movie dead poet s society the dead poet that killed

Movie: Dead Poet's Society - The Dead Poet That Killed Himself
The movie Dead Poet's Society raises an interesting
question: When
educating teen-agers, is it better to use the school's policy of
Tradition,
Honor, Discipline, and Excellence or Mr. Keating's philosophy of
carpe diam
(seize the day)? Mr. Keating believed that people should "suck
the marrow out of
life" and live like a free thinking person even at the young age
of seventeen.
Centuries of teaching experience prove Mr. Keating is wrong and
that tradition
and discipline are the correct methods of educating.
Our fledgling nation of only 200 years is a mental midget
in this world.
Why is it that we are 17th in the world in education. Is it that
we are stupid?
No, it is that we have diverged from the old world teaching
methods of Europe
and Asia. Japan is third is the world in education. The reason is
simple.
Although they manufacture most of the world's calculators, not
one is used in
the classroom. One really begins to understand math when taught
by route
memorization and physical punishment for incorrect answers.
Anyone who has been
"rapped on the knuckles" by a nun with a ruler can attest to this
fact.
The one thing that a student needs in life is structure.

Without this,
he or she cannot function in a school environment. When a bell
rings, you must
go to class. When a teacher assigns homework, you do it. No
questions asked. No
individual thought. The only marrow that should be sucked out of
a students life
is that of education. That, after all, is why they are in school.
To learn and
no other reason.
In the end, it should be noted that although Mr.
Keating's teaching
philosophy was debunked, he made one good point. Neil should have
spoken to his
parents. Neil's case is a perfect example of a mind not ready for
independent
thought. A mind without discipline. His parents tried to give him
direction and
a better life than they had. Neil rewarded them by killing
himself. The author
of this essay has no sympathy for Mr. Keating, the man whose
teaching inspired a
cowardly act of suicide.