one of failed oppor-

tunity?

Key CharactersWe witness the evolution of Mr Hol-

land’s professional career and follow his

family’s 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 demon-

strates when encouraging her?

When all seems pointless, he real-

ises, ‘we’ve 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 father’s admiring de-

scription of the colour of her hair, her

most prized asset. What teaching tech-

nique is that?

• Louis Russ is a poor student aca-

demically but a champion sports-

man, the boy who ‘knows how to

work hard,’ but is ‘just not a school

type of person.’ What challenge does

Louis provide for Mr Holland? How

is their relationship touched with

both humour and sadness? How are

the student ‘misfits’ treated at your

school?

• The talented but disinterested

Stadler is yet a different kind of chal-

lenge. Why does Mr Holland take

Stadler to Louis Russ’s funeral?

• Rowena Morgan is a talented stu-

dent who has dreams of becoming a

great singer. Why is Mr Holland cru-

cially important to her future? Why

is she so special to him? Discuss

Iris’s reaction to her husband’s work

with this student.

When Rowena leaves at the bus-stop,

she remarks that their parting is ‘not

the way I thought it would be’, but

Mr Holland assures her ... ‘no ... but

it’s the best way’. Why is this one of

the most poignant moments in the

film?

• Iris and Cole HollandGlenn and Iris Holland must balance

their relationship against his commit-

ment to his job and the challenge im-

posed by their son, Cole’s, deafness.

Does Iris encourage her husband’s

dreams? How does she support him?

Why does Cole’s deafness put special

pressure on their marriage?

Why does Mr Holland relate the story of

Beethoven’s deafness to his stu-

dents?

Iris accuses Mr Holland of devoting

more time to his students than to his

own son. Is this true? How does he

defend himself against her claims?

• John Lennon’s death leads to a criti-

cal point in Mr Holland’s relation-

ship with Cole. How does the film

highlight the role that music plays in

Mr Holland’s teaching? What in fact

does Mr Holland learn?

The Setting - Inside theSchool

Mr Holland’s Opus is set in Ameri-

can classrooms over a period of 30

years. Many other films and television

shows which you would have seen are

set in schools. Does the film give us any

sense of the nature of American school

culture during this period?

Consider these questions:

• Look at the different periods empha-

sised in the film: 1964 - 1970s -

1980s - Today

• Describe what the film tells us about

each of these periods:

- students’ attitudes

- what they consider important

- their physical appearance -

dress, fashions, etc.

- attitudes to teachers and au-

thorities

- their general behaviour.

Select any one of these periods, and

find an adult who was at school in Aus-

tralia during this time. Ask them about

these same aspects of school life, and

build up a comparison with the images

presented in the film. Discuss the simi-

larities and differences, and your over-

all conclusions about school life in the

two countries.

You could also look specifically at

American school culture in a number of

other films or TV shows, and discuss

your findings.

Today’s youth is said to be more in-

dependent, more aware of its rights,

more difficult for teachers to control.

Students are represented on School

Councils. It is politically correct for them

to be ‘empowered’ and to be ‘owners of

their own education’.

• Do you feel that your experience as

a student differs greatly from Mr

Holland’s students?

• What do you expect from your

school? What relative importance

would you give to the availabiiity of

modern facilities, physical resources

such as computers, a broad range of

subjects, extra-curricula activities,

quality teachers? Is Mr Holland ex-

ceptional?

Near the end of the film, when

budget cuts force the axing of Mr Hol-

land and the school’s Creative Arts pro-

gram, Mr Holland warns Principal

Wolters ... ‘You’ll create a generation of

children without the ability to think.’

• What makes a ‘good school’?

Creating cultural symbolsOne way in which Mr Holland’s

Opus identifies the different periods in

the film is through use of readily identi-

fiable cultural symbols. For example,

we see the name of the school being

changed from Grant High (after Presi-

dent Ulysses S. Grant) to John F.

Kennedy High. This gives a strong cul-

tural message to an American audience

- they would identify that naming after

the assassination of the President in

1963. At other times in the film, there

are particular fashions which are used

to set the time; particular sound ‘bites’

from famous events, such as the land-

ing on the moon; and particular univer-

sally recognised music.

• Are there similarly powerful cultural

symbols in Australia? Try to create a

set of images, music, events, styles

or sounds which you think would be

cultural symbols in Australia by

which people would recognise a

particular period - from the 1960s to

the 1990s.

You should survey a range of people,

and try to establish which symbols are

the most powerful ones among Austral-

ians.

What is valued in aculture?

In a recent visit to Australia, Doctor

David Suzuki, a famous environmental-

ist, 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 Holland’s 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 say-

ing that they did not value the contribu-

tion of music to education in compari-

son to other elements which were still

valued (such as the school’s sporting

teams.)

• Look at your own school’s curricu-

lum and programs. What is valued

in your education community?

How will you work this out? You

need to look at the evidence of what ac-

tually happens in your school. For ex-

ample:

- What evidence is there which re-

veals what your school values? For ex-

ample, look at the awards which are

given at the end of the year.

- What are the best awards given

for?

- What gets most time on the cur-

riculum?

- Which subjects are allowed to

remain with small numbers in

them?

- Which events are commemo-

rated or celebrated?

• Make a list of as many examples as

you can of what is valued in your

school, and what is not valued. See if

you can work out any pattern or gen-

eral principles of what is valued in

your school community. Do you

think your school would have kept

or dismissed Mr Holland?

• In the end of the film, Mr Holland is

applauded and praised. But he still

is dismissed. Do you think the end-

ing of the film is a triumph or a trag-

edy?

Good teachersAt the beginning of the film, Mr Hol-

land 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 correla-

tion 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’• Mr Holland ends up loved and re-

spected by thousands of present and

former students. Would you con-

sider him to be a hero?

• What are the characteristics or

qualities of a ‘hero’? Discuss this and

come up with a list. Who would you

say were your heroes today?

For many young people, the people

they nominate as their heroes are musi-

cians, film stars, and sporting personali-

ties.

• Is being a hero the same as being

popular, or liked? Should our heroes

be those who have a good influence

on people, or who inspire us by their

own strength or ability?

• Mr Holland does not see himself as a

hero, and yet others see him in this

way. Are there any people in your life

whom you would see as a hero, who

might be surprised at knowing this?

Effective communication• One of the major themes of Mr Hol-

land’s Opus is ‘communication’. We

see Mr Holland communicating suc-

cessfully and unsuccessfully at dif-

ferent times with his students, his

wife and his son. List some of the

ways in which this is shown to us in

the film.

• What do you think are the vital ele-

ments in effective communication?

Honesty? Openness? Sharing? Make

a list of those things which you think

are essential for effective communi-

cation, and the ways in which we see

Mr Holland achieving these.

Music SectionMusic in Mr Holland’s Opus is of pro-

found importance to the film, and the

scores and songs which accompany the

thirty-year span of the film have been

chosen well to help elaborate on the

text. For example, when Mr Holland

commences his teaching position at

John F. Kennedy High he walks in to the

strains of Len Barry’s number one hit

One, Two, Three, which continues, Oh

that’s how elementary, it’s gonna

be....with obvious sarcasm, since ‘el-

ementary’ is anything but the way Mr

Holland would describe his initial teach-

ing experiences. As a session musician,

he expects that teaching will provide

him with shorter working hours, more

time to spend with his wife and to write

the great American Opus. It does not

take Glenn Holland long to discover that

teaching is a time-consuming, taxing

and often thankless task.

Activities (for studentsand teachers)• What pieces of music make you love

music? Bring your favourite music to

school. It may be something you can

perform, or it may be a recording.

Play it for the class and talk about

why you like it. You might like to

think about the style of the music

(rock, house, jazz, classical), the use

of rhythm, the voice if there is any,

the other instruments and the lyrics.

• John Coltrane redefined the way

people thought about the tenor saxo-

phone, just as Miles Davis did the

trumpet and Jimi Hendrix, electric

guitar. Many of the lasting classical

composers were also great innova-

tors, including Bach, Beethoven and

Mozart. Listen to a range of music by

these composers and discuss their

music and their contributions to fu-

ture musical direction. Speculate on

directions music is likely to take in

the future and why you think this is

the case.

• Enormous inroads have been made

with computer technology in mak-

ing music and other forms of com-

munication and expression more ac-

cessible for those with disabilities,

including deafness. The Sound-

houses Association of Australia runs

workshops for students, including

students with disabilities, using an

array of music computer and key-

board technology. Organise to be

part of one of these workshops and

find out the kinds of techniques be-

ing used to make music more acces-

sible for those with disabilities.

• Some people’s predominant sense is

sight. For others it is touch and oth-

ers, sound. Create a multi-media

performance which facilitates the

use of at least three senses. Try to

base the performance on one par-

ticular theme. You may find this task

easier to approach if you can firstly

be involved in some improvisational

work where you are unable to ac-

cess one of your senses.

• There are segments in this film

where there is little dialogue and

music plays a predominant part in

enhancing the mood of the script.

Either try to imagine what these seg-

ments would be like without the

music, or when the video of Mr Hol-

land’s Opus becomes available, turn

down the sound and just watch the

visuals. How effective are the visu-

als without the music? If a different

piece of music was used with the

visuals would they be as effective?

You could try adding a witty piece of

music to a dramatic part of the film

and discuss the effect. What is it

about the music which enhances the

visuals? See if you can pinpoint the

moment of greatest emotional im-

pact and then look at the louds and

softs, speeds and uses of instruments

in that segment.

• Make a video about anything you

wish and choose appropriate re-

corded music to accompany the

video where you think it will en-

hance the visual content. Work on

the video script and the musical con-

tent before you commit your ideas

to celluloid.

• Make a video and accompany it with

music you compose and perform

yourself. Again use a storyboard to

organise where and what type of

music will be most appropriate to

accompany the visuals.

• In the film, Glenn Holland asks stu-

dents if they know and like A Lover’s

Concerto, a pop song of the sixties.

He then explains that the melody of

this song is taken from Bach’s

Minuet in G Major. Many pieces of

music are based on folk themes or

themes by other composers includ-

ing Procul Harem’s A Whiter Shade

of Pale, also borrowed from Bach,

Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, where

the Song of Joy Theme was com-

posed by F. von Schiller and Danny

Boy whose melody is an old Irish folk

tune. The original melody for Waltz-

ing Matilda was also a folk song. Lis-

ten to some of these melodies and

try to define why it is that they are so

lasting in appeal and why other

composers want to use them. If you

play in a band or play a musical in-

strument, give an old melody a new

flavour.

• There are several songs in the movie

by the Gershwins whose music was

always regarded as ‘not quite classi-

cal’. George Gershwin wrote Rhap-

sody in Blue in part as an attempt to

gain some respectability as a ‘real’

composer, something which for

many is no longer an issue. Listen to

some Gershwin music; there are lit-

erally hundreds of vocal and instru-

mental versions of many of their

classic songs. You may like to per-

form some yourselves. Listen to

Rhapsody in Blue and talk about

whether you think Gershwin de-

serves ‘serious composer’ status

with this piece. What makes a ‘seri-

ous composer’? Is some music more

important than other music? Why or

why not? Is some music worth

higher regard than other music?

Why or why not?

• Both Beethoven and John Lennon

are given a high profile in Mr Hol-

land’s Opus. Find out as much as you

can about both composers. Are there

any similarities between them? Lis-

ten to a range of both composers’

music and talk about it objectively

and subjectively. If you enjoy sing-

ing or playing a musical instrument,

perform some Beatles and

Beethoven music.

• In Mr Holland’s first music lesson,

music is defined as ‘sound in me-

lodic or harmonic combinations for

voice or instruments’. What is your

definition of music?

Songs (in order ofappearance)“One, Two, Three”

Written by Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier,

Edward Holland, John Madara, David White andLeonard Borisoff

Performed by Len Barry

Courtesy of MCA Records

“Symphony No. 5 in C minor”

Written by Ludwig van Beethoven

“Stranger On the Shore”

Written by Acker Bilk and Robert Mellin

“A Lover’s Concerto”

Written by Sandy Linzer and Denny Randell

“Minuet in G major”

Written by Johann Sebastian Bach

“Stouthearted Men”

Written by Sigmund Romberg and OscarHammerstein II

Performed by Richard Dreyfuss

“Louie, Louie”

Written by Richard Berry

Performed by The Kingsmen

Courtesy of Original Sound Record Co. Inc.

“Keep on Running”

Written by Jackie Edwards

Performed by The Spencer Davis Group

Courtesy of EMI Records

Under license of CEMA Special Markets

Courtesy of Island Records Ltd

by arrangement with PolyGram Film & TV Licensing

“I Know An Old Lady”

Written by Alan Mills and Rose Bonne

Performed by Richard Dreyfuss

“The Stars and Stripes Forever”

Written by John Phillip Sousa

Performed by Grant High School Marching Band

“Uptight (Everything’s Alright)”

Written by Stevie Wonder, Sylvia Moy and HenryCosby

Performed by Stevie Wonder

Courtesy of Motown Records

by arrangement with PolyGram Film & TV Licensing

“Americans We”

Written by Henry Fillmore

Performed by Fort Vancouver High School MarchingBand

“Symphony No 7 in A major”

Written by Ludwig van Beethoven

“Imagine”

Written and Performed by John Lennon

Courtesy of Capitol Records

Under license from CEMA Special Markets

“Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme (Sleepers Wake)”

Written by Johann Sebastian Bach

“Day is Done (Taps)”

Written by General Daniel Butterfield

“The Pretender”

Written and Performed by Jackson Browne

Courtesy of Elektra Entertainment Group

by arrangement with Warner Special Products

“I Got Rhythm”

Written by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin

“Someone to Watch Over Me”

Written by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin

Performed by Jean Louisa Kelly

“They Can’t Take That Away From Me”

Written by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin

“Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major”

Written by Ludwig van Beethoven

“Beautiful Boy”

Written by John Lennon

Performed by Richard Dreyfuss

“I Got A Woman”

Written and Performed by Ray Charles

Courtesy of Atlantic Recording Corp.

by arrangement with Warner Special Products

“Ego Trippin’ (Part Two)”

Written by Paul Huston, David Jolicoeur, Kevin Mer-cer and Vincent Mason

Performed by De La Soul

Courtesy of Tommy Boy Records

“Cole’s Song”

Performed by Julian Lennon

Words by Julian Lennon and Justin Clayton

Music by Michael Kamen

Produced by Steve McLaughlin and Michael Kamen

Julian Lennon appears courtesy of Atlantic Records

“Visions Of A Sunset”

Written and Performed by Shawn Stockman (of BoyzII Men)

produced by Shawn Stockman

Courtesy of Motown Record Company, LP

Soundtrack available on Polydor Records.Score Soundtrack by Michael Kamen availableon London Records.

NotesSoundhouses Association of Australia. A

Project of the Directorate of School Educa-

tion and the Brash Foundation. Contact Ken

Owen Ph:(03)9689 2362, Fax (03)9689 9048.

Mr Holland’s Opus is released nationally onMarch 7 at cinemas everywhere.

This study guide was written for ATOM by MandyStefanakis, Bob Lewis and Andrew Mullett.