Movie Clip #2: “Not quite my tempo” from Whiplash

This scene from Whiplash is a great example of problematic teaching. The band director in this movie is really strict about playing the band music perfectly. When they start rehearsing and the drummer is off time, the band director is calmly trying to let him fix it himself. Instead of talking to the drummer about the problem, he yells at him and starts to pick on him. This way of teaching can be efficient but not in the sense that their morality will deteriorate and may cause them to feel like they are being forced into knowledge rather than experiencing it in an engaging way like above. When Neiman (the drummer) is unsure about if he was rushing or dragging, the band director throws a chair at him. Teachers should never abuse or swear at their students, despite how frustrated they are with them. There are better ways to handle these problems and if this were to happen in real life, he would no longer be a teacher or direct that band. As a musician I can relate to the feeling of being in a band and wanting to do well at competitions and concerts but to threaten the musicians and abuse them verbally and physically, it can take away from the purpose of what playing music really is. The musicians in this band are very talented and when the band director got frustrated when they made a mistake, he could have left the scene until he was calm or told the band to work on it themselves.