Lain's review
Teacher Man: A Memoir by Frank McCourt
The lightest of McCourt's three memoirs, "Teacher Man" picks up where "'Tis" left off, as the author embarks on his teaching career in the public high schools of New York City.
McCourt pulls no punches in his recollections, taking on the school adminstration, B-class writers he bumps into on the outskirts of the City's literary circles, blue-collar parents of his students, and himself. We respect his criticisms of others because he turns the same pink-rimmed eye to his own foibles and errors, whether it be infidelities, inability to complete his doctoral thesis, or lack of knowledge about how to teach.
Over thirty years, McCourt becomes the teacher he always wished he could be -- himself, yet the best self he has to offer his students. And they love him for it. And I loved this book. God bless Frank McCourt. May he live many more quirky years, and may he have the energy to write about them.
McCourt pulls no punches in his recollections, taking on the school adminstration, B-class writers he bumps into on the outskirts of the City's literary circles, blue-collar parents of his students, and himself. We respect his criticisms of others because he turns the same pink-rimmed eye to his own foibles and errors, whether it be infidelities, inability to complete his doctoral thesis, or lack of knowledge about how to teach.
Over thirty years, McCourt becomes the teacher he always wished he could be -- himself, yet the best self he has to offer his students. And they love him for it. And I loved this book. God bless Frank McCourt. May he live many more quirky years, and may he have the energy to write about them.
