The scene where the boys are giving Mr. Chips a rough time on the first day is very powerful, if not one of the most significant scenes of the movie as a whole in terms of the school setting at least. But what took place afterwards really ties into what we have learned throughout the semester in many ways.
When Mr. Chips is receiving his "verbal reprimand" from the headmaster, he was really being molded himself on how to effectively establish classroom management, routines, and discipline procedures. Each of these come in the EFC textbook, and in particular to the case of the movie, chapter 7: Addressing Discipline Issues.
Along with Ch 7 in the EFC, this scene really relates to our Opening Minds textbook, also chapter 7. The scene directly speaks towards taking moral development seriously, and the power it has within school walls that will no doubt lead to better citizens. How do we as teachers play a vital part in the role of moral development by showing courage in the face of our students when things are not going so great, such as a student misbehaving? How can we set norms and create a fair environment in the classroom? What might be some long term effects of this on the students that receive these ever important lessons?
This scene also leads directly into Lawrence Kohlberg's theory on moral development. What the headmaster is telling Mr. Chips almost seems to come right out of our book on page 139 of the Theories textbook, "moral development has considerable implications for students' overall development into well-functioning adults as well as impact on the classroom learning environment.