What The Best Christmas Movie Ever Can Teach Us About Teaching

It’s that time of year again,  when EduCred Services posts a blog about A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens’s timeless work that basically reinvented the celebration of Christmas. Of all the many adaptations of this work (and, man, there have been a lot), one version stands above the rest. It has everything: a script featuring Dickens’s gorgeous prose, an amazingly talented cast, attention to detail in every aspect of production, and singing rats. Yep, It’s A Muppet Christmas Carol.

You may be wondering what on earth this could possibly have to do with teaching—I know it’s a strange comparison. But consider this: before I and many other children my age could read, we could discuss the plot and major themes of one of Charles Dickens’s most seminal works. We weren’t a generation of literature prodigies; we were just normal kids who loved The Muppets. And that, I think, is a testament to how even the densest, most complex subject matter can be communicated effectively.

So, let’s take a look at what made A Muppet Christmas Carol such a success. How did Brian Henson and his team turn a bunch of hyper kids on Christmas break into would-be Dickens scholars? And how can we harness those same principles to create great learning experiences?

Know Your Subject

A Muppet Christmas Carol is, first and foremost, a faithful adaptation of Charles Dickens’s work, and the makers of this movie did not shy away from the source material. In an interview, Brian Henson shared that he had originally planned to make an irreverent parody of A Christmas Carol, but, after revisiting the text, said, “We stopped and reconsidered. Nobody had ever captured Dickens’ prose – the wonderful way he described the scenes.” His respect for the source material is clearly seen throughout the movie. Entire lines of the script are lifted directly from the original text, the costumes were meticulously designed to reflect the appropriate historical period, and the movie even features Dickens, himself, as a character.

Understanding your subject is, of course, a prerequisite to teaching it. This is one of the reasons why it’s so important to have subject matter experts working with instructional designers. If you don’t know the subject, you won’t know what order lessons should be in, which concepts need the most emphasis and repetition, and which elements best lend themselves to different types of assessments. Whether it’s a Victorian Christmas story or Calculus, you have to know the peculiarities of your subject before you can create a meaningful educational experience that follows a purposeful progression. You have to learn algebra before you can understand calculus, and you have to learn about Scrooge’s past before you can understand his future.

Know Your Audience

One of the greatest things about A Muppet Christmas Carol is how well it connects to its target audience. A lot of media that targets children assumes the audience isn’t intelligent enough to grapple with big concepts, but anyone who has ever spent time with kids knows that they don’t miss much. A Muppet Christmas Carol is fantastic because it doesn’t dumb-down or rush the plot; it knows kids can handle the material, but it does add enough fun and charming elements that it isn’t boring. It masterfully tempers darker story elements (like Scrooge revisiting his lonely childhood or watching his still-warm blankets being sold on the street after he dies) with catchy songs, talking vegetables, and the incomparable comedy of narrators Rizzo and Gonzo. Yes, the story is complex and, at times, dark, but the makers of this movie understood how to reach and communicate to their audience.

In higher ed, the same concepts apply. Today’s students are savvy and curious, but have pretty short attention spans. It's all about striking that balance between complexity and comprehension, just like the movie does. You may not compose an entire score to go along with your course, and you may not use puppets, but you should consider your students. How do they communicate? How can concepts or assessments be framed in ways that make them want to interact and participate—how can you make a lesson stick?

Understand Your Medium

The Muppets have a formula for making great movies[1]: They tell an engaging story with an uplifting message, incorporate musical numbers, frequently break the 4th wall, mix comedy with heart, and feature a cast of talented human actors alongside the Muppets. The Jim Henson Company and, later, Disney have been making Muppet movies since 1979—and they have got this medium dialed in.

What elements go into a winning formula for instructional design? Maybe it includes proprietary digital tools that enhance interaction and engagement. Maybe it uses multimedia elements to make concepts clearer. Whatever the elements, understanding your medium allows you to fully leverage its potential to help your students connect with the curriculum and master difficult concepts.

Make It High-Quality

Michael Caine’s performance as Scrooge is Oscar-worthy, and that is a hill I will die on. From his very first scene, it is obvious that he is not “acting in a Muppet movie for kids,” he is giving a masterclass in portraying a nuanced anti-hero. This excellent performance is matched by fantastically catchy musical numbers, beautifully imagined sets, and, of course, brilliant puppeteers. Nobody on this production team settled for “good enough.” Would this movie have still worked without such a fierce commitment to quality? Maybe, but it certainly wouldn’t have been so impactful to so many people (and I certainly wouldn’t be writing a blog about it 31 years later).

Similarly, in the world of higher education, commitment to quality can be the defining factor between a forgettable course and one that leaves a lasting impact. High-quality design means creating an engaging learning environment with thoughtful materials, interactive elements, and innovative teaching methods. It takes into account the diverse learning styles and needs of students, ensuring that the content is not only accessible but also motivating. When institutions commit to this level of quality, they create educational experiences that students remember and appreciate long after the course has ended.

A Muppet Christmas Carol is not just the best Christmas movie of all time (Elf being a close second); it is an apotheosis of teaching. Its lessons are simple but important: know your subject, connect with your audience, understand your medium, and prioritize high quality in all of your efforts. There might not be talking vegetables or musical numbers in every lecture (though, hey, if you can swing it, that would be pretty great), but today’s students certainly deserve learning experiences infused with creativity and excellence, especially given the amazing technological tools at our disposal in 2023. Remember: if a group of puppeteers hiding behind set pieces can make us weep over the death of Miss Piggy’s fictional frog son, Tiny Tim, you can transform an ordinary course into a memorable and engaging journey of discovery.

[1] For the record, Brian Henson’s A Muppet Christmas Carol and Muppet Treasure Island are the best.