Edward 陈芃源

Behaviorism and Humanism in Education in Les Choristes

Les Choristes focuses on a French boarding school for troubled young boys, and their
journey to become a choir. Clément Mathieu is a new teacher there, and a failed musician as
well. The current system of education at the school is strict and cruel behaviorism, locking up
kids in cells and taking away their outdoor privileges after a student’s prank accidentally
injures a teacher in the eye. This doesn’t work, seeing as students continue misbehaving after
rounds and rounds of punishment. However, the principal continues to think that he must
punish them or they will never learn. This is a core belief of behaviorist thinking.
Mathieu, however, takes a different approach to teaching. Even after discovering who
was responsible for the prank, he doesn’t punish the student or report them to the principal,
instead making him care for the injured teacher until his eye heals. He asks what the boys
want to be when they grow up, and what their dreams are. He uses humor, not violence or
anger, when a student draws him rudely. He discovers the boys’ love for singing and
organizes a choir, teaching them something they really love. He separates everyone based on
their voice and talent, so that they’re doing something fitting them. He gives Pépinot, a small
child who can’t sing, a special role as his assistant, not leaving out anyone. He deliberately
hides from a mother the fact that her son was in detention to keep her from worrying. He
suspends classes and takes them on an outing. This is all his humanist form of education,
which works, making the boys listen and participate in class, while previously they were
always stealing his stuff and messing around in class. Contrary to the principal, Mathieu truly
believes that deep down, all of the kids are good. This is a core belief of humanist thinking.
Up until this point, everything was going well, but then a violent, uncontrollable boy
named Mondain arrives. Mathieu first engages in behaviorist teachings to Mondain as well,
trying to incorporate him into the choir, believing that if he is kind and welcoming, Mondain
will become better. However, this doesn’t work, and Mondain even secretly plans to stab him.
The principal then tries a behaviorist method, locking him up and slapping him, but this does
not work either. The principal hands him over to the police because he believes Mondain took
money from the school, but even when he realizes he didn’t, he still refuses to accept him
back into the school. This kind of behaviorist teaching is evidently ineffective, and it even
drives Mondain to commit arson and set fire to the school, which could’ve killed them all.
Overall, it seems that Mathieu’s kinder, less traditional forms of education, which take
on principles of humanist thinking, work much better on the students than the principal’s
strict behaviorist rules and punishments. However, there are always outliers, and Mondain
cannot be controlled or made better by either form.