Teacher Man by Frank McCourt

A Summary of Teacher Man by Frank McCourt

Mr. McCourt at Stuyvesant High School in 1983. Credit John Sotomayor/The New York Times

Prologue

McCourt reflects upon his life, the childhood hardships that gave way to his adulthood struggles
with perpetual insecurity, and the disbelief of his own success. The way real life happens is never
the way you would have imagined it to be.

PART 1

Chapter 1- Insecurity: Where am I and how did I get here?

On McCourt’s first day of teaching he is anxious and completely unprepared. He pictures

himself commanding the attention and respect of the class, and quickly replaces this thought with
negative self-talk. He is an invisible man at the front of the classroom and has no idea where to
begin. Then someone throws a sandwich. McCourt takes it, and while the class expects
discipline, he eats it instead (16).

Still convinced of his inability to teach, McCourt begins to tell stories. He realizes that the job
requires him to take on multiple roles besides teacher, and just like in his own life, he has to
navigate his own way through. His early encounters with administration teach him to dislike the
“bureaucrats, the higher-ups, who have escaped the classroom only to turn and bother the
occupants of those classrooms” (24).
Chapter 2 – Insecurity: I’m not the ultimate authority; I’m practically a fraud

To McCourt, teaching becomes telling stories about his youth. The source of his many
insecurities begin to emerge, such as his difficulty fitting into either America or Ireland because
of his blended accent (27), the constant guilt engrained into him by his Irish school teachers over
his own short comings and Original Sin (29), or his humble beginnings after returning to New
York (33).

Chapter 3 – Insecurity: standing up for oneself

After two years in the army, McCourt earns a degree at New York University. He is in
unquestioning awe of the knowledge and authority of his professors and longs to have that kind
of respect and expertise. When an attractive student from his class shows interest in McCourt, he
is easily taken in. She manipulates his lack of confidence, which is even more damaging to
McCourt’s self-esteem because he cannot find the backbone to stand up to her the way he would
like to.

Nerves get to him in his teacher’s license examination, but he passes and impresses one of his
examiners by engaging the students with a story about World War I and then having them carry
on the majority to discussions thereafter (52-54). Finding a job proves more difficult on account
of his accent and he returns to dockside work.

Chapter 4 – Insecurity: But what if I’m no good?

Despite having a teaching license, McCourt’s fears and insecurities prevent him from working as
a teacher and he retreats to the safety of dockside labour. It is interesting that as a child, school
was not a place of positive experiences for McCourt, and as an adult he feels no more confident
in school as a teacher than he did as a student.

Chapter 5 – Pressure to conform: What to teach and how to teach it

The question of what to teach and how to teach it arises for McCourt when he perceives that
getting down to the grind of writing paragraphs has little relevance to the real life of teenagers at
a technical high school. At the same time he meets parents that have traditional opinions about
what should be taught in an English class. He is confronted with pressures to be a stern, no-
nonsense teacher but cannot follow through. His students disengage (77). He quickly slides back
into a style of teaching where learning involves animated class discussion and story (78-80).

Chapter 6 – Epiphany: We’ll do it their way

McCourt becomes familiar and rather impressed with the creative and well-crafted forged note.
Wanting that effort to translate into the classroom, McCourt has the class write their own excuse
notes and ventures into more difficult topics such as Adam to God, Hitler, and other infamous
people in history. The class loves it, he loves it, and administration even loves it – with minor
reservations.
Chapter 7 – Empathy: They’re human, emotional, and as fragile as me

McCourt’s past helps him to empathize with his own students and makes him more aware of the
impact of his words and actions. He recalls three scenarios. In the first, an angry parent storms
into the classroom to beat some sense into his son after McCourt made a call home (91). He
quickly realizes calling home could worsen the situation. In the second scenario, he tries to
monitor what he says aboutThe Scarlet Letter in the face of ethnic-romantic tensions in the
classroom (93). In the third scenario, he acknowledges a troubled teen that everyone else has
given up on, and includes him in the class without treating him like a lost cause (95-99). Despite
having so little time for each student, McCourt is able to see students as more than just faces.
They are human beings with their own set of vulnerabilities.

Chapter 8 – Knowledge vs. the value of a person

McCourt sought more self worth in having more knowledge. He longed for the kind of
recognition and respect that he perceived his professors to have. This begins to change when an
educated acquaintance condescends to him in front of others leaving him humiliated (105).

When it comes to his students, McCourt does not judge their worth nor intelligence based on test
results (107). He uses what one might call a generous marking system that enables more students
to pass the state English exam. He openly disagrees with a colleague who does not think he
should allow students to reach beyond their grasp (109).

PART 2

Chapter 9 – Cultural blind spots

McCourt takes a job for a year lecturing at a community college, teaching tired, working class
adults who are there for credit in the hope of career advancement. He runs into some cultural
“blind spots” when he is challenged on things he takes for granted as common sense, such as
attendance, footnoting, or florid style writing. It bothers McCourt that none of his adult students
believe their opinion matters. Perhaps because it has taken McCourt years to realize that his own
opinion matters.

His next position is equally brief and he clashes with the administrator’s personality. One day he
loses patience with a defiant student and slaps him in the face with a magazine. He had assumed
the student was Cuban, but later learns the student was struggling with exclusion from his
community and peers on account of his Cuban-Irish background and sexual orientation.

Chapter 10 – Clash of Civilizations

His new school is very diverse, and McCourt is teaching students from all continents. Many of
them are learning English, so he shares his own stories of learning English in America (132) and
allows the students to share stories that validate their own experience.
His most difficult class of 29 black females is described as a “gender clash; generation clash;
culture clash; racial clash” (136). To have any hope in this class means to have the alpha female
on his side. So, McCourt agrees to take the class on a field trip because that is what they want.
He tolerates some embarrassment at their rowdy behaviour but it’s a small price to pay in the
larger scheme of giving them the same opportunities any other class would have.

Chapter 11 – Tough Disciplined Teacher

McCourt struggles with his role and is determined to become a “tough, disciplined teacher,
organized and focused” (147). He is faced with a student in his class who sits with his chair
leaning on two legs. McCourt wants to show his authority in front of the class and disciplines the
student, embracing the student in front of this girlfriend and other students. The following day he
finds out that the child’s mother, who McCourt once knew well, has died and the student if
forced to leave to live with his step-father.

After discussions with his wife McCourt decides to attend Trinity College to complete his PhD
in English on “Irish-American Literary Relations, 1889-1911” (173). He fails and returns to
America. His wife is pregnant and replaces her at her school during her parental leave. He makes
a rude comment to the principal and is fired at the end of the term.

PART THREE – Coming Alive in Room 205

Chapter 12 – The Birth of a New Teacher

At Stuyvesant High School McCourt teaches a new cliental of students. These are the students
who come from prosperous families and will likely attend college. He has an administrator that
believes in his abilities and allows him to experiment and teach freely in the classroom. In his
third year McCourt is invited to teach a creative writing course where he encourages students to
write from their own experiences.
At forty-nine, when his daughter is only eight, McCourt’s marriage collapses and he eventually
ends up living in an apartment above a waterfront bar in Brooklyn.

Chapter 13 – Creative Teaching

McCourt begins to develop his own style and comfort in the classroom admitting to students
when he does not know the answer and declaring to the students that they are one and the same
and that together teacher and student would develop and teach the class. The creative writing
class was an elective yet the class was full every semester with so many students there would not
be sufficient seating.

A student offers a piece of marzipan to McCourt at the beginning of one class. Other students too
want to show off their culinary skills and so in a following class the students bring many
different types of foods to share and the students have a picnic in the park. This flourishes into
sharing of recipes in subsequent classes to music and song. McCourt enjoys the experience
immensely but struggles with what others might think of his teaching.

Chapter 14 – Teaching Subjects

Internal struggles continue for McCourt between being the organized and orderly teacher and the
creative teacher. He has the class study and analyze poetry and non-fiction pieces but he does so
in an unconventional way using accessible selections for the students such as fairy tales,
restaurant reviews and obituaries. He realizes that the material being taught is not as important as
the students learning.
Chapter 15 – Open School Day

Parents come to the school to meet McCourt and discuss the progress of their child in the class.
McCourt is given insight into the lives of the students in a way that he had not previously known.
He encounters parents who are in the process of divorce and parents who are so vested in their
child’s’ future they have lost sight of what is important to the child. McCourt sees the student’s
as individuals and encourages them to follow their own desires.

Chapter 16 – “Every moment of your life, you’re writing” (244)

McCourt is able to find a way to reach the students inspiring them to write about their own
experiences encouraging even the most unmotivated to write meaningful pieces about their own
lives. He inspires students to talk with elderly relatives learning about their life experiences and
developing their own sense of identity based on what may or may not have shaped their
predecessors in the past.

McCourt allows students to provide self-evaluations for the course believing he is opening the
doors to freedom of thought for the students.

Chapter 17 – The last years

Teacher Man is nearing the end of his career and feels his age. Although most days he is positive
about teaching and is encouraged by the thought of doing something he loves, he is tired and
ready to move on. McCourt gives advice to a new teacher

Find what you love and do it. That’s what it boils down to. I admit I didn’t
always love teaching. I was out of my depth. You’re on your own in the
classroom, one man or woman facing five classes every day, five classes of
 teenagers. One unit of energy against one hundred and seventy-five units of
energy, one hundred and seventy-five ticking bombs, and you have to find
ways of saving your own life…if you hang on you learn the tricks. It’s hard
but you have to make yourself comfortable in the classroom…You are with
the kids and, as long as you want to be a teacher, there’s no escape…It’s
you and the kids. So, there’s the bell. See you later. Find what you love and
do it. (255)

On the last day of McCourt’s career a student shares a story of his experiences living through an
accident which left him partially paralyzed on one side of his body. The student embraces the
experience stating that it has given him a new perspective on life.

The bell rings and the students spray McCourt with confetti. Through the hall a student calls
“Hey, Mr. McCourt, you should write a book.” (257)

Book Summary

McCourt's long-awaited book about how his thirty-year teaching career shaped his second
act as a writer.

Nearly a decade ago Frank McCourt became an unlikely star when, at the age of sixty-six, he
burst onto the literary scene with Angela's Ashes, the Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir of his
childhood in Limerick, Ireland. Then came 'Tis, his glorious account of his early years in New
York.

Now, here at last, is McCourt's long-awaited book about how his thirty-year teaching career
shaped his second act as a writer. Teacher Man is also an urgent tribute to teachers everywhere.
In bold and spirited prose featuring his irreverent wit and heartbreaking honesty, McCourt
records the trials, triumphs and surprises he faces in public high schools around New York City.
His methods anything but conventional, McCourt creates a lasting impact on his students through
imaginative assignments (he instructs one class to write "An Excuse Note from Adam or Eve to
God"), singalongs (featuring recipe ingredients as lyrics), and field trips (imagine taking twenty-
nine rowdy girls to a movie in Times Square!).

McCourt struggles to find his way in the classroom and spends his evenings drinking with
writers and dreaming of one day putting his own story to paper. Teacher Man shows McCourt
developing his unparalleled ability to tell a great story as, five days a week, five periods per day,
he works to gain the attention and respect of unruly, hormonally charged or indifferent
adolescents. McCourt's rocky marriage, his failed attempt to get a Ph.D. at Trinity College,
Dublin, and his repeated firings due to his propensity to talk back to his superiors ironically lead
him to New York's most prestigious school, Stuyvesant High School, where he finally finds a
place and a voice. "Doggedness," he says, is "not as glamorous as ambition or talent or intellect
or charm, but still the one thing that got me through the days and nights."

For McCourt, storytelling itself is the source of salvation, and in Teacher Man the journey to
redemption -- and literary fame -- is an exhilarating adventure.

Teacher Man -- Chapter 1

In reading chapter one I found myself laughing more and more with every turn of the page. The stories
Mr. McCourt encountered were priceless to say the least. There was the sandwich incident in which Mr.
McCourt, in an effort to show the class who was boss, ate on student's sandwich that was thrown at a
classmate and landed on the floor. That resulted in Mr. McCourt being questioned by the principle as to
why he was consuming a sandwich at 9 Am in the morning instead of teaching. Then there were stalling
questions the class presented to Mr. McCourt in an attempt to avoid work. They asked him everything
from what he studied in Ireland to whether or not Irishmen dated girls in Ireland. His response to the
dating question landed him in trouble yet again with the principle. This was due to the fact that he
jokingly and sarcastically told the students that men in Ireland dated sheep not girls. Overall this chapter
was a barrell of laughs and leads me to my discussion questions:

What do you think you would do differently if you were in Mr. McCourt's position and the children acted
out?

How would you respond to children's absurd questions if you were in Mr. McCourt's classroom.

How would you deal with the principle of your school if you were called into question about your
teaching methods? How would you justify your responses to him/her?

Teacher Man -- Chapter 2

I found chapter two of Teacher Man to be drastically different from chapter 1. In chapter one there was
an overwhelming sense of humor. In chapter 2, Frank McCourt presents a picture of sadness of sorts. He
tells of how schoolmates always picked on him and caused him to get into fights. He always came home
with bloody shirts. He tells of his days learning about Catholicism and his being reprimanded for being a
"very bad boy". Also, he puts great emphasis on the struggles he and his family were faced with. He
explained how rough his mother had it raising her children. She seemingly had to fight for everything
she got for the family. She had to bargain through the street shops of Limerick in order to prepare her
son, McCourt, for his trip to Ireland. And chapter 2 wraps up with Mr. McCourt back in the classroom
fielding questions from the students on why Shakespeare's writing's are difficult to follow. By not being
able to answer the question for his students, McCourt shows us again, what struggles we will be faced
with when we are teachers ourselves. Overall, I feel this chapter did well in tugging on one's heart
strings, even if that wasn't it's intent.

Discussion Questions For The Group on Chapter 2:

Think about some questions your students might ask you in your teaching field. What happens if you
don't know the answer? How do you respond to your students? And how do you prepare for the
criticism that might arise from not knowing the answer to their questions as the teacher?

Teacher Man-- Chapter 3

In this chapter, Frank McCourt does a great job of describing through his own personal experiences the
many road blocks and barriers that are put in our paths on our ways to becoming teachers. He talks of
June, who he had a crush on, was easily led on by, and then had his heart broken by. That provided him
with emotional stress and lessened his will to move foward in the education process. He then tells
stories of his teacher's interviews where the interviewers made him feel worthless because of his
responses instead of helping him through the interview and making it less nervewracking. And when he
gets the certification, he tells of how hard it is to find a job because of the discrimination against his Irish
Brogue. This leads me to my discussion questions on Chapter 3...

What, if any, roadblocks have any of you faced along the path to your teaching degrees? Only post what
you feel comfortable posting.

What did each of you do to overcome those roadblocks and continue on in your education, remaining
focused on the "light at the end of the tunnel" so to speak?

Teacher Man....Chapter 4

Reaction:

In this chapter, one of Frank’s students ask him why he doesn’t do “real work” instead of being a
teacher. Frank starts off answering this question with retelling his past work experiences on the docks in
Hoboken.

What did I just read? This book makes me laugh because I never know who is talking, what they
are talking about, and who they are talking to. I know that Frank started talking to his class about his
work on the docks, but then was the rest of the flash back conveyed to his students as well? I am not
sure, but if it was, that is bold.

My reaction to this chapter is the same reaction I had to one of James’ discussion questions. I feel it is
important for your students to know that you are human and have a life outside of teaching. Now, this is
a very fine line. There are, of course, many things that are inappropriate to talk about in the class and
many other things that you should keep for yourself. But, I don’t see a problem with discussing certain
aspects of your personal life with your kids keeping in mind what is deemed appropriate. Remember, in
loco parentis.

Discussion:

There is a thin line between inappropriate and ok for school. What is that line? What do you think
should be left out of a discussion between you and your students? What if a student came to you with a
problem that you have had experience in? Do you share your thoughts and lessons learned? What if this
topic is not suitable for the classroom?

Teacher Man....Chapter 5

In this chapter, Frank reveals his frustrations in dealing with parents of vocational students as
well as one of his big breaks in his personal education philosophy. The chapter opens with Frank
telling us of the number of lessons, schools, students, and statistics of he has encounter in his
years as a teacher. Through high retelling of his first two Back to School Night experiences, we
can see the frustration and confusion of the parents and Frank due to his story telling. We can
also see the lack of support from the parents of these vocational students.

Unfortunately in America, we cannot do as many European countries can as far as education is

concerned. When they figured out what they want to do with their lives, they begin studying that
field and only that career. We in America, see that children should learn some basics before
choosing a career path to study for and follow. I do understand the concerns of the parents in
Frank’s class when it comes to the importance of his subject. If my son is going to be a plumber,
why does he need to know these twenty dollar words? In Frank’s situation, this challenge of
making his subject matter to not only his students, but there parents as well is an everyday
struggle.

Towards the end of the chapter, Frank begins to realize that he can make his students understand
things like grammar by teaching them when they are not sure that they are being taught. Through
his stories and story telling, these kids can learn.

Discussion:

We future educators come from many different backgrounds and are studying many different
things. How does the subject you are going to be teaching matter in the lives of your future
students? Does it at all? Will your student’s life be different if they had not had your class? What
does society feel about your subject matter?
Teacher Man......Chapter 6

In chapter 6, Frank tells us a spur of the moment lesson having to do with excuse notes. When a
child brings him a note that the student clearly wrote himself, Frank turns this into a real life
lesson for his class.

This chapter of Teacher Man was probably my favorite. I see a lot of my own teaching abilities
in Frank. I think a person, teacher or otherwise, should never stop learning. That learning can
come from so many different sources. It could even come from your students.

I am the director of Pompton Lakes High School marching band. I use this technique all
the time. When I am trying to think of something to add to the show, I will use my students
suggestions and try them out. If they work, good, and ff they don’t, no worries. Listen to your
students and they can most certainly teach you a thing or two.

Don’t be afraid to take some risks. I know that we as rookies in the field would rather get
tenure and then stick our necks out. However, we are taking a risk trying a career we have never
done, teaching materials we just learned, and talking to students we don’t know. What one more
risk? Go with what you think is right.

Discussion:

Frank McCourt decides to sue an unusual lesson in his class one day. What are your feelings on
his choice? Does his lesson have real world value? What kind of real world lessons can you
bring to your classroom using your subject?

Chapter 7
In this chapter Frank tells us three stories that involve the "teacher-student" relationship. He begins the
chapter with a shocker. McCourt was forced to contact the mother of a disruptive student, Augie, to
inform her of her son's behavior. The next day, the boy's gargantuan father busts into the classroom,
and beats his child against the wall. He concluded by warning the students about being disruptive to the
teacher. I found this to be both shocking and funny. Shocking, in the sense that I would probably never
have expected it to happen. I found it funny because this is just another outrageous incident that's
happened to this poor teacher.

Frank's next story involves the issue of race. Sal, an Italian boy, is jumped by an Irish kid one day in
Prospect Park after school. He is struck in the head with a two-by-four. This experience immediately
alienates Sal from his girlfriend, Louise (an Irish girl), and McCourt. Sal goes on a racial outburst and
storms out of the class. He requests a transfer to another teacher, a non-Irish teacher. What bothered
me most about this was McCourt's reaction, which is nothing. He doesn't bother trying to talk to either
of the two, because he knows he'll "fumble and stammer."

The final story is about a "royal pain in the ass" troublemaker-type student. Frank, as the schools
greenest teacher, automatically gets stuck with this kid. The school administration hopes that Frank, as
an Irishman will be able to find some connection with this boy, an Irish student. If that fails, the
administration will do nothing but sit back and hope that the kid drops out and joins the army.

This is a student that identifies with nothing, an "impossible case." He interrupts the class with
irreverent commentary. His mother can't do a thing with him. McCourt sees him as a "bright boy with a
lively imagination, which doesn't seem to make much of a difference outside of the classroom.

So how does McCourt connect with this student? He assigns him busy work. McCourt gives Kevin
housekeeping responsibilities such as washing the board, cleaning the erasers, etc. The kid gets the
biggest kick out of cleaning old paint jars, taking dozens home with him at the end of the year. The kid
gets assigned to another school, drifts out, and gets drafted to go to Vietnam.

Discussion:

1) McCourt was given a public display of the state of Augie's household. Had McCourt known of the
consequences of reporting Augie's disciplinary issues, would he still have made that phone call? Would
you?

2) Teachers are often called upon to wear many hats. This being said, McCourt seems to don but a few.
When called upon for guidance, he refuses. How would you have handled the Sal and Louise issue? Was
McCourt wrong for just letting it go?

3) Finally, in regards to Kevin Dunne, how do you feel about McCourt's decision to give Kevin "more
responsibilities?" Was McCourt simply giving up and assigning busy work? Or do you think that what he
did for Kevin was beneficial?

Teacher Man -- Chapter 10

In Chapter 10, Mr. McCourt is forced to teach in (what he calls) a “melting-pot” school. At this
school, a number of kids were raised speaking different languages and learning different
cultural practices. As a result, much of what Mr. McCourt tries to teach is too language-dense
for the students to understand or too much in opposition of what the students stand for. In
an effort to connect with them, he indulges their off-the-wall, point-blank questions; he takes
them to see movies and plays; and he tells them stories about how he used to teach English
to tough, Puerto Rican cooks.

Chapter Response:

As a future ESL teacher, I really connected with this chapter. In particular, I thought the
characterization of Mr. McCourt's ESL students was dead on. (ESL students really do ask you
offensive questions without even knowing that they're being offensive!) I also liked that Mr.
McCourt gave us personal details about his students. He always manages to make you feel for
these "little terrors" by illuminating their troubling circumstances. The story of Serena, at least to
me, was especially endearing this chapter. She was a smart girl (with a smart mouth, no doubt),
but because of the color of her skin and the time in which she was born, nobody ever bothered to
tell her that. Now, we've all experienced times when we were ignored or not acknowledged (at
least in a positive way) for being us, but can we really say that we have ever experienced it to
that level? I mean, I cannot even begin to imagine what that's like, and it's disturbing to me to
think that certain groups of people have had to live with and are continuing to live with that
amount of prejudice even today.

Thought Questions:

1. Do you agree with how Mr. McCourt chose to handle his students’ point-blank questions and
challenges? For example, was Mr. McCourt correct to indulge Nancy’s off-putting questions?
("Why are you so uptight? Could you tell me how to be an English teacher who won’t be
uptight?") Was Mr. McCourt correct to change the topic and to ignore Serena’s challenges?
("What am I telling you all this for? You’re just a teacher. You’re just a white man.") Why or
why not?

2. Have you ever felt like you were an outsider based on the color of your skin, the language that
you spoke, or the place that you were raised? If not, how else might you connect with students
who feel like a minority?

3. Would you, like Mr. McCourt, allow the students to use their native languages in your
classroom? Why or why not?

4. How does it feel to know that the success of these students largely depends on how much extra
time and attention you are willing to devote to them? Is it fair to ask you to do extra work for
these students or should these students be kept out of mainstream classrooms (i.e., in classrooms
designed to specifically meet their additional needs)?

5. How did you view Mr. McCourt’s trips to see Cold Turkey and Hamlet? Was it an effective
teaching strategy or just a way to “buy” the students’ favor? If you thought the trips were
effective, was there anything that you would have done differently?

Teacher Man -- Chapter 11

McCourt begins chapter eleven by characterizing the “good teacher”. Good teachers have
control, power, and authority. Good teachers never allow their students to talk out of turn, to
swear, or to go to the bathroom for more than five minutes. Good teachers, in short, follow the
rules and know how to please the administrators.
From there, McCourt seems to fall into a trance. He’s not the “good teacher”. In fact, he’s never
been really good at anything his whole life. He just walks aimlessly from one job to another. He
has no goals. He has no ambitions. He really doesn’t know what to do with himself. All he has
are his silly little fantasies and his what-could-have beens.

Later, McCourt somehow manages to land a dream spot at Trinity College in Dublin. One of his
fantasies has finally come true, and he strolls around the campus feeling proud. He’s a doctoral
candidate, and surely that’s something. He’ll get the degree, he’ll earn the money, and he’ll
finally get the respect he’s been striving for his whole life. Unfortunately, that’s where the dream
ends. McCourt isn’t able to focus on his dissertation, and he spends his time drinking, sleeping
around, and researching random tidbits on the Irish in America.

At this point, McCourt realizes that the Irish heritage he’s so proud of is actually the one that’s
struggling for acceptance in America. He returns to America a failed doctoral candidate, and
sadly, things only get worse from there. McCourt loses his teaching job and now earns money
being Mrs. Katz or Mr. Gordon or whatever teacher happens to be absent on that particular day
he’s called in to sub. McCourt is definitely on a downward spiral. Will he be able to “pull it
together”?

Chapter Response

This chapter was a lot longer than most of the other chapters we’ve read so far. McCourt’s
conversation with Andrew was particularly interesting because it sounds as though McCourt
might be the kid’s illegitimate father. I also thought it was interesting that McCourt made a note
of Boom Boom Brandt’s advice on life. Whenever you think too much of yourself, go home and
clean the toilet. That will remind you of how unworthy you really are. Anyway, I saw no other
reason for McCourt to include this bit of advice other than to use it as a comment for his own
life. McCourt thought too much of himself when he headed into Dublin wearing his American
uniform, and he was punished for it when he could only attract the attention of Mary—a heavily
obese Irish woman. McCourt also thought too much of himself when he was accepted to Trinity
College. He eventually wound up failing to get his degree and had to return to America empty-
handed. Maybe McCourt feels he should have cleaned the toilet a little more often. Finally, the
time he spent with the psychiatrist was also rather funny. McCourt’s almost forty years old and
yet, he’s still so concerned with impressing people. As a result, he spends more time trying to
win the shrink’s approval than trying to get to the root of his own problems.

Thought Questions

1. How did you respond to Andrew? Did you dislike him or feel sorry for him? He spent
everyday in class challenging McCourt just so that the other students would remember him.

2. How do feel about Boom Boom Brandt? He had the smarts to graduate from high school but
ultimately chose to fail. Do you agree with his view on life – that you should remember your
place and not get too cocky?
3. Do you agree with McCourt’s definition of what makes a “good teacher”? Is there anything
you would add to or delete from this definition?

Teacher Man -- Chapter 12

With chapter twelve, McCourt gets a new lease on life. He’s offered a position at one of the most
prestigious high schools in New York, and the apple of his eye, daughter Maggie, is born not
long after. Professionally and personally, life is looking up for McCourt.

At Stuyvesant High School, McCourt makes friends with his supervisor. They have drinks
together, and McCourt is trusted to teach whatever grade and whatever topics he wants. Never
before has McCourt been given this much freedom in the classroom, and he enjoys every minute
of it.

Unfortunately, at age forty-nine, McCourt experiences another major setback. His wife divorces
him, and he is forced to live in less than ideal conditions. Along the way, however, he connects
with an artist who looks at the world a little differently.

Chapter Response

Personally, I thought it was really nice to see McCourt happy for once in his life. People always
say that having kids changes your perspective on things, and I think McCourt would agree with
that. The love he holds for his daughter is unmistakable.

I also thought it was nice to see McCourt coming out as a “real teacher” for the first time. Having
the freedom to choose who and what he teaches really seems to be making him into the teacher
he always wanted to be. He’s teaching literature, and he’s getting kids thinking. He’s no longer
just telling stories to keep the kids entertained.

Finally, McCourt’s depiction of how students perceive their teachers is really funny. It’s true
though. Kids never really want to see their teachers as being anything but teachers. They don’t
want to think about their teachers being involved in relationships or doing things that would be
deemed “unteacherly”. They want to believe that their learning is the only priority their teachers
have. After all, the lives of students are already complicated enough as it is. They normally don’t
want their teachers’ troubles thrown into the mix.

Thought Questions

1. Do you think McCourt made the right choice in ignoring Janice’s home troubles? While
grading her paper, he considers letting the guidance counselor know what he’s read, but
ultimately decides against it. Do you think he did this because he wanted more evidence of
sexual abuse or because he thinks it’s a bad idea to get too involved in students’ personal lives?
What’s your stance on reporting sexual abuse?
2. Do you think McCourt is a “sell out” for taking the job at Stuyvesant High School? These kids
are the best and the brightest that New York has to offer, and they actually want to learn and
become successful. Some might say that teaching them isn’t really a challenge. Do you agree
with this point of view or do you think that teachers have to overcome difficult problems and
issues no matter who they’re teaching?

3. Do you think it’s inappropriate for the teacher to bring his or her own life into the classroom?
McCourt goes through a difficult divorce and is forced to live in less than ideal conditions. Do
you think he made the right decision in not telling his students about all this?

Chapter 15
This chapter was about McCourt's experiences with Parent-Teacher meetings. During the meetings he
got a sense of what it must be like for his students at home outside of his class. He came to appreciate
that each student comes from a different home life and that this is sometimes what is reflected in that
student's personality and from this he learned better to teach each individual.

How would you deal with a Parent who appears to have substance abuse problems at a Parent-Teacher
Night?

Teacher Man -- Chapter 16

Chapter Summary

In Chapter 16, McCourt shows a little moodiness. He loves his students, but he also resents them for
their all-too-fortunate lives. He cannot connect with their problems, and he wishes his life could have
been so easy. Fortunately, McCourt is later reminded that everyone—no matter what their class
happens to be—has problems. Phyllis’ story about having to choose between witnessing the moon
landing and witnessing her father’s death is a powerful reminder of that.

Next McCourt informs his students that everyone is a writer. People write in their heads all the time.
When they see a friend, an enemy, or a secret crush, they are writing in their heads. They write about
their plans, their wishes, their dreams—it’s all in there. It’s just not down on paper, and the students
need to start getting some of that down on paper. This discussion then turns into an assignment where
the students are asked to listen to their grandparents’ stories and to write them down.

The chapter closes with a discussion on grades. The students ask McCourt how they will be graded for
the course, and he encourages them to grade themselves. They know how hard they worked during the
semester, and they know what they did or did not learn. The more important question, according to
McCourt, is whether or not the class freed their minds in any way.

Chapter Response
I thought Chapter 16 was an interesting chapter. I liked McCourt’s belief that everyone is a writer in
their own minds, that we all have good stories to tell, and that it’s important to share those stories with
others before we die. I also thought the assignment with the grandparents was great. I want to include
meaningful and thoughtful assignments like these in my own class one day, and I don’t believe that
teachers and families should consider one another to be the enemy (as some of the grandparents did).

Personally, I did not like the whole letting the students grade themselves assignment. I had to do this for
a class I took at Montclair once, and people didn’t really take it seriously. They didn’t search their
consciences for the truth like McCourt was hoping his students would. Most people I knew treated the
idea as a joke and wrote down the grade they wanted even if it wasn’t the grade they deserved.

Thought Questions

1. Do you think it’s important to include your students’ life stories in your classroom? Why or why not?

2. How do you feel about McCourt’s decision to let the students grade themselves? Is this something
you would do in your classroom? Why or why not?

3. McCourt talks about the lives of writers from the Beat Generation, and this gets him in trouble with a
parent. What topics are considered to be controversial in your discipline? Do you think it is appropriate
to include these topics in your lessons, or do you think these are topics better left for when your
students are more mature and in college?
Teacher Man: Frank McCourt brings humanity to class
Janet Sutherland
October 2006

Frank McCourt

Schools haven't had much good press since 1954, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the
Brown decision that public education must be equal for all, regardless of race. Rightwingers find
ingenious ways to cut financial support for schools, while the corporate-owned media proclaims
that schools are unredeemable.

Well, Frank McCourt's Teacher Man is an antidote to that poison. The book gets straight A's for
humor, insight, and storytelling. And as a teacher, McCourt's perspective on schools is
refreshing.

McCourt became a renowned novelist with Angela's Ashes, the bestseller about his
impoverished Irish mother's struggles. But before he wrote that and its sequel, 'Tis, McCourt
spent thirty years teaching in New York City's high schools. And contrary to what beginning
teachers learn from the teachers' colleges, McCourt survived by engaging his students with
stories about his poverty-stricken childhood in Ireland.

Nurturing creativity. McCourt has a gift for catching people's attention. On his first day at
Staten Island vocational high school, one student threw his sandwich at another. McCourt picked
up the sandwich and ate it, praised it, explained why it was delicious, and demonstrated that food
and the work that went into it was not to be wasted. The principal, who saw McCourt do all this,
chastised him for eating in class, and the students knew immediately whose side to be on.

Time and again, McCourt used such transforming deeds to make his English class come alive, to
provoke thought and discussion, to stimulate a written response, and to promote his students'
ability to use their language skillfully.

Despite meeting 175 students in five classes each day, he juggled the many different roles
demanded, from disciplinarian to philosopher to attendance bookkeeper. If each student
produced a 500-word essay each week, and McCourt spent five minutes on it, think how many
hours it took outside class to respond to every student with wit, candor, and sage advice about
writing! English teachers work 80 hour weeks.

McCourt fills his book with vignettes of life from his ethnically and racially diverse classroom.
He starts with the curriculum firmly in mind and a lesson fully planned — and then something
happens, a student interaction, a question or comment, and everything changes. McCourt
embraces these opportunities and uses them to spark new ideas, whether about English grammar
or the meaning of a poem by Roethke. Sooner or later word always comes back of a priceless
lesson learned.

More than tests. Ever since Congress passed the No Child Left Behind Act, tests consume
enormous amounts of energy and time, but in McCourt's classroom tests weren't the point.
Students were more likely to read WWI protest poetry or digest cookbooks and perform recipes
set to music.

He turned the student practice of forging excuse notes into an assignment to write fictitious
apologies for notorious historical malefactors. He asked his students to think rather than
regurgitate lessons, and he poked and pushed them into revealing the creativity they were born
with.

McCourt agonized when less successful pupils drifted into the military and were blown apart by
land mines in Vietnam. He became enraged when a guidance counselor — who scabbed during a
teachers' strike — cautioned him against encouraging a bright vocational student to consider
college. He fought against using schools to produce cannon fodder for the military industrial
complex or cogs for the corporate assembly line.

After some unwanted transfers and nonrenewals — McCourt taught at several high schools and
even spent a semester in a junior college — he was lucky to land a job at Stuyvesant High
School, where his department heads supported his methods, assigned him to teach creative
writing, and let him have whatever books he wanted for his students.

McCourt's reminiscences are a revelation that schools can work with great effectiveness when
inventive, creative teachers are allowed to inspire students to become more than passive
listeners.

McCourt also shows how diversity in his classrooms increased their vibrancy. For him the
exchange between teacher and student is ongoing and dialectical; the teacher admits to ignorance
and considers him/herself a learner as well as a leader. Students learn collectively to listen and
participate as they must in a democratic society.

Teacher Man shows the best that public schools can be and reaffirms our need to defend the
revolutionary principle of equal, quality education for all.
Review: Teacher Man

Recap: What happens when you teach high school English and creative writing for thirty years
and then write a bestselling memoir? Well, then you write another memoir — a book about your
life as a teacher. At least that’s what Frank McCourt did. Best known for his award-winning
memoir Angela’s Ashes and Tis, Frank McCourt set out to write another memoir about his
teaching days in Teacher Man.

McCourt was born in America, but spent much of his childhood in Ireland. He then moved back
to the States, where he was drafted to serve in the Korean War. But upon his return from the war,
he went to New York University to study English, and so begins his professional journey. He
spent the next thirty years hopping from high school to high school in New York City, teaching
English, English as a Second Language, and Creative Writing to some of the city’s least well-off
and least motivated teens and to some of the most well-off and most motivated, like those at
Stuyvesant High School.

His failed marriage and failed degree prove that he has problems like everyone else. McCourt
admits through his writing that he’s no hero. In fact, he finds himself surprised to learn that he’s
had such an impact on some of his students’ lives. But he does. In Teacher Man, McCourt shares
the stories of his teachings to these students, the relationship he had with them, and the bond
between a teacher and his class. He teaching methods are not necessarily the most logical, like
the time he took a class of predominantly African-American females to a production of
Hamlet. They’re also not the most well-received by his bosses, like the time he turned his
students’ forged excuse notes into a writing assignment.

But it’s the thank yous from those students later on that make his time in the classroom worth it.
He recognizes that later in life, his former students will likely forget his name, but hopes they
won’t forget his role in their lives.
Analysis: Frank McCourt’s straightforward and honest writing style help the memoir flow easily
from anecdote to anecdote, teaching lesson to teaching lesson. McCourt may not know it — or
maybe he absolutely does — but in the same way he’s teaching his students, he’s also teaching
his readers; not about English or Creative Writing, but about life, about the relationships we have
with people, about the importance of profession versus your family and friends. McCourt’s
professional life story helps put things in perspective in a way only a “Teacher Man” could.