Book #44 - Teacher Man by Frank McCourt

My Dad bought me this book right after it came out in 2005 which just so happened to be my first year as a teacher. I had read and thoroughly enjoyed "Angela's Ashes", so I was excited to read about the latter part of Frank McCourt's life. At the time, I could barely make my way through the book. I couldn't believe how bad of a teacher he was and how easily his students got him off topic. So why did I read it again? Well, this just so happened to be the final book in my "positive motivation" class, and this one required that I read an analyze, so I attacked this book again. I still don't think that Frank McCourt was a very good teacher, but I do now have a new perspective after six years under my belt. First, I can now sympathize with the situation he was teaching in during the first 10 years of his career. He was in various vocational schools throughout New York City. He was teaching students who didn't care, with administrators who didn't care, and parents who didn't care. He was fighting a losing battle with no one there to support him or thrown him a floatation ring. He had no guidance, and a very rough crowd to please. It seemed as though when he got to a more academic institution (similar to the type of place I teach) that he came into his own. I like that he taught "outside of the box", but many times, he did not bring lessons back full circle to give relevance to the lesson or discussion. His book is a great display of what classrooms in America are like and what teachers face every day. However, I think Frank McCourt has demonstrated that he is not a good teacher but truly found his calling as an author after retiring. It's hard to believe no one told him to write a book sooner, especially since he was known to be a great story teller.