Author: michellep

A few weeks ago, I saw the fabulous movie “Whiplash” about a dedicated drummer vying for the praise and attention of his intensely effective yet sometimes abusive college professor. If you haven’t seen this film, make it a priority as soon as you have the opportunity. As a teacher, it stayed on my mind for well over a week. It made me think of a lot of things. The professor in the film is a talented teacher, creating a top student jazz band that would make professionals envious. But his methods are ethically questionable. He uses embarrassing details about students to humiliate them in class out of revenge for playing out of tune. He slaps a student to the beat of a metronome when the student is out of time. He even throws a cymbal at the poor kid when he doesn’t get the beat “just right.” It’s pretty hard to watch at times.

And though I of course disagree with his abusive behavior, there is one thing he says