Critical Analysis of A Renaissance Man

In “A Renaissance Man”, many theories about learning and ideas about education in general are cleverly represented through the life story of Bill Rago, a well-educated man who suddenly finds himself unemployed and therefore working as a teacher in a military school.

One of the aspects of the story that impacted me the most was when the employee from the unemployment office told Bill that he could work as a teacher because he had a Master’s Degree. I think this type of attitude is unfair towards teachers, because it implies that almost anyone can teach without any necessary additional studies in Education per se. I also found the scene when the Drill Sergeant told Mr. Rago to come prepared to class a turning point in the movie, because this challenge was what made him change his attitude towards teaching and it was then when he also took control over his life by embracing and facing the change instead of dwelling on the fact that he was basically forced into the situation.

As for the theories that are presented in the movie, I think the main theory presented is social constructivism, mainly because of two reasons. The first reason is that, as I mentioned, Bill created and accepted his new reality (being a teacher) through his actions and adaptation in order to survive. In addition, he mentions, for example, the fact that society has evolved gradually as humans have redefined what is acceptable and what is not, such as when he explains to his students how, in Shakespeare’s time, women did not act, something that is completely different today because we have made it that way.

The second main evidence of the social constructivism theory is the fact that the students were able to learn successfully because of Mr. Rago’s efforts to make the lessons and the concepts relevant to each of their experiences. This is because I feel that education occurs in a particular context of each individual student, and, in order to be a better teacher, we need to be aware of these situations and try to adapt our strategies so students can relate to what is being taught and stay interested in the material. In fact, education itself is a social construct, because the role we give it in society, the things we decide to teach, and the methods we use to assess learning is something that we have established as humans as well. (Whether we have done a good job or not is another topic in itself).

Lastly, the movie’s plot definitely applies to our everyday life in classrooms, because we also often see how students come from a wide range of backgrounds, some of which have provided them with very unfortunate situations that have affected their attitudes and behaviors as a mechanism of self-defense, and we as teachers should not lose sight of this, because understanding that fact helps us understand the origin of the difficulties we face sometimes. Also, we are sometimes forced into a specific situation that we did not expect or did not wish to be in, but, as the movie shows, when we face the challenge with a positive attitude, the situation is made easier.