Over the holidays I saw the new version of Goodbye, Mr Chips, which was
enough to make me choke on my chocolates at times. I’ve never read the book or seen
any other adaptation all the way through. A while back there was a very old version
on a movie channel somewhere, and I saw some of it, but it seemed very sad and I had
to pretend I had something in my eye as I reached for the remote control to turn the
emotional gloop over. Besides, the frightfully old fashioned language and diction had
the opposite effect of making me snort with derisive laughter.
The most recent version, featuring Martin Clunes, seemed to have some of the same
set pieces I saw in the old black and grey version, but at least this time I could
lighten the atmosphere with my poor jokes about Men Behaving Badly, in which he also
starred. Poor old Mr Chips. It seems that even in those days (1880s I think), boys were little
buggers, and they gave him a hard time when he first started to teach them Latin.
But he soon managed to command their respect, and it seemed he did this with a
barbed use of sarcasm and derision in the direction of one boy, that made the rest
of the class laugh, and settle into the realisation that Mr Chips wasn’t a bad sort
of fellow after all.
What a shame we can’t have results like that in this day and age! With sarcasm,
I mean. It’s the one thing you’re supposed to leave at the classroom door, when
really it would be such an effective weapon to fend off the comments that whirl in
your direction. But why is it so frowned upon? I’m going to answer my own question
here. I remember being subjected to sarcasm by teachers at school, and there’s
nothing worse for making you feel small and humiliated. In my school, it was used
daily as a means of control, and I recall an atmosphere of fear, where it was so
easy to put a foot wrong and be singled out to be laughed at by other students and
teachers alike. As an adolescent, being singled out and laughed at is possibly one
of the worst things that can happen to you in a classroom or assembly: teachers
provide ready-made ammunition for less witty bullies to use. But here I am, out
the other side, with a clutch of successful exam results which can be attributed
to teachers who refused to let their students put a foot out of line, lest your
shoe be metaphorically kicked away from you. Our classes were hives of activity
and success was expected: if it didn’t appear to be forthcoming, it was verbal
whiplash for the poor unfortunate who faltered.
But we’re told not to use sarcasm, and to a great extent I agree, having been
subjected to humiliating treatment myself. What I’d like to know is how Mr Chips
would have won round the boys without it. Would they have responded so well to the
“positive learning environment” of praise and encouragement that we’re expected to
provide constantly today? Mr Chips was seen as a bit of a trendy teacher in his
time, with his new-fangled ideas about not caning the boys, and letting them
develop as fully rounded individuals who would dance with young ladies in a
courteous manner. However, how would we update Mr Chips, and not just by remaking
the film? Maybe it’s just something that doesn’t translate to the 21st century,
which is why it’s so comforting to wallow in a nostalgic past of dutiful boys and
respected teachers. All of which seems in direct contrast to a story also set
in Victorian times, Tom Brown’s Schooldays, which you can read about
here.
added 2/1/05
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