The dead poets society: mr. keating as a teacher and personality

The story is about a teacher called Mr. Keating, he is introduced to an all-boys school that is known for its ancient traditions and high standards. I have chosen the topic ‘ The lessons at Welton Academy’.

I chose this topic because I can relate to the boys at the academy in so many ways. In general, I don’t have many positive experiences with school at al. I hate school and I hate almost every teacher I have ever had. When I saw the movie ‘ The Dead Poets Society’ I was very impressed by the teaching methods Mr. Keating used. Although he is a little bit weird and sometimes a little too overexcited he did encourage the boys to think differently. Keating has a very unique way of teaching. He uses many different methods of teaching to get the students involved, but he shows them ways to have fun also. He is teaching them to make their lives extraordinary, think for themselves, and be an individual instead of a follower.

In his first lesson, he illustrates the differences between his teaching style as opposed to the rest of the faculty. He lets them think for themselves, no other teacher at Welton Academy would do that. In his second lesson, he literally lets them rip out the introduction of their poetry textbook because of what J. Evans Pritchard tells them what to do with poetry. I think some of his teaching methods have many advantages. Because he doesn’t only care about how much they learn but also about having fun while learning. He does a very good job of making the boys come out of their comfort zone and learns them how to break out of their shells. In another lesson he lets his students stand on their desks so they could see things from a different perspective. I think that’s the greatest benefit they were taught, to look at the world the way you want to and “ Seize the Day”. I personally would love to have him as a teacher because from experience I’ve witnessed that I learned much more and much easier if I actually enjoyed learning.

Despite all the positive effects of his teaching methods, I can also see some of the disadvantages. I think if he was my teacher and if he would teach my class he would have a very hard time. Most of his students reacted positively to his way of teaching but I think most of the students in my class to say the least would find him rather annoying. Also, Keating only used examples of poems from white males. He should’ve used more multicultural poems, that way he would have given the students an even broader outlook on the world. Because of his controversial way of teaching, eventually, he is the one the school used as a scapegoat to blame for Niel’s suicide. I do think that Mr. Keating is a great teacher but sometimes school is just not about having fun. The board of the school doesn’t agree on the way he teaches his class and that is also one of the reasons that caused his downfall.

I think Mr. Keating is a very brave man. He doesn’t just go with the flow no matter what the risk may be. He encourages the boys to make their lives extraordinary and to seize the day. In this essay, the impact of Mr. Keating has become much clearer to me. He’s not only a great teacher he’s also a role model. The boys have a high-performance pressure from their parents and school. He makes their lives a little bit easier and shows them there’s always light at the end of the tunnel.