In Confessions of a Bad Teacher, the writer, John Owens, tells the story of his time at Latinate Institute in New York and the many diverse students he worked with. He begins his memoir with a short depiction of the interaction between him and his students when they sing the “Star-Spangled Banner." By goofing around with the kids as they butcher the National Anthem he shows the readers that he is not an uptight person, he has fun with his students.
In the next scene, he talks about his interview for the job. A teacher that has been in the system for 20+ years tells him to just run away because the principal will give him a U which, for new teachers, is basically a mark of death. He finally gets a chance to prove himself by doing a teaching demonstration for a group of 11th grade kids in summer school in front of the assistant principal and some teachers. The students were learning about "The Diary of Anne Frank" and he asked the class if they were going into hiding and they didn't know how long they'd be gone, what they would take. They goofed around saying things like their Blackberry or Pringles, which he quickly got under control, therefore proving to the assistant principal that he could handle it and he got the job.
He soon sees how difficult it can be trying to control a group of students that do not want to learn on his own. Through it all, the students grow to have respect for him because he is not like most of the teachers. Owens tries to relate to the students and be more on their level, like the time there was a girl acting out and refusing to listen. She tells him to "back it up" so he snaps back with the lyrics to a popular rap song from 1999.
After finding original methods to help the students focused and in control he is labeled as a bad teacher. He is finally compatible in a class of 9th grade students, but is soon let go for his out of the ordinary tactics. This story is about a teacher's struggle to be considered a good teacher not only in the eyes of his students, but in the eyes of other educators. He had to quit and go back to what he knew. This is relevant because I'm sure there are still teachers today dealing with the same issues: How do I control my students? How do I get them to want to learn? etc.
The audience may be to other administrators or to students to see how they affect their teachers. John Owens' use of dialogue gave the story life and helped us vision the characters. In my writing I know I will be using enough dialogue to bring my stories a life of their own.
In the next scene, he talks about his interview for the job. A teacher that has been in the system for 20+ years tells him to just run away because the principal will give him a U which, for new teachers, is basically a mark of death. He finally gets a chance to prove himself by doing a teaching demonstration for a group of 11th grade kids in summer school in front of the assistant principal and some teachers. The students were learning about "The Diary of Anne Frank" and he asked the class if they were going into hiding and they didn't know how long they'd be gone, what they would take. They goofed around saying things like their Blackberry or Pringles, which he quickly got under control, therefore proving to the assistant principal that he could handle it and he got the job.
He soon sees how difficult it can be trying to control a group of students that do not want to learn on his own. Through it all, the students grow to have respect for him because he is not like most of the teachers. Owens tries to relate to the students and be more on their level, like the time there was a girl acting out and refusing to listen. She tells him to "back it up" so he snaps back with the lyrics to a popular rap song from 1999.
After finding original methods to help the students focused and in control he is labeled as a bad teacher. He is finally compatible in a class of 9th grade students, but is soon let go for his out of the ordinary tactics. This story is about a teacher's struggle to be considered a good teacher not only in the eyes of his students, but in the eyes of other educators. He had to quit and go back to what he knew. This is relevant because I'm sure there are still teachers today dealing with the same issues: How do I control my students? How do I get them to want to learn? etc.
The audience may be to other administrators or to students to see how they affect their teachers. John Owens' use of dialogue gave the story life and helped us vision the characters. In my writing I know I will be using enough dialogue to bring my stories a life of their own.
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