Many of the comments here have mentioned Dr. Clark's (Lancaster) belief that the children should not be given love (which would indeed be heinous). I saw it a different way. I didn't think he objected to love so much as coddling and not enforcing a gentle discipline; the first time we see him in the institution with Reuben (Ritchie) and Reuben misbehaves, he applies discipline - which to Miss Hanson (Garland) seems unkind and extreme. Her wish is to protect the children from the world - from all hurts, all responsibilities. Clark even states that without learning some sort of discipline, the children have no hope of learning anything else.
Miss Hanson's philosophy is echoed in Reuben's father's (Hill) wish to remove Reuben from the institution and have him privately cared for, where he could have anything he wants, and didn't "have to do anything he didn't want to." As a former educator, I think it's possible to truly love your students and show them that you do, without foregoing the gentle discipline it will take to help them prepare for the world.
As a film, I wasn't too impressed. I too felt that Garland's performance was lacking and that she looked older than her years, though her sedate performance did seem to fit in with the character she was playing. I felt that several scenes were either mechanisms for forwarding Miss Hanson's "education," or devices to elicit sympathy. Still, it was a very thought-provoking film.
Miss Hanson's philosophy is echoed in Reuben's father's (Hill) wish to remove Reuben from the institution and have him privately cared for, where he could have anything he wants, and didn't "have to do anything he didn't want to." As a former educator, I think it's possible to truly love your students and show them that you do, without foregoing the gentle discipline it will take to help them prepare for the world.
As a film, I wasn't too impressed. I too felt that Garland's performance was lacking and that she looked older than her years, though her sedate performance did seem to fit in with the character she was playing. I felt that several scenes were either mechanisms for forwarding Miss Hanson's "education," or devices to elicit sympathy. Still, it was a very thought-provoking film.