If a teacher had me close my eyes and ramble about the first things I thought of when I viewed Walt Whitman, I would have deemed him crazy and Mr. Keating was just that. Although there was only a sliver of sanity in his unorthodox English teaching methods, Keating knew exactly what he wanted his students to learn. He wanted to teach his students the powerful effects of non-conformity, the freedom of expressing oneself and being open-minded.
To begin, Keating wanted his students to understand that conformity, although sometimes easier, was not always better. However, these students were raised in strict families, went to an all boys private school, wore uniforms and had strict curfews. They were born into conformity and lived their whole lives by its rules and when Keating had them walk aimlessly in the courtyard but with their own style it was a very weird experience for them all.Conformity has been useful for retaining order but sometimes non comformity such as unpredictability and differences can be even more useful keeping order because if people are allowed to do what they want they are less likely to cause trouble.
Furthermore, because of conformity none of Keating's students knew how to express themselves nor did they have the courage to stand up to their strict parents. Niel Perry, one of Keating's students, had always wanted to play a role in a theatre production. Niel auditioned and got the main role in Mid Summer Night's Dream as Puck however, his father would not let him play the role and forced him to resign from the play. Keating talked with Niel and told him to tell his father how he truly felt and that he was going to do the play. Keating wanted his students to know how to express themselves and on a more personal level he helped some of his students by making them recite poetry in front of the class or encouraging them to follow their dreams.
Lastly, Keating had a strong understanding of how dangerous a closed-mind can be, his colleagues are good examples of closed-minded personalities and he didn't want his students to grow up and become like them. Keating's fellow teachers all had very boring teaching styles that consisted of lectures and textbooks and in his boss's case, the principal of the school, he punished teachers who would step out of line. These people were enough examples that Keating understood that he must teach his students to have an open-mind and few things from different perspectives. This is why he got his students to stand on their desks and realize that their point of view is not the only one.
Keating wanted the best for his students and he wanted them to realize that conformity is not always the best option, expression is a powerful tool when used correctly and open-mindedness can never do harm. It wasn't Mr. Keating's teachings that caused Niel to commit suicide but it was the closed-mindedness of Niel's father.
