Dead Poets Society: What Makes a Great Teacher? (ft. Parker J. Palmer)

Why is Robin Williams' portrayal of Mr. Keating in Dead Poets Society so iconic? What is it that actually makes him a great teacher? This video essay presents an analysis of Mr. Keating's English class and teaching that I think would be interesting to fans of this film or anyone interested in educational professional development!

My analysis draws heavily upon the work of the wonderful educational thinker Parker J. Palmer. I comment on Mr. Keating's techniques, which map on strikingly well to Palmer’s ideals of a community-oriented classroom and a fully-invested teacher that is able to navigate the paradoxes and emotions of an authentic learning space.

CHAPTERS:
00:00 Introduction
01:20 Truth and Knowledge
04:20 The Voice of the Subject
06:00 Mr. Keating’s Learning Space
09:08 The Classroom’s Emotional Space
10:55 A Teacher’s Inner Life

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TAGS - #deadpoetssociety, #englishteacher, #parkerjpalmer, #teaching, #vocation, #mrkeating, #poetry, professional development, epistemology, spirituality in education, educational theory, classroom management, instruction, engaging students, hospitality, Shakespeare, meaning of Dead Poets Society, hidden meaning, film analysis, film review, literary analysis of film, movie commentary, philosophy movie, literature and film

[hannahludwig]

I'm so glad I found this. I was seeking for dps edits, but youtube recommended this video. I'm only 14, and even though my future still very unclear to me, I've been having those thoughts about becoming a teacher someday. A place where I can be passionate about what I love, and inspire people. And if I do, I'll take this advices by heart. Thank you :))

[davidmcaninch]

We need teachers like Keating. I don’t even know the first thing about poetry, and even Keating makes me wanna learn about it.

[ailox]

Wow!. That was really good. I had never heard of Parker Palmer but I think I lived his ideas intuitively. I was a trainer of critical thinking, structured analysis, writing and briefing for military intelligence for US, NATO, and allied forces for decades. And I thrived on being in the classroom. Even though I earned an MS.Ed, learned more about teaching by listening to the students than my professors; I learned as much from them as they did from me. My classes were always full of many nationalities and languages, males and females, civilians and military, junior troops to the highest ranking officers and yet, despite all the fears of looking 'wrong' or being embarrassed, we had FUN in the classroom. I always believed that the more noise in the classroom (students talking and sharing) the more learning was actually happening. The less noise (just a talking head at the front; me) the least amount of learning was happening. It is my greatest personal achievement that many students told me I had changed their lives. I always told them, no, you changed it. I just helped you get there. On a cinematic note, notice in the film that in his most earnest moments, he takes a knee so that the students look down on him, not the other way around. Just that perspective change empowers students. Nobody likes to be towered over and looked down upon from on high. I always taught from the side or the back of the classroom as much as from the front. It kept them looking around and did not allow any students to 'hide' in the anonymity of the back row. Thanks for this essay. It assures me that my life's work was well lived.

[pjp]

Mark, I want to offer my personal and professional thanks for this excellent video and for your wonderful treatment of some of my thoughts about education. I’ve been sharing the video with my colleagues, and one of them just sent me this note: "What a brilliant treatise re. your work on teaching. He nailed it! I am excited to use this video in my work with teachers and administrators. Thank you so much for sharing with us!” I’m sure there will be more notes along these lines. With real gratitude and all good wishes for your continuing work as a dedicated teacher and creative moonlighter! -- Parker

[jimtrack]

My teacher was Mr. Sheldon Bryer. He taught history in high school. To me he was a remarkable man who introduced me for the first time to the power of knowledge through the lens of my own inspiration. I was never the same since his class. I became a historian and taught history to anyone who would listen outside the poisonous confines of the classroom.

[Pdimag]

Mr. Keating isn't only a brilliant teacher, he also is a dad and a friend for his students. This couldn't be learnd... this is the personality... he lives and loves teaching. And he is aware, he can!❤🎉

[stephenconwell]

Outstanding. It's an honor to work with you, Mark.

[DoriAnna-sbrl]

Thank you,
just that.
Especially for me reminding me of Dr. Winter, my English teacher in Dortmund, Germany.
35 years ago.

[jeffreycollins]

Sounds like you had one hell of a teacher. My best teacher was Mr. Keating. Pretty much had to go it alone after seeing this and realizing why I didn't like my schools and why I learnt so much better on my own than with them. Much respect on your video. The DPS lives on FOREVER!!!

[aristica]

I'm a current education student and this video was fantastic! Mr Keating has such an interesting classroom because his pedagogy reinforces the importance of relationships between the student and teacher, even if romnticized. Lovely movie and the comparisons with Palmer were great. I've added Palmer's books to my reading list and I hope to read them soon!

[andrewgreen]

Just bought 'The courage to Teach'... looking forward to reading it. Thanks

[juliawolinska]

This video is 15 minutes long, but I watched it for more than 4 hours. Hundreds of thoughts, enlightenments, conclusions made up a mini-book that I will carry with me. What a strange responsibility that with one film you can change someone's life path. Thank you.

I am a student of one of the existing John Keatings. I know i will never be able to fully express my gratitude for his efforts.

[prinp.]

Awesome video Mr. Mark! I'd never thought about why Mr. Keating's class was so compelling: how even though the details are romanticised, Mr. Keating's foundation and pedagogical philosophy are very real. The idea of molding the classroom into an open community that still has clear influences in traditional pedagogy is extremely fascinating and you articulated that point very well!

[rivers_of_words]

Thank you for this wonderful video -- I'm glad I found this! I'm a current high school senior who intends to major in English to become an English teacher. This video echoes my sentiments towards teaching exactly! I was fortunate to have a teacher like Mr. Keating -- one who inspired and supported me to write & create my own stories/poetry. I aspire to be a teacher just like her. I found a home within her classroom and I sincerely hope my future students find a home within mine.

[goku_dunker_]

Watching this, I thought about a story from another youtuber who recalled his time in highschool, and how one kid had mentioned being so excited to leave school so that he could finally stop learning. The teacher stopped him right there and said approximately "You do not hate learning, learning is amazing. You hate how schools teach you in such an awful manner, and I apologize for it, but never say that you hate learning." That phrase sticks with me so heavily because of the fact that I genuinely felt the same way, even refusing to pick up hobbies due to fear of failure, despite the fact that no one would see me fail and that failing itself is truly just learning in action. I wish more classrooms would embrace the "You got the question wrong, you can try again!" mindset, instead of shaming the student. I'm only recently 20 now, out of highschool for 2 years, but I've had a positive growth mindset for most of that time and it feels like a self evident truth that the moment I am able to step out of the confinement of (mostly) shaming teachers/system, I am able to flourish beyond what I previously thought possible. I now accept failure in my day to day life as a friend in learning.
Also really grand breakdown of Dead Poets Society, although I've never seen it before your pull apart of it, it has me super curious.

[morlath]

Thank you for doing this video.

I will never forget my secondary school's range of teachers and why Dead Poets Society resonates with me as much as it does. My first Science (Double) teacher was the science version of Mr. Keating. He was passionate, energetic, and he wanted us to have the same passion and love for his subject that he did. It didn't matter that he had problems writing (he was a teacher who owned his spelling and grammar difficulties) or that the subject didn't appeal to all of us, only that we students had to try our best. We also had a History teacher who did the same - the disciplinarian you always wanted to make proud and never disappointed - and even an English teacher - who acted as an adult friend. A guiding hand into the subject but who could "shoot the shit" with you after the bell and listen to your personal ramblings while never making it feel like you were wasting his time.

Unfortunately, they either got moved on (Science), died (History), or we were put with another teacher in the following years (English). To say there was a sharp change would be an understatement. Science became something that was driven into our skulls and if we didn't understand something, that was our fault; English became dry reading and solo deconstruction of work without any teacher involvement, passion, or aid; and History turned into a "read this book for the year" chore that ruined our GCSE's because said book didn't have 75% of the subject matter on the exam. A Maths had literally been distilled into a formula for what level of work each student was supposed to be taught, regardless of their actual ability level.

So yes, I ran the range of teachers those five years, and could not agree more with Palmer on his points. To find this video recommended to me after I rewatched an 'O Captain, My Captain' homage to Robin, and it be done by a teacher... I wanted to say thank you. Thank you for still being the type of teacher who had me fall in love with learning.

[photographsbyvincent]

Beautifully said! Thank you for this thoughtful deconstruction (and inspiration!) - and for introducing me to Parker Palmer.

[OldBluesChapterandVerse]

A thought-provoking, gentle video. I’ve never heard of Palmer, but some of his ideas here warrant more digging. I particularly appreciated the second chapter in your video, as well as the discussion of the significance of Keating’s first act being to take the students outside the boundaries of what they’re accustomed to, literally and so figuratively. Good stuff. I’m no longer an English teacher myself — gave that up just under a decade ago — but I always have my hand in (I run a Zoom film club ever Wednesday night and have since the pandemic began) and treasure the friendships I’ve kept with certain teachers of mine and certain students I’ve had. For future reference: Buechner’s name is pronounced “beek-ner.” I used to mispronounce it in the same way as you, so don’t sweat it.

[nicklang]

Loved this video. I think my best teachers are the ones that know how to make school work fun. I'll always remember Mrs. Cooper my science teacher. We got to watch movies with science in it. We did fun projects. Oh and had a fantastic English teacher.

[austinxcipriano]

Excellent video Mr. Mark! This is definitely my favorite you've created!