Running Head: BECOMING A TEACHER LEADER: MR.

HOLLANDS OPUS

Becoming a Teacher Leader: Mr. Hollands Opus

A Film Review of Teacher Leadership
Courtney Samuelson and Weiyan Xia
North Carolina State University

BECOMING A TEACHER LEADER: MR. HOLLANDS OPUS

Film Introduction and Summary

Mr. Hollands Opus is an American drama released in December 1995. The film was directed by
Stephen Herek and produced by Ted Field, Robert W. Cort, and Michael Nolin. Buena Vista Pictures
distributed the film, and it stars Richard Dreyfuss in the title role and Glenne Headly and William H.
Macy as supporting actors. The film received positive reviews by critics and has a 74% satisfaction
score on rottentomatoes.com. Mr. Hollands Opus was nominated for several Golden Globes, and
Dreyfuss received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for his performance.
Glenn Holland is a musical composer with ambitions of creating a masterpiece. At the beginning
of the film he takes a job teaching music at a high school with the idea that teaching will simply pay the
bills while he spends most of his time composing music. The irony of this is not lost on viewers--on the
first day of school, fellow colleague and physical education teacher Mr. Thomas laughs in Mr. Hollands
face at his assumption that teachers have free time. Mr. Hollands quest to do the bare minimum soon
makes his job difficult: his students hate his class due to his boring textbook-heavy teaching of musical
theory, his orchestra sounds terrible and does not seem to be making any progress, and his principal
keeps hounding him about being more active in after-school meetings and activities. The first turning
point of the moviethe one that begins to transform him into a great teacher-- occurs after a
confrontational conversation with the school principal, Ms. Jacobs, in which she tells Holland, Fill
young minds with knowledge, yes, but more important, give those minds a compass so that that
knowledge doesnt go to waste. The meaning of this is lost on Glenn until he goes home that evening
and his wife, Iris, announces that shes pregnant. Rocked by this announcement and leaning on the brink
of the reality that his life is about to drastically change, Holland takes a step back and remembers what
made him love music in the first place. It is with this renewed sense of purpose and significance that
Holland enters school the next day.

BECOMING A TEACHER LEADER: MR. HOLLANDS OPUS

In class that following day, Mr. Holland tries out a novel idea--actually asking his students what
kind of music they like, and then playing that music to help them learn musical theory. After this
turning point, the rest of Mr. Hollands teaching career is totally changed. He approaches his job with
enthusiasm as he learns to care for his students and their success. Holland quickly learns the truth of
Mr. Thomas claim that teachers have no free time when he starts staying before and after school to
help students learn to play instruments and partnering with Mr. Thomas in creating the schools first ever
marching band, all while buying a new house and playing music at home for his newborn son. However
in one of the most heart-wrenching scenes of the movie, Holland finds out his son, Coltrane, who is two
years old at the time, is deaf. This reality that his son will not only require special needs, time, and
effort, but that also that Cole will never experience the same passion for music as his father, distances
Holland from his family and motivates him to put more effort into his work as a teacher instead of as a
father. Thus a decade passes and Mr. Holland is known as an amazing teacher at John F. Kennedy High
School. He has brought not only a wonderful orchestra and marching band to the school but is also
partnering with other teachers to put on a full-scale musical drama production. However, his
relationship with his family worsens, as he never fully learned sign language and can barely
communicate with his frustrated teenage son.
On the day of John Lennons death, an upset Holland faces his second turning point of the movie
the turning point in which he transforms into a father this time. He comes home and starts fighting
with Cole and when Cole asks him whats wrong, Holland sheepishly tries to sign that Cole wouldnt
understand because a famous person has died that he knows nothing about. Cole angrily rants against
his father, claiming that of course he knows who John Lennon is and that he has tried desperately to
appreciate music the way his father does. Holland is shocked by this realization that his son is not so
distant nor different than him than he thought, and that he has not been the father he knows he should be.

BECOMING A TEACHER LEADER: MR. HOLLANDS OPUS

After this, he takes the time to learn more sign language and even composes, conducts, and signs a song
dedicated to Cole.
After Glenn has finally resolved his teaching life with his personal and family life, the movie fast
forwards to the 1990s, thirty years into Mr. Hollands successful and accomplished teaching career. It is
in these final scenes of the movie that Mr. Holland learns his job and the music program is being
removed due to budget cuts and the districts desire to focus more on math and reading over the arts.
After an unsuccessful fight with the School Board to keep music around, Mr. Holland is packing up his
classroom with his wife and adult son when they hear a commotion in the school auditorium. In one of
the most memorable, famous, and tear-jerking scenes of the movie, Mr. Holland enters the auditorium to
find hundreds of people gathered there to celebrate his retirement and honor the work he accomplished
as a teacher in building a love and talent for music in the lives of many. One of his old students,
Gertrude, who is now governor of Oregon, delivers a grateful and moving speech honoring Mr. Holland
and then joins other current students and alumni at the orchestra stage, inviting Holland up to conduct
the masterpiece he composed. The final scene, entire movie plot, and Mr. Hollands character
development throughout the film embody the movies tagline, Life is what happens to you while you're
busy making other plans.

Teacher Leadership Analysis and Critique

According to Katzenmeyer and Moller (2009), The concept of a born leader is an illusion. (p.
37). Indeed, leaders are not born, nor are teachers or teacher leaders. This film showcases all of the
pain, struggle, and commitment it takes to become a teacher leader, and it also teaches several important
facets of teacher leadership. First, it teaches that teacher leadership takes time to develop; second, that
teacher leaders bring an enthusiasm and passion to their work; third, that teachers take responsibility for
bettering their schools beyond their own classroom walls; fourth, that teacher leaders engage in

BECOMING A TEACHER LEADER: MR. HOLLANDS OPUS

supportive collaborative relationships to achieve their goals, and fifth, that teacher leaders take personal
responsibility for maintaining a healthy work-life balance.
The entire film teaches that teacher leaders are not just born, but that they can grow into
leadership roles. Many people become teachers simply because they want to have a job and make some
money, just like Mr. Holland at the start of the film. Others have the opinion that teachers are supposed
to be like saints and should sacrifice their time, their efforts, and their family. But this movie presents a
teacher as a real human being: Mr. Holland has a family to take care of, suffers under financial pressure,
questions the direction of his life and career goals, and even at one point almost engages in a marital
affair. At the beginning of the film, Holland just finishes whatever he is required to cover according to
the teaching plan, and never bothers to know and understand his students, their interests, and their
difficulties. With the drastic change in his life of having a son, Mr. Holland starts to realize his
responsibilities: to his family, to his work, and to his students. He starts to think about how he can teach
his students well, the starting phase of being a teacher leader, and he himself also gains the sense of
accomplishment and the pleasure of being a good teacher when he starts to see students participating and
engaging with him in his class. In Learning By Heart, Barth (2001) states, The way to learn is by
leading; the way to lead is by learning. Teacher leadership provides an inevitable and continual occasion
for teacher growth (82). This is evident in the way Holland transforms into a teacher right before our
eyes: he learns to be a better teacher leader by constantly facing challenges and persevering through
them, even up until his last days as a teacher. His story confirms Barths claim that teacher leadership
isnt a magical inherited trait; it is developed over time, through hardships and challenges.
As Mr. Holland grows to be an excellent teacher, he meets another challenge when the assistant
principal questions the way he teaches music. He expresses his passion, enthusiasm and true meaning of
being a good teacher: to make students love learning. In one scene he tells his principal that, I teach
music, and I will use everything that I believe will make students love music. Mr. Holland did not have

BECOMING A TEACHER LEADER: MR. HOLLANDS OPUS

a breakthrough with his students until he shared his passion for music with them and encouraged
students to think about their own favorite music. Zemelman and Ross (2009) also advise that passion
and enthusiasm is so important to teaching: youll become a better teacher when you incorporate that
passion creatively in your teaching your leadership will be most successful when it grows organically
from what you enjoy rather than from something you do only because you think you should or because
your principal wants you to (14). Holland learned to love and excel at his job only after he stopped
seeing it solely as a way to pay the bills and instead as a way to live out his passions.
Another phase of becoming a teacher leader is influencing people around you and bettering your
own school beyond your classroom walls by sharing your enthusiasm and passion for your students and
content with others. Mr. Holland becomes more involved in spreading love and appreciation for music
around the school when he creates the schools first-ever marching band and full-scale musical
production. Even decades later when the whole art program is removed because of budget cuts, Mr.
Holland becomes a true teacher leader internally. He argues with the new principal and fights with the
school board for the chance to keep the art program. Even though he fails, we can still see the quality of
a teacher leader in Mr. Holland: leading within and beyond the classroom, contributing to a community
of learners and leaders, influencing others toward improved practice, and accepting responsibility for
achieving outcomes (K&M, p. 6-10).
Yet Mr. Holland does not do all of this alone: a fourth key characteristic of teacher leadership the
movie teaches is professional collaboration, and the movie portrays several other teacher leaders
positively. Holland builds a strong bond with Mr. Thomas, the football coach and physical education
teacher, and they collaborate together in a number of projects: Mr. Thomas teaches Mr. Hollands band
how to march, and later they work together to teach football players to dance in the musical. Their
partnership and passion for school projects outside of the classroomand taking time outside of school
hours to complete these projectsshow that they feel empowered in their school to make important

BECOMING A TEACHER LEADER: MR. HOLLANDS OPUS

decisions. Katzenmeyer and Moller note, Organizational development and leadership theory suggest
that the active involvement of individuals at all levels in an organization is necessary to implement and
sustain change (28). In order to create that teacher empowerment, the school principal must foster that
and allow that to happen. The principal of John F. Kennedy High School, Mrs. Jacobs, plays a
significant role in Mr. Hollands development: Mrs. Jacobs presents to us the image of an excellent
teacher leader. She uncovers Mr. Hollands talent and potential to be a good teacher; she observes
teachers and finds out the problem under the surface, such as Mr. Hollands speed of leaving the parking
lot after school; and then she enlightens Mr. Holland to understand the true meaning of being a teacher
by providing her words of wisdom that get him thinking the day Holland finds out his wife his pregnant.
She empowers Mr. Holland to reveal his potential by trusting him and giving him opportunities to grow,
while also holding him accountable. She is not only approachable, but she is also willing to approach the
teachers herself. Mrs. Jacobs is a model for positive administrative leadership.
Finally, Mr. Holland must face the challenge of work-life balance on his way to becoming a
teacher-leader. Holland faces the difficult intersection of making choices around his personal desires,
professional duties, and commitment to his family. At one point when he is arguing with his wife about
work versus his commitment to his family, Iris delivers the memorable line, You have to make a
priorityYour best is just not good enough. This part is one of many that reminds viewers that
devoting yourself to the work of being a teacher leader does not mean that you should abandon your
responsibility to your family and your personal life. Maintaining the balance between life and work is an
important ability that teacher leaders should possess, especially when teaching (and life!) can become
challenging. It is no wonder that the first step in becoming a teacher leader that Zemelman and Ross
(2009) give is to start with yourself by examining your passions, constantly reflecting, maintaining
positivity, and even staying healthy (p. 12-19). Mr. Holland grows through the opportunities and
occasions that he faces in his work and in his life, especially in his struggles with his son.

BECOMING A TEACHER LEADER: MR. HOLLANDS OPUS

Conclusion
The real meaning of the movies title is revealed at the end of the film. The true opus of Mr.
Holland is actually the spirit he sheds on his students, his colleagues, and his families. The performance
that all his former students present him is the greatest reward for his dedication to his teaching.
Education and the world has changed a lot since 1995 when this movie was created, but we believe that
the central spirit of being a teacher and being a teacher leader maintains and develops with the world and
its changes, and this movie does a great job of embodying that teacher leadership. As teachers, we
probably cannot guarantee that our students will become Nobel Prize winners, famous writers,
accomplished artists, or state governors, but we can always start by making them love science, love
writing and love arts so that someday they can become Nobel Prize winners, famous writers,
accomplished artists, and state governors. We believe that is what it means to be a teacher and a teacher
leader.

BECOMING A TEACHER LEADER: MR. HOLLANDS OPUS

References

1. Barth, Ronald S. (2001). Learning By Heart. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

2. Field, F., Cort, R., Nolin, M. & Herek, H. (1995). Mr. Hollands Opus [motion picture]. United
States: Buena Vista Pictures. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c68Z7qVu7g&list=PL26D1FB9BC3F53B78.
3. imdb.com. Mr. Hollands Opus. Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113862/.
4. Katzenmeyer, M. & Miller, G. (2009). Awakening the Sleeping Giant: Helping Teachers
Develop as Leaders. Thousand Oaks: Corwin.
5. rottentomatoes.com. Mr. Hollands Opus. Retrieved from
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/mr_hollands_opus/.
6. Zemelman, M. & Ross, H. (2009). 13 Steps to Teacher Empowerment: Taking a More Active
Role in your School Community. Portsmouth: Heinemann.