Teacher Man -- Chapter 10

Hey Everyone,

I’m trying to get my chapter posts done early because next week will be rough. (The final unit plans are due after all!) Anyway, please expect my posts to pop up before Friday if not before Wednesday.

Chapter Summary:

In Chapter 10, Mr. McCourt is forced to teach in (what he calls) a “melting-pot” school. At this school, a number of kids were raised speaking different languages and learning different cultural practices. As a result, much of what Mr. McCourt tries to teach is too language-dense for the students to understand or too much in opposition of what the students stand for. In an effort to connect with them, he indulges their off-the-wall, point-blank questions; he takes them to see movies and plays; and he tells them stories about how he used to teach English to tough, Puerto Rican cooks.

Chapter Response:

As a future ESL teacher, I really connected with this chapter. In particular, I thought the characterization of Mr. McCourt's ESL students was dead on. (ESL students really do ask you offensive questions without even knowing that they're being offensive!) I also liked that Mr. McCourt gave us personal details about his students. He always manages to make you feel for these "little terrors" by illuminating their troubling circumstances. The story of Serena, at least to me, was especially endearing this chapter. She was a smart girl (with a smart mouth, no doubt), but because of the color of her skin and the time in which she was born, nobody ever bothered to tell her that. Now, we've all experienced times when we were ignored or not acknowledged (at least in a positive way) for being us, but can we really say that we have ever experienced it to that level? I mean, I cannot even begin to imagine what that's like, and it's disturbing to me to think that certain groups of people have had to live with and are continuing to live with that amount of prejudice even today.

Thought Questions:

1. Do you agree with how Mr. McCourt chose to handle his students’ point-blank questions and challenges? For example, was Mr. McCourt correct to indulge Nancy’s off-putting questions? ("Why are you so uptight? Could you tell me how to be an English teacher who won’t be uptight?") Was Mr. McCourt correct to change the topic and to ignore Serena’s challenges? ("What am I telling you all this for? You’re just a teacher. You’re just a white man.") Why or why not?

2. Have you ever felt like you were an outsider based on the color of your skin, the language that you spoke, or the place that you were raised? If not, how else might you connect with students who feel like a minority?

3. Would you, like Mr. McCourt, allow the students to use their native languages in your classroom? Why or why not?

4. How does it feel to know that the success of these students largely depends on how much extra time and attention you are willing to devote to them? Is it fair to ask you to do extra work for these students or should these students be kept out of mainstream classrooms (i.e., in classrooms designed to specifically meet their additional needs)?

5. How did you view Mr. McCourt’s trips to see Cold Turkey and Hamlet? Was it an effective teaching strategy or just a way to “buy” the students’ favor? If you thought the trips were effective, was there anything that you would have done differently?