Reply #36: Kick off in 15...

[Viva_La_Revolution]

Biography – Frank McCourt
Born in Brooklyn, Frank moved to Ireland at age four with his parents and brothers. As tough as life had been for the McCourt's in New York, it doesn't compare to the hardships they encounter in their native country. Penniless and destitute, the McCourts finally make it to Limerick where Frank is introduced to a collection of relatives, some as miserly as it is possible to imagine; some, as generous. Frank's father, Malachy, rarely has a job and when he does, spends his wages in the pubs, leaving Frank's mother, Angela, to beg from churches and charity organizations. Despite the tragedy of his drinking, Frank's dad is as charming as a "shiftless l aquacious alcoholic" could be, and he shares a special bond with Frank, revealed through moments of heartrending tenderness. Near death from typhoid fever, Frank spends several months in quarantine in the hospital where he has steady meals, clean sheets, and best of all, books. It is here that he is first introduced to Shakespeare. "I don't know what it means and I don't ca re because it's Shakespeare and it's like having jewels in my mouth when I say the words."

from - http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05331/611479.stm
snip>
His earliest classroom techniques consisted of regaling students with stories of his impoverished childhood rather than following the curriculum.
If you missed the story of that childhood in "Angela's Ashes,'' you can find plenty of highlights in this book, too. He also includes stories about his drinking and his various sexual encounters (not with his students) in more detail than needed.
Some of the detours from the classroom give an uneven feel to the book and are distractions.
In some senses, McCourt uses teaching as a road to self-discovery. By his later years in the classroom, he seems to have found his rhythm as a teacher and a human being.
Near the end of the book, he tells a young substitute teacher that he was "out of my depth" when he began teaching, but:
"After a few years, you develop antennae. You can tell when you've reached them or alienated them. It's chemistry. It's psychology. It's animal instinct. You are with the kids and, as long as you want to be a teacher, there's no escape. ... Find what you love and do it."


On Edit:

1:15pm Frank McCourt, Teacher Man Live Call-in Program

Frank McCourt talks about his book Teacher Man: A Memoir, published by Scribner. He responds to questions and comments from viewers immediately after a video is shown of Mr. McCourt discussing the book at a bookstore in Washington, D.C. on December 8, 2005.