Movie Poster
The Mentalist is an educational film about a psychology professor who rescues a gifted teenager and is able to save himself.
When a young genius, Will, is occasionally prosecuted for assaulting a police officer, Professor Rambo bails him out on the condition that Will help him with high-end math and go to therapy once a week. Will does the math with ease, but the therapy goes awry, and he drives off five therapists until Rambo’s classmate, Sean, shows up. With trust, Sean broke through Will’s defenses and eventually got him back on his feet and out of his own grief over the loss of his wife.
This film gives us a lot of inspiration in education.
Firstly, educators must arm themselves with advanced theories, solid knowledge, and superb qualities.
As we Chinese always say, you have to be tough yourself to beat iron, and this is very reasonable. The reason why the first five psychologists lost was not only because of their personal failings, but also because of their poor practice. The funniest was when one doctor hypnotized Will with the aid of a pocket watch, and was almost hypnotized by Will instead. When a teacher’s methods are well known to his students, it’s time to recharge and upgrade his arsenal.
Instead, Professor Seán succeeded because he believed from the beginning that “gaining trust is the key to breaking through the defenses of the heart,” and he followed through on that belief. The belief is equivalent to the “inner work” in martial arts novels, while hypnosis and other means are only “outer work”.
Secondly, book knowledge alone is not enough; one must experience life and gain inner insights.
In the second session, Professor Sean pointed out that Will only copied book knowledge and made exaggerated speeches, but lacked direct understanding of life. Will talked about art, but did not go to the field to observe Michelangelo’s famous paintings; he talked about war, but never went to the battlefield and watched his comrades die at his knees ……. In short, it was all window-dressing and empty talk. This passage deeply shocked Will, and became a breakthrough for him to open his heart.
Wonderful Lines
A teacher who has been to the Yellow Crane Tower is full of energy when he speaks to his students about it, not just empty words.
Third, deep knowledge and deep love.
This is also a cliché, but how to know the depth of knowledge, but need to learn from the film. When Professor Sean says “It’s not your fault” five times in a row, he has already learned from the file about Will’s unfortunate past: five times in foster care, three times severely abused, and the loss of trust in people. We always talk about having the courage of your convictions, but where does that come from? Of course it comes from knowing your students well.
Fourth, one’s own experience is the greatest educational resource.
Professor Sean told of his wife’s farting problem, exaggerating that she had been awakened from a dream by her own farts. This made Will laugh and instantly brought him closer. There was also the famous long line in which the professor said he once went to Sistine Chapel to see the master frescoes, watched his comrades die on the battlefield, and watched his seriously ill wife die in the hospital room, and other personal experiences, all of which deeply touched Will’s heart.
There is no need to search for inspirational stories of celebrities, you are a treasure of education – this is the confidence we should have as teachers.
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