In A Moment of the Dead Poets, John Keating becomes the new English teacher at Welton Academy, an esteemed school rooted in tradition, after having attended as a student years ago . He teaches using an unconventional style that is different from the traditional English curriculum and, in the process, exposes students to a new perspective on the subject and principles for living life. Keating encourages free thinking and condemns the textbook that prevents students from thinking for themselves. Other people, including the principal, Mr. Nolan, do not agree with his unconventional teaching method and prefer that he follows a traditional teaching method through an English textbook. The lessons that Mr. Keating presents to students reflect Ralph Waldo Emerson's transcendentalist beliefs found in "Self-Reliance" and influence students to become more independent thinkers. Keating teaches his English class in an unconventional way that reflects Emerson's principles of "Self-Reliance." During the first lesson, he tells the class to tear out the introductory page from the English textbook. On this page, the textbook author, Dr. Pritchard, states that the greatness of a poem can be measured by two criteria: the importance and the perfection of the poem. However, measuring the greatness of a poem using a rubric is ridiculous and, as a result, causes students to tear up the page. He wants students to gauge the greatness of the poem by their thoughts about the poem and trust their feelings. The poems were written to express emotions and passion that people should interpret on their own without a quantitative scale. This reflects Emerson's principle that people should trust themselves and... middle of paper... his death, the person is Keating, which further supports Emerson's principle of non-conformity. After Neil's death, Keating's removal further reflects the principles of nonconformity present in “Self-Reliance.” Keating taught the students using the principles of Emerson's work “Self-Reliance” and the students absorbed much of the information. His unusual lectures reflected and demonstrated an understanding of the transcendentalist ideas found in “Self-Reliance” and other works by Walt Whitman. English lessons have successfully influenced numerous students to make their own decisions by teaching them to become independent thinkers, which is a key principle of Emerson. Many students have advanced their ideas through his teachings. While many of these decisions produced positive results, some of the decisions made had terrible consequences.