false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1218027647m/3972405.jpg 4909 38 For 30 years Frank McCourt taught high school English in New York City and for much of that time he considered himself a fraud. During these years he danced a delicate jig between engaging the students, satisfying often bewildered administrators and parents, and actually enjoying his job. He tried to present a consistent image of composure and self-confidence, yet he regularly felt insecure, inadequate, and unfocused. After much trial and error, he eventually discovered what was in front of him (or rather, behind him) all along--his own experience. "My life saved my life," he writes. "My students didn't know there was a man up there escaping a cocoon of Irish history and Catholicism, leaving bits of that cocoon everywhere." At the beginning of his career it had never occurred to him that his own dismal upbringing in the slums of Limerick could be turned into a valuable lesson plan. Indeed, his formal training emphasized the opposite. Principals and department heads lectured him to never share anything personal. He was instructed to arouse fear and awe, to be stern, to be impossible to please--but he couldn't do it. McCourt was too likable, too interested in the students' lives, and too willing to reveal himself for their benefit as well as his own. He was a kindred spirit with more questions than answers: "Look at me: wandering late bloomer, floundering old fart, discovering in my forties what my students knew in their teens."<p> As he did so adroitly in his previous memoirs, <i>Angela's Ashes</i> and <i>'Tis</i>, McCourt manages to uncover humor in nearly everything. He writes about hilarious misfires, as when he suggested (during his teacher's exam) that the students write a suicide note, as well as unorthodox assignments that turned into epiphanies for both teacher and students. A dazzling writer with a unique and compelling voice, McCourt describes the dignity and difficulties of a largely thankless profession with incisive, self-deprecating wit and uncommon perception. It may have taken him three decades to figure out how to be an effective teacher, but he ultimately saved his most valuable lesson for himself: how to be his own man. <I>--Shawn Carkonen</I> 3060322 book 2005 Teacher Man: A Memoir total:5821|5:1073|4:2063|3:1955|2:617|1:113| 5821 20829 7714 839 4909 0743243781 9780743243780 5246 735 3.58 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165515799m/4909.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4909.Teacher_Man_A_Memoir 3 5 false Wed Jun 11 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Jan 10 15:03:09 -0800 2008 Wed Jun 11 18:24:05 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4909 0743243781 9780743243780 5246 735 3.58 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165515799m/4909.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4909.Teacher_Man_A_Memoir 3 3 false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Dec 25 12:55:58 -0800 2007 Fri Jan 04 09:23:11 -0800 2008
I ended up with mixed feelings about this book. I loved -- no, adored -- the first section of this wry, honest memoir. The second section was solid, also, but felt a little out of place. (My reaction: What? McCourt's in Dublin drinking, c...more...]]> 4909 0743243781 9780743243780 5246 735 3.58 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165515799m/4909.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4909.Teacher_Man_A_Memoir 4 4 false Thu Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Wed Apr 18 06:22:34 -0700 2007 Wed May 16 18:57:22 -0700 2007
Then, when I thought about it, I realized how much it made sense. I've only been teaching for five years, and at times, it feels like forever, but at th...more...]]> 4909 0743243781 9780743243780 5246 735 3.58 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165515799m/4909.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4909.Teacher_Man_A_Memoir 1 3 false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Sun Feb 25 12:04:48 -0800 2007 Sun Feb 25 12:06:50 -0800 2007
when i got to the e...more...]]> 4909 0743243781 9780743243780 5246 735 3.58 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165515799m/4909.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4909.Teacher_Man_A_Memoir 4 3 false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sat Jun 02 04:31:37 -0700 2007 Tue Aug 14 03:57:30 -0700 2007 more...]]> 236259 0007173989 9780007173983 24 6 3.58 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172983487m/236259.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/236259.TEACHER_MAN_A_MEMOIR 2 1 false Fri Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Fri May 25 14:15:05 -0700 2007 Fri May 25 14:15:55 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4909 0743243781 9780743243780 5246 735 3.58 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165515799m/4909.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4909.Teacher_Man_A_Memoir 2 1 false Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sat Feb 23 18:30:58 -0800 2008 Sat Feb 23 18:37:48 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4909 0743243781 9780743243780 5246 735 3.58 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165515799m/4909.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4909.Teacher_Man_A_Memoir 4 2 false Sun Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2006 Thu Oct 18 21:28:11 -0700 2007 Thu Oct 18 21:31:48 -0700 2007
Give copies of this book as gifts to the teachers in your life. Teacher Man is a great reminiscence on a career that was so much more than a career. In McCourt's case, it was a calling, a way to indulge hi...more...]]> 4909 0743243781 9780743243780 5246 735 3.58 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165515799m/4909.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4909.Teacher_Man_A_Memoir 3 1 false Sat Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2006 Sat Mar 07 09:31:37 -0800 2009 Sat Mar 07 09:31:37 -0800 2009 more...]]> 236259 0007173989 9780007173983 24 6 3.58 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172983487m/236259.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/236259.TEACHER_MAN_A_MEMOIR 0 0 false Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Mar 06 00:32:31 -0800 2009 Fri Mar 06 01:06:42 -0800 2009 2 more...]]> 4909 0743243781 9780743243780 5246 735 3.58 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165515799m/4909.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4909.Teacher_Man_A_Memoir 5 0 false Wed Sep 23 14:05:14 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 23 14:06:59 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4909 0743243781 9780743243780 5246 735 3.58 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165515799m/4909.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4909.Teacher_Man_A_Memoir 3 0 false Wed Jul 22 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 23 06:15:24 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 23 06:19:28 -0700 2009 1 more...]]> 4909 0743243781 9780743243780 5246 735 3.58 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165515799m/4909.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4909.Teacher_Man_A_Memoir 2 0 false Mon Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Jun 14 11:26:00 -0700 2009 Sun Jun 14 11:32:14 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4909 0743243781 9780743243780 5246 735 3.58 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165515799m/4909.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4909.Teacher_Man_A_Memoir 5 1 false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Sun Mar 22 23:13:40 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 24 15:03:01 -0700 2009 more...]]> 113143 0743243773 9780743243773 356 55 3.58 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171669479m/113143.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/113143.Teacher_Man_A_Memoir 5 0 false Tue Nov 17 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Nov 17 13:56:10 -0800 2009 Tue Nov 17 14:05:21 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4909 0743243781 9780743243780 5246 735 3.58 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165515799m/4909.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4909.Teacher_Man_A_Memoir 5 0 false Wed Jun 03 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 01 19:09:43 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 03 14:33:30 -0700 2009
There is a lot of adult information and language, not for the junior high yet.

I could identify with this author on many different levels. I haven't cheated on my wife (or gotten a ...more...]]> 360194 0743289668 9780743289665 67 10 3.58 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174084495m/360194.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/360194.Teacher_Man_A_Memoir 2 1 false Mon Apr 13 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Apr 05 00:34:38 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 14 18:38:54 -0700 2009 4909 0743243781 9780743243780 5246 735 3.58 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165515799m/4909.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4909.Teacher_Man_A_Memoir 4 0 false Wed Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2005 Mon May 18 12:29:26 -0700 2009 Thu May 21 10:25:04 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4909 0743243781 9780743243780 5246 735 3.58 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165515799m/4909.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4909.Teacher_Man_A_Memoir 0 0 false Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Mar 18 10:36:58 -0700 2009 Wed Mar 18 10:45:42 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4909 0743243781 9780743243780 5246 735 3.58 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165515799m/4909.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4909.Teacher_Man_A_Memoir 2 1 false Fri Oct 16 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 11 17:14:17 -0700 2009 Fri Oct 16 19:47:07 -0700 2009 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=3972405