If you have watched the movie Mr. Holland’s Opus, you will have realized that everyone has had a Mr. Holland: A teacher who was inspirational. A teacher who not only taught but went the extra mile. A teacher who was…more than an educator. I happen to have had several of them, but one stands out: Mr. Dennis Holland.
Yes, I know it is rather ironic that my Mr. Holland was actually named Mr. Holland. But sometimes it is like that. Mr. Holland—to this day, I have never been able to call him anything but Mr. Holland—was one of my math teachers. Yet, his presence at The Derryfield School was felt well outside of mathematics. He was the varsity basketball coach and, while I was there, taught advanced math and computing.
He also taught much more than that. He taught a love of learning, to be honest with oneself, to be an adult. He gave all of us a goal that was achievable with hard work and perseverance.
Many in my class were “macked”: his way of saying that something you did or said was, well, the result of a boneheaded decision. He never delivered the words in a mean-spirited way; he just wanted to point out you had other, better, choices. It also meant he was paying attention to you and would be your guide, if you wanted him to be. Funny—you never wanted a second or third “mack” attached to you. One was all that was required. Every teenager makes at least one boneheaded decision!
Mr. Dennis Holland was our class advisor, he delivered a speech at our graduation, and he was someone we all looked up to and respected. One of my classmates became a teacher and taught with Mr. Holland. Mr. Holland would not let a teacher’s meeting adjourn without insisting my classmate call him “Dennis”. We would call him that to ourselves, but to his face—well, that was another lesson.
There were other things about Dennis Holland that stood out, like his coaching, teaching skills, jokes, and availability. He was always there for his students to guide, assist, or just talk with them. He would challenge us to be better people.
Mr. Holland was a teacher foremost, and that is what he put his life into. He was no angel, but he was larger than life for many of us. He will be missed. I cannot think back to those halcyon days of high school without thinking of Mr. Dennis Holland.
Even after I graduated from college, he was the type of person I greatly respected. One to whom I gave credit in my books. One of the great teachers in my life.
Conclusion
We each have a Mr. Holland. If they are gone, we are very sad, but we know that they taught us to be better than we otherwise would have been. To go on and live our lives without them. They taught us by just being themselves.
Dennis Holland, you are missed.
