Reaction:
In this chapter Frank tells us three stories that involve the "teacher-student" relationship. He begins the chapter with a shocker. McCourt was forced to contact the mother of a disruptive student, Augie, to inform her of her son's behavior. The next day, the boy's gargantuan father busts into the classroom, and beats his child against the wall. He concluded by warning the students about being disruptive to the teacher. I found this to be both shocking and funny. Shocking, in the sense that I would probably never have expected it to happen. I found it funny because this is just another outrageous incident that's happened to this poor teacher.
Frank's next story involves the issue of race. Sal, an Italian boy, is jumped by an Irish kid one day in Prospect Park after school. He is struck in the head with a two-by-four. This experience immediately alienates Sal from his girlfriend, Louise (an Irish girl), and McCourt. Sal goes on a racial outburst and storms out of the class. He requests a transfer to another teacher, a non-Irish teacher. What bothered me most about this was McCourt's reaction, which is nothing. He doesn't bother trying to talk to either of the two, because he knows he'll "fumble and stammer."
The final story is about a "royal pain in the ass" troublemaker-type student. Frank, as the schools greenest teacher, automatically gets stuck with this kid. The school administration hopes that Frank, as an Irishman will be able to find some connection with this boy, an Irish student. If that fails, the administration will do nothing but sit back and hope that the kid drops out and joins the army.
This is a student that identifies with nothing, an "impossible case." He interrupts the class with irreverent commentary. His mother can't do a thing with him. McCourt sees him as a "bright boy with a lively imagination, which doesn't seem to make much of a difference outside of the classroom.
So how does McCourt connect with this student? He assigns him busy work. McCourt gives Kevin housekeeping responsibilities such as washing the board, cleaning the erasers, etc. The kid gets the biggest kick out of cleaning old paint jars, taking dozens home with him at the end of the year. The kid gets assigned to another school, drifts out, and gets drafted to go to Vietnam.
Discussion:
1) McCourt was given a public display of the state of Augie's household. Had McCourt known of the consequences of reporting Augie's disciplinary issues, would he still have made that phone call? Would you?
2) Teachers are often called upon to wear many hats. This being said, McCourt seems to don but a few. When called upon for guidance, he refuses. How would you have handled the Sal and Louise issue? Was McCourt wrong for just letting it go?
3) Finally, in regards to Kevin Dunne, how do you feel about McCourt's decision to give Kevin "more responsibilities?" Was McCourt simply giving up and assigning busy work? Or do you think that what he did for Kevin was beneficial?
2 comments:
If McCourt had known about Augie's household I don't believe he would have called the house. I know I wouldn't have. However, there are some teachers in the world who don't care about the lives of the students outside of the classroom, as long as their paychecks keep coming in.
I believe McCourt could have given advice to Sal and Louise in their time of need. Although, he wasn't confident enough to do it, I think he should have attempted anyway.
I think McCourt's decision to give busy work to Kevin was beneficial to the class. By doing this he helped his classroom to run a little bit better because Kevin didn't have as much to time to interrupt the learning.
1) McCourt was given a public display of the state of Augie's household. Had McCourt known of the consequences of reporting Augie's disciplinary issues, would he still have made that phone call? Would you?
I don’t think McCourt would have reported Augie’s disciplinary issues had he known the consequences of his actions. McCourt is a very sensitive guy, and I don’t think he likes causing trouble for others. I, myself, would have tried other ways to make Augie behave before calling home—especially if I knew that he was going to be physically abused over a phone call. Before calling home, I probably would have tried talking to Augie one-on-one. I would have asked him what I was doing to make him act that way, and what I could do to help him get more from my class. If that didn’t work, I probably would have talked to him about the respect issue. I respect him in my class, and I would appreciate the same from him. Finally, if that didn’t work, I would tell him that I don’t want to call home but I will if things don’t improve. I care about him, but I can’t allow him to interfere with other peoples’ learning. It’s not fair to me or to the rest of the class.
2) Teachers are often called upon to wear many hats. This being said, McCourt seems to don but a few. When called upon for guidance, he refuses. How would you have handled the Sal and Louise issue? Was McCourt wrong for just letting it go?
I do think McCourt was wrong for letting that situation go. Although many people feel like “young love” isn’t serious, I don’t think it was right for McCourt to let Sal go on thinking bad things about Louise and the Irish in general. Being a “white woman” I oftentimes worry that some of my students will hate because they think the “white people” have suppressed them or wouldn’t understand where they are coming from. Having lived in the South before, I’ve also experienced this type of reaction first hand. How I responded then would also probably be how I would respond now. I would apologize for how “my people” have hurt and abused them in the past, but I would want them to know that not everyone is like that. A lot of who we are comes from how we were raised--not the color of our skin or our ethnic background. I wouldn’t want someone to hate me just because I was white just like they wouldn’t want someone to hate them for their ethnic backgrounds. I grew up living around the world, so while I may not completely understand where they are coming from, I do have some experience with what it feels like to be different. I am also willing to learn whatever they are willing to teach me. I would ask that they not shut me out simply for being born in this body and that they wouldn’t do the same to others like me. I would hope that they are willing to give me a chance just like I’m willing to give them a chance.
3) Finally, in regards to Kevin Dunne, how do you feel about McCourt's decision to give Kevin "more responsibilities?" Was McCourt simply giving up and assigning busy work? Or do you think that what he did for Kevin was beneficial?
Maybe I’m wrong, but I really thought that Kevin had some type of mental disability. He was easily entertained by animals, random “facts”, colors, and chores. To me, that sounded like someone who had a childlike mentality, but again, maybe I’m wrong. If Kevin really was mentally challenged, I think McCourt did the best that he could. Kevin was severely misunderstood and frustrated with his life in general. It sounded to me that he was incapable of grasping the material, so McCourt gave him tasks that he was capable of doing. This built Kevin’s confidence and made him feel useful, and really, what more can a teacher do for a kid? In the end, I think what McCourt did for Kevin was beneficial.
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