EDUC 1080- Introduction to
Philosophy
---Dangerous Minds
Chan Ka Wing Summer
Chau Pik Yee Sophie
Chow Ka Tung Karillis
Li Wai Yi Ruth
Yuen Emily Shin-kay
Description of the Dangerous
Minds
Main Characters
Louanne Johnson
-The teacher of the class
- An ex-marine
Raul Sanchero
-One of the students
-Always involves in fighting and crimes
Emilio Ramirez
- A disturbing student
- The leader of the class
Callie Roberts
-The pregnant student
- Very smart in literature
Hal Griffith
-Johnson’s friend
-A teacher in the same school
Plot Summary
Louanne Johnson, an ex-marine, is hired as a teacher in a highschool in a poor area of the city. She has recently separated from
her husband. Her friend, also teacher in the school, got the
temporary job for her. After a terrible reception from the
students, she tries unconventional methods of teaching (using
karate, Bob Dylan lyrics. etc) to gain the trust of the students.
Louanne also visit her students’ families in order to understand
their background and thoughts. She gives incentives to the
students so they finally get an A in their examination. After the
death of Emilio ( he was killed by a gang with whom he fought),
she decides to quit her job, but the students are so in love with
her and regard her a light of their lives. Being touched by the
students, Louanne decided not to leave her students and
continue to guide their way on studying.
Does the curriculum serve the
interests of the dominant people in
society (the ruling class)?
- What are the dominant people interested in?
- political, literature, business, language, mathematics,
economics… etc.
- What was taught by Louanne
- Literature, language, right learning attitude, how to deal
with different people in the society, how to love each other,
attitude towards life and obstacles
- Conclusion: Whole-person Development - Louanne makes a
balance between academic (what the ruling class cares) and
ethical/ non-academic concepts
Are students engaged in worthwhile
relevant experiences or are they
encouraged to absorb knowledge directly?
Miss Johnson teaches the students by letting them engage
in relevant experiences (Constructive approach)
e.g. The experience in the high-end restaurant – learn the
manner & make decision
e.g. Writing for the poetry competition - through
participating in the competition, learn how to write with
seriousness and heart
e.g. Teach students poems by asking their opinions on the
writers’ view
Aims of Education
• Transfer Academic Knowledge
• Make Choices
• Equip Critical Thinking
• Cultivate different Qualities
• Assert Equality in Education
Aims of Education
• Transfer Academic Knowledge
Language: English
Literature: Poetry
Function:
to equip students with the required knowledge
for their higher education
Aims of Education
• Make Choices
I will not go down under the ground
’cause somebody tells me that death’s comin’ round
And I will not carry myself down to die
When I go to my grave my head will be high
(Bob Dylan: Let Me Die in My Footsteps)
“Everybody has got a choice, you could stay, or you
can leave.”(Mrs. Johnson)  Study for themselves
Also, we have our own choice in our life, depends on
how you choose.
Function of Education: guide you choose
Aims of Education
•
Equip students with Critical Thinking
Analyze Bob Dylan’s poems
(symbolism & metaphor) encourage students to talk
about their own understanding and meaning in a
particular poem
Functions: analyze the issues in society right vs wrong
(New Insight)
e.g.
criticize the education system for a pregnant girl
Aims of Education
• Whole-person education
teach students how to respect other people
help students build up self-esteem (e.g. Raul)
Function: transform students to a whole person
Aims of Education
• Spread the Message: Equality in Education
“there are no victims in this classroom”
(Miss. Johnson)
Everyone in the classroom is equal irrespective
of their academic results
“everybody’s got a choice” (Miss. Johnson)
everyone in the society is equal irrespective of
their social class
Plato “had no perception of the
uniqueness of individuals…
they fall by nature in to classes”
Education System in Dangerous
Minds
• All students experience the SAME curriculum
regardless of students’ interests, abilities and
affinities
Miss. Johnson  teach something deviate from
the curriculum (e.g. karate)  catch attention
disagree by the school stick to the designate
curriculum Miss. Johnson teaches her
students according to the curriculum
Different Attitudes towards
Education
• School : teach according to the designate
curriculum
• Parents: education is useless, children should
help the family do housework
• Students: don’t like go to school at the
beginning but change at the end
How is Miss Johnson
(teacher) depicted in the
film?
Teaching Attitude of Miss Johnson
• Miss Johnson loves teaching
• Knowledgeable + enthusiastic about her subject
• Always modifies her teaching methods suit her
students
• Uses special sentences–
• “We want (choose) to die.”
• Teaches lyrics to get the
attention from the students
 teaches poetry
• “She broke the rules… and changed their lives”
Classroom Practices
• Miss Johnson bad experience and treatment
in the first day of school
• Very special and challenging students
• Students nicknamed her “white bread”
• Lacks authority and planning
• Reads book about discipline overnight
modifies her teaching methods
• Uses special themes and languages teaches
her students draw their attention
How does Miss Johnson treat her
students?
• Miss Johnson’s students all from lower class +
underprivileged backgrounds
• × looks down on them
• ↑ respect + care to her students, especially their
personal problems
• Respects their cultural and economic backgrounds
they come from
Example 1
• Rewards her students chocolate bars +
inviting them to the theme park
• Encourages her students to learn + pay
attention in class
• Her students are all from lower class do not
have so much money for leisure
• Be more active when having lessons
Example 2
• Callie Roberts smart + good at English
• Becomes pregnant
• Forces to leave school
• Miss Johnson visits her after school
• Encourages her to continue with her study
• Gives Callie fully support
Example 3
• Raύl Sanchero frequently involves in fighting +
gang crimes
• Miss Johnson pays a home-visit
• Congratulates his hard work at school
• Rewards him a special dinner because of his
hardworking
• ↑His self- esteem
+ confidence
Philosophical Perspectives
Idealism
• Idea and ideal
• Idea= have a thought, a concept, or a
mental picture
• Ideal= a perfect example of something- a
person, belief, principle or cause
• Idealists believe striving for perfection
desirable goal
• Inner feeling of a particular person only
Idealism in Dangerous Minds---Example 1
• Miss Johnson achieves idealism + strives for
perfection
• All the students in the class have a very
dangerous mind
• Students are all from lower-class and
underprivileged backgrounds dislike learning
at school
• × Positive attitude in learning
• Miss Johnson × give up on her students
• “ From now on, everyone has an A.”
• She motivates them by giving them an A
grade in the beginning
 Wants her students to maintain an A +
strives for perfection in their learning
Realism
• Having a practical understanding + acceptance of
the world
• × idealized or romanticized version of it
• Realism asserts we live in a world of objects
truly exist and are external to us
• Education method “show and tell”
• Understand the objects in the world
Realism in Dangerous Minds---Example 1
• Miss Johnson wants to gain trust from her
students
• Teaches them karate in class
• She demonstrates what is karate to her
students first (Real object)
• Her students
better understanding
about karate
• Miss Johnson
achieves realism in
her teaching (Show and tell)
Pragmatism
• × a metaphysical system
• Emphasizes the practical application of ideas
• Testing them in human experience
• Focuses more on the application in the reality
Pragmatism in Dangerous Minds---Example 1
• Miss Johnson teaches her students using
the lyrics of Bob Dylan’s Mr. Tambourine
Man
• Teaches metaphor + symbolism
• ↑ interest in learning poetry
• Further progresses to Dylan Thomas’s “Do
not go gentle into that good night”
• Achieves pragmatism successfully
Questions for Discussion
Discussion- Topic 1
• How will you, as a teacher, deal with a
pregnant student? Suggesting her to
drop out, or encouraging her to
continue her study?
Discussion- Topic 2
• How to solve a fight among students?
Discussion- Topic 3
• Do you think home-visit is a good way
to solve the problems of students? If
not, any alternatives?
Discussion- Topic 4
• Do you think Miss Johnson is too
naïve to understand the situation of
the students?
Our Comments
• Yes
• Grows up in a totally different world
• Doesn’t know how bad is the situation the
students facing (racism, poverty, no hope for
tomorrow etc.)
Discussion- Topic 5
• Do you think she has changed
throughout the movie?
Our Comments
• Yes
• Pays home-visit
• Helps calie to solve her problem – she doesn’t
need to quit the school
• Teaches the students according to their
interests
Conclusion
Conclusion
• What do you think about the message
of the film?
Conclusion
1. Choice
- “There is no victim in the class”
- everyone has a choice
- once you have chosen it, you have to do it well
2. Caring
- respects the choices of all students
- thinks according to their points of view
- loves the students disregarding their
backgrounds
- Concerns their personal problems