'Teacher Man' finds McCourt in fine form
Published Feb. 10, 2006
Author Frank McCourt describes his entire career as a teacher in the first few paragraphs of his third memoir, "Teacher Man: A Memoir." He writes that he almost lost his job twice in his first couple of days as a teacher.
"Otherwise, there was nothing remarkable about my thirty years in the high school classrooms of New York City," McCourt writes, excusing all those who don't want to read about the wild and scandalous lives of public high school teachers. After this brief, sincere moment, McCourt takes a deep breath and lets everybody have it.
Following decades of teaching in an inner-city public high school, McCourt finally calls out students, teachers, parents and administrators, and congratulates these individuals when they taught McCourt something. He also berates every soul that gets in between him and his lesson plans, including abusive parents of his students or an airborne baloney sandwich.
McCourt narrates his 30 years of teaching English from the view of someone who has learned from mistakes. Although "Teacher Man" avoids the memories of his Pulitzer Prize-winning work, "Angela's Ashes," he has not grown out of the fierce Catholic guilt that he acquired early in life. The author's insecurity is at times tiring, but is an accurate representation of how doubt can affect decisions.
In McCourt's stream-of-consciousness memoir, he bounces between pride and doubt. He dictates the story of his career from a fresh, yet timeless, perspective.
Public school teachers likely will appreciate "Teacher Man" for addressing the hardships that teachers face everyday. McCourt's perspective is a refreshing verbalization of the issues many people have, but nobody cared to say.
The author faces obnoxious parents from both ends of the scale. He deals with overly involved parents, apathetic parents and physically abusive parents. McCourt also addresses the lack of respect for immigrants and points out the differences between high school teachers and college professors.
In a sign of humility, McCourt points out his own flaws as an educator, such as stereotyping students and playing favorites. Sometimes he loses his temper in class during stressful periods. He plays a part in the social constraints of American high schools.
McCourt also calls out the students. Although there are a few token badasses who refuse to learn, McCourt realizes that these kids have issues outside of class — like poverty, racism or violence — that are more important than Virginia Woolf or Ernest Hemmingway.
The novel is something more than the sum of its parts. McCourt has written an honest reflection about the relationship between teachers and students and the power of the inner-city public school system. In a time when some argue that education is a low priority and teenagers are a low priority, "Teacher Man" shows the reader that sometimes teaching can be the be the best way to experience life.