Zachary Hirschman

Whale Talk

My favorite character in the book was Mr. Simet, by a wide
margin. He is open and honest with his students, attentive to
their needs and courageous in the face of a system which does
not address them. His willingness to challenge the system is
truly the key difference between a great teacher and a good one.
For example, best practices would caution a good teacher from
picking up a hitchhiking student. Mr. Simet, however, saw a
bloodied young man in need of help. His goal is not to solve
racism, but rather to build a better world. He knows that
improvement comes best through challenge, evidenced by the
swimming letter requirement he maintains. Improvement on a
societal scale is daunting, and while it may be tempting to
stick to the status quo and thrive within it, great teachers
will find ways to both succeed and challenge the culture in
pursuit of societal change for the better. In dealing with any
of the student characters from the novel, I would look to Mr.
Simet for an example.
TJ Jones, the protagonist and first person of Whale Talk,
shows many of the traits I would expect students of high school
age to have. He struggles with his identity, which is
characteristic of adolescents in the Erikson stage of
psychosocial development; TJs struggles are unique, his
difficulties in finding his place in the world are typical. TJ
demonstrates that his perception of the world is greatly
informed by his experiences. This is true of anyone; the key
element here is the dissonance between TJs experience and that
of the dominant culture. I must be prepared for students with
vastly different life experiences from me.