Billy Madison Movie Review

Running head: BILLY MADISON MOVIE REVIEW
BILLY MADISON MOVIE REVIEW
College of Southern Nevada
Benette Yates
Professor Dr. Vincent L. Richardson
EDU 220
September 19, 2021

BILLY MADISON MOVIE REVIEW 2
Billy Madison Movie Review
In the movie Billy Madison, the main character Billy Madison is a rich kid who has
been spoilt all his life by his rich parents. The character Billy spends most of his life partying
and drinking lots of alcohol. His father, Brian Madison, is a rich influencer in the hotel
industry. He heads a chain of hotels and is fed up with Billy Madison’s irresponsible ways.
He, therefore, issues him with an ultimatum. Since Brian had admitted to paying Billy’s
teachers to fix Billy’s grades so he could eventually graduate and Billy wants to take over his
father’s business, Brian wants Billy to redo his papers to prove that he is capable. If he does
not prove he is capable, the business will be handed over to Brian’s associate, Eric.
In the film Billy Madison, the teacher is effective. The main character Billy has to
retake every grade with a pass within 24 weeks. He meets a third-grade teacher Veronica
Vaughn played by actress Bridgette Wilson and immediately forms a mutual connection with
the teacher. Veronica is aware of how much Billy likes her and decides to use that to her
advantage in helping Billy pass his tests. Veronica uses a demonstrating style of teaching that
is effective in topics that require a full understanding of concepts through demonstrations.
After demonstrating to the student how to work on a task or assignment, they are allowed to
practice on their own until they fully understand the concepts. Veronica capitalizes on this
style by providing visual aids that assist Billy in understanding and internalize mathematical
concepts. Another teaching style that makes the teacher effective is the hybrid teaching
method that combines the traditional teaching methods with media teaching. This type of
teaching method is effective because it combines various teaching methods into one effective
teaching method. Veronica applies this teaching method to Billy by combining Billy’s
interests with hers, hence creating a proper learning environment that helps Billy excel.
Veronica is effective because Billy’s grades keep rising, and he understands most of the
concepts. Thanks to Veronica's effective methods, Billy also managed to pass all the grades
in the limited time he had.
The fact that Billy was spoilt largely affected his cognitive development. Cognition
development is the growth of a child’s thought, reason, and observation. Billy's rational part
of the brain is not similar to his peers since all his life; he has been spoilt and did not have to
work for anything. He never paid attention to any of his schoolwork since his father paid the
teachers so that he could graduate. When his father hands him an ultimatum, Billy is
challenged to prove his father wrong. The brain structures and functions usually change over
time; this makes it hard for Billy to memorize key concepts that he requires to pass his exams
and also affects Veronica's teaching methods since she now has to come up with a teaching
method that would make it easier for Billy to remember concepts. For example, there is a
scene in the movie where Veronica removes a piece of her clothing as a reward to Billy for
getting an answer right, and this motivates Billy to keep working harder and harder.
Developmental aspects also affect teachers in that if the teacher has a problem with their
social development, they would teach differently compared to a teacher who likes to
socialize.
The impression conveyed in this movie is the effectiveness of a teacher and learner
relationship. Billy and Veronica in the mover have a very close teacher-student relationship
that enables them to succeed. As a future teacher, I would like to implement the hybrid
teaching system since it has proven to be a very effective teaching method. I will also create a
personal teaching relationship with my students professionally to understand the problems
my students' problems. For example, I would approach students one on one to understand
their weaknesses and strengths and how they would like to be taught to improve their grades.
A motivational issue in the movie is that Billy ended up working hard not for his well-
being but for the rewards and the fact that he wanted to prove his father wrong. Veronica also
did not teach Billy that there won't be a reward every time he does what he is supposed to do.
In this film, I noticed operant conditioning, a learning strategy that uses rewards for
motivation. For example, if Billy passed his grades, he would be rewarded by both his father
and Veronica. Extrinsic motivation is one aspect of the motivational theories that I found in
the movie. External forces push Billy to complete his school work and pass his grades.

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Running head: BILLY MADISON MOVIE REVIEW

BILLY MADISON MOVIE REVIEW

College of Southern Nevada

Professor Dr. Vincent L. Richardson

September 19, 2021

Billy Madison Movie Review

is effective in topics that require a full understanding of concepts through demonstrations.

in the limited time he had.

personal teaching relationship with my students professionally to understand the problems

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