Media Content Review III: A312

Submitted To: Dr. S.N. Bal

ABSTRACT
A brief insight into the
characters that played a part in
a brilliant tale of love, idealism
and transformation.
Ashwin HL
1646

TO SIR, WITH LOVE

A critical analysis of the film
INTRODUCTION

To Sir, with Love, a Columbia Pictures movie directed by James Clavell is one of the best
British made works of the 1960s. It stars Sidney Poitier, who plays a mesmerizing role of
a man (Mark Thackeray), who has moved up from a delinquent to the teacher and is
combating some wild youth who are seriously in need of life makeovers. He starts
implementing his own brand of classroom discipline: forcing the pupils to treat each
other with respect. Inevitably he begins getting involved in the students' personal lives,
and must avoid the advances of an amorous student while winning over the class.
In this film, various human characteristics are brought to light, of these, the idea or
notion that humans are able to adapt and change their way of thinking, seems to be
portrayed well through the challenges seen by both, the teacher and his students that
ultimately result in their collaboration to change their ways of thinking about each other
and establish that cordial relationship.

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ANALYSIS
a) What motivated the main character, played by Sidney Poitier, to accept the teaching
assignment at the school? Did he find a motivating environment on the first day?
Why did he still accept the assignment?
Sidney Poitier who plays Mark Thackeray, accepts the assignment because of the need
for achievement: he is an engineer by education and is looking for a job. Unfortunately,
he cannot find one and thus begins his search. He is high on competence, achieving,
creativity and security. His innate character also plays a vital role as he possesses some
great qualities of a leader. He always wanted to become a teacher, he states. He is
certain of bringing some positive influence in the lives of his pupils. From the Herzbergs
theory point of view, we see that the environmental conditions and hygiene factors may
seem to increase job dissatisfaction but Mr. Thackery has a high level of intrinsic
motivation which helps him in overlooking these factors. He also showcases an
increased level of responsibility which enables him to take the challenge.

On the first day, he finds an adolescent boy smoking on the premises, students making
noise and causing havoc in the corridor and classroom, a highly unmotivated and
unfriendly colleague (Theo Weston) who greets him with a cynical tone and a hint of
racism.

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Most of his colleagues are discouraging and feel that it would be difficult for him to
manage in the environment. They are unmotivated because it is believed that no better
outcome can be achieved. According to the Herzbergs motivation and hygiene factors,
he is met with none. There is disharmony and no hygiene factors are thought of. The job
was not designed to use employers full abilities. The organization was not designed to
meet with employees level of skills. Because the person was not utilized to the fullest,
there was a motivation problem and the top level was stern and rigid.

Though the general environment is negative, Mr. Thackery finds specs of positivity in his
interactions with Gillian Blanchard and Clinty Clintridge. They give him a more hopeful
and realistic perspective into the children and the school. Also, his astute nature and
high sense of belief in himself driven by internal motivation enabled him to accept the
assignment.
b) Analyze the personality of the teacher.
Having put forth all of his time and energy into getting an education, Mr. Thackery
begins teaching at North Quay Secondary. Initially, he finds his students rather rude,
defiant, and disinterested. Despite his ongoing efforts and attempts to communicate
with his class, the students are quite resilient and want no part in what he has to offer.
While Thackerays method of teaching was strictly student centered at a surface level,
he began to change his ideologies, his actions both initially and later implies that he was
more concerned about solving the problems he is experiencing with his class, rather
than the problems being faced by his students.
Thackeray establishes principles concerning the way his students should be treated and
how their goals should be pursued. He attempts to create standards of excellence and

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set examples for others to follow suit. We see this in the very first lesson, in which
Thackeray attempts to analyze the credentials of his students. He sought to assess his
students level of proficiency in reading and arithmetic. Their results varied significantly,
this prompted remarks of sarcasm It is encouraging that you have a sense of humor: it
seems you know so little and are so easily amused that I can look forward to a very
happy time. He then went on and instructed his students to now copy down the
following tables. This clearly shows that he is trying to set goals so that his students can
achieve small wins as they work towards a larger goal. Kouzes & Posner (2002) suggest
that two attributes are required for leaders to Model the Way. Leaders have to find
their own voice by stating their personal values and then you must set the example by
aligning actions and shared values. From analyzing his character, it seems that he values
a sense of community, a positive environment, he likes to make contributions; he
values people and their success; and he values their opinions and ideas.
He also shows flexibility and open mindedness when he changes his approach towards
the students after his outburst and starts treating them as adults.

Mr. Thackeray faces many challenges; nevertheless, he never gave up and carries out his
role as an educator. He showcases attributes of an effective leader and possesses the
ability to communicate thoroughly and effectively, by modeling good communication
skills, he ensured success in the students lives. Another characteristic of his is his
willingness to know and understand the strengths and weaknesses of his students. This

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is very important in order to help the students learn and help with their comprehension
of assignments. He imparts/teaches patience, good decision-making skills, positive
behavior, and alternative measures. Mark Thackeray displayed these factors numerous
times throughout the movie, especially when he unwillingly agreed to a boxing match
with Denham. In spite of being subjected to many blows Thackeray punches Denham
once in the stomach, which brings the fight to an end. At this point Denham realizes that
Thackeray could have injured him pretty good, but instead Thackeray chose to use an
alternative route and show that positive behavior can be equally rewarding in a
situation like this, without violent means to stop a fight. Mr. Thackerays actions were
relatively passive but proved a point amongst his students that violence is not the
answer as seen towards the end of the film.

Leaders recognize contributions; they celebrate accomplishments, these happen

throughout the film as Thackeray helped his students succeed from the time he started
in the classroom through the eventual transformation at the end. From his help, the
students became more aware, appreciative and in turn became adults in society. Several
instances in the movie showed monumental changes of how eventually Thackeray
recognized his students contributions and even celebrated them as they celebrated
him. Throughout the movie we see plenty of examples of Thackeray encouraging the
heart, whether it be through the smallest contribution to the biggest change, it all
helped in the end.

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c) What was the initial motivation level of the students? Why did they behave the way
they did? What was the environment from which the students came?
The initial level of motivation among student is extremely low. They were unmotivated
and saw little or no love from the backgrounds they belonged to. They were low on self-
esteem and had a need for affiliation.

They behaved this way because no motivation led them to avoiding responsibilities
whenever they could. They preferred to be directed and had little or no ambition.
According to Douglas McGregors theory of X and Y, the X theory states the above,
while Y theory states that work is natural and every person can reach their potential
with motivation and direction.

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Their background and condition: the students as mentioned by the headmaster were
principally rejected from the other schools. The perceptions, as formed by the staff
were that they were a bunch of hooligans who drove off their teachers by their antics.
They were presumed naughty because they came from the low-income and
uneducated families with no tolerance towards them. Survival was the main norm
above love or self-respect. They trusted none, at home or in school. Their recluse was
rebellion and misbehavior. They seemed to rely heavily on each other to form their
own identities. This showed the viewers that they have not reached a level of cognitive
development. Furthermore, Cognitive development goes hand in hand with social
development, during this process; peer pressure is heavily influencing their decision-
making skills. Moreover, the students lacked moral values, as they never had seen good
role models and didnt receive any guidance from their parents to display proper
behavior like instruction of moral reasoning, modeling good judgment, reinforcement
and punishment
d) How did the teacher motivate the students? What was his attitude towards them
initially, and what made him change? How and why did he succeed?
The teacher motivated his students by building upon a friendly relationship with his
pupils. He treated his subordinates as equal and laid some ground rules (which are
expected to be followed in any organization.) he used an adult approach on them. He
showed them the value of principals and ethics and basically built their trust and
honor. His true essence of motivation was by directing the students towards rewards.
He believed that if the students are treated like adults, they are rewarding themselves
the opportunity to become wise and respected citizens.

His initial attitude was exactly of a teacher. Cold and authoritative. In an organization,
we are often believed to motivate our subordinates through power, but the truth is
their passion in work lies upon mutual trust and understanding. If you believe in them,
then their potential is higher than even expected. Coming back to the example here, he
treated them as his equals and built upon their trust and love. He gained their respect
immediately. He rewarded them with a field trip to the museum and gained their
affection and trust gradually.
This change came when he lost his calm and realized that he cannot motivate a bunch of
students with no direction if he was to continue with his current approach

His success can be explained through Maslows hierarchical need theory -

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 self
actuali
-zation
happiness

esteem: This
approach led to
building of self
esteem and
confidence

social : social safety was met by

their teacher treating them
with love and respect. he also
taught them ways of life and
morals that extended from
orthodox classroom learning.
topics like marriage, life skills,
survival training were taken.

safety: low income families and

their background led them to
insecurity but the teacher
provided them with moral wealth
which lead to thier upliftment
psychological: like living needs , they met
with those because they had a family and
the classroom proved to be a place
where they could cultivate a new
identity.

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e) What was the critical incident after which the teacher had the class on his side?
An iconic moment in the film is seen when his class responds to the death of the White
mother of a student of mixed race. When earlier this student expressed to Thackeray,
his anger towards his father for having married his mother and this having caused her to
be discriminated against, the scene is left unresolved. When the mother dies, no one in
the class wants to attend the funeral for fear of what people might say i.e. societal
pressure and implications of white people going to a house of a colored individual.

Thackeray himself feels he needs to take flowers and when he arrives at the house, he
finds his class, assembled to the last person, is already there.

It was clear that the class did it for Sir, overcoming the injustice of racism that they did
previously. The fact that they overcame the pressure of society to stand by their teacher
shows that the class is totally on his side.

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f) Why did the teacher not leave the school when he got a better job? What was the
motivation for him to stay?
The teacher did not leave the job because he was satisfied with the job because he
reached self-actualization as explained by Maslows hierarchical need theory. He
reached intellectual creativity and his need for achievement was met. There are other
factors that contributed in satisfaction like achievement, recognition, quality of work,
responsibility, growth, love, respect and advancement.
This was obviously his greatest motivation to stay. The Meta-Emotions concept in Johari
window explains Mr. Thackerys situation aptly as to how his motivational
characteristics are determined by basic emotions and the love and appreciation that he
gets in the form of reciprocation ultimately helps him decide.

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