sydney's review
Teacher Man: A Memoir
by Frank McCourt
sydney's review
Teacher Man: A Memoir by Frank McCourt
sydney's review
rating:
I was told by a colleague after I read this book that Frank McCourt is "a giant ass," but I really liked it. McCourt's ruminations on what it's like to be a first-year English teacher felt spot-on to me, especially his lengthy descriptions of how one's idealist fantasies about what teaching literature to high schoolers will be like dissolve into the reality of each day in the classroom.
The book made me laugh, and I loved McCourt's characterization of his students and coworkers. I also really liked McCourt's conversations with himself: "I argue with myself, You're telling stories and you're supposed to be teaching.
I am teaching. Storytelling is teaching.
Storytelling is a waste of time.
I can't help it. I'm not good at lecturing.
You're a fraud. You're cheating our children.
They don't seem to think so.
The poor kids don't know" (26).
Overall, it was fun to read and made me happy to be a teacher.
The book made me laugh, and I loved McCourt's characterization of his students and coworkers. I also really liked McCourt's conversations with himself: "I argue with myself, You're telling stories and you're supposed to be teaching.
I am teaching. Storytelling is teaching.
Storytelling is a waste of time.
I can't help it. I'm not good at lecturing.
You're a fraud. You're cheating our children.
They don't seem to think so.
The poor kids don't know" (26).
Overall, it was fun to read and made me happy to be a teacher.
