Friends of the Forks Library Book Reviews
Courtesy of the Forks Forum
Teacher Man
(reserve this book)
By Frank McCourt
Review written by Kate MonahanMy copy of this masterpiece was sent to a friend within a day of my savoring it; a note was sent to my former mentor teacher suggesting strongly that she read it. The purity, richness, and credence of this memoir, spanning about 30 years time, inspired me to jot down page numbers for references, quotes, and vocabulary words as I read. Personally, I am adverse to boredom, so this address of Mr. McCourt to his English writing students rang clarion: “Dreaming, wishing, planning: it’s all writing, but the difference between you and the man on the street is that you are looking at it, friends, getting it set in your head, realizing the significance of the insignificant, getting it on paper. You might be in the throes of love or grief but you are ruthless in observation. You are your material. You are writers and one thing is certain: no matter what happens on Saturday night, or any other night, you’ll never be bored again.”
McCourt wrote: “I was learning that teachers and kids have to stick together in the face of parents, supervisors and the world in general.” For me, this was a novel idea that I wished I had read before my brief career as a teacher. McCourt’s students’ lives, words, and writing caused both tears and knee-slapping laughter. His ability to creatively improvise in his lessons and to speak from a mind truly in love with ideas and the English language shines. “Every moment of your life, you’re writing…you see someone you like and you say, ‘Hi’ in a warm melting way, a Hi that conjures up splash of oars, soaring violins, eyes shining in the moonlight. There are so many ways of saying ‘Hi’. Hiss it, trill it, bark it, sing it, bellow it, laugh it, cough it…”
Certainly, the dramatic impact Frank McCourt had on his students does not stop with them. What quotes will shape your life as you read Teacher Man? Every reader might pull this one—reflecting values McCourt holds dear: “I don’t think anyone achieves complete freedom, but what I am trying to do with you is drive fear into a corner.”
North Olympic
|
|
 |
|
|
|
