Wednesday night I went to see Frank McCourt read from his latest book, Teacher Man. He definitely has the entertainment factor down. For over an hour he had the audience mesmerized with his non-stop ideas and stories about teaching. My favorite was when, during about the third day of his first teaching assignment (at a vocational school in New York City), a student threw another student’s sandwich. The point was to irritate the teacher, of course. But Mr. McCourt smelled the savory sandwich now on the floor before him, the morsel obviously lovingly made by the student’s mother, picked it up and ate it. A turning point in his relationship with teaching. He was saying it is important to reach a student, first where the student’s mind is, in a language the student can connect to, then build from there. Teaching is about connection. He said wherever he goes he meets previous students of his. There was even a student of his years from Styvesant High in the seventies in the audience. Most of them thank him, tell him how much they appreciated his teaching.
I’ve read McCourt’s two other books: Angela’s Ashes and ’Tis. I enjoyed them both, each for different reasons. The first, Angela’s Ashes told of his growing up poor in Ireland. What made it so unique was how he related his story without any self-pity. ’Tis on the other hand, begins with his arrival in New York, feeling lost and lonely and—feeling very sorry for himself. At first, for that reason, I didn’t think I would enjoy reading ’Tis. But McCourt’s honesty and desire to learn was very impressive. And it gave the book an overall richness.
And one thing at his talk: he kept saying how his wife, Ellen, would like to move to Nova Scotia. I’m all for that! (But alas, he’s very rooted in NYC.)
Posted by leya at June 9, 2006 06:38 PM