Teacher Man

Frank McCourt, writer of the Pulitzer-prize winning novel Angela's Ashes, returns to the writing scene with Teacher Man, a semi-autobiographical book describing his life as a high school teacher before he became a writer.

True to style, McCourt writes simply and directly, refusing to edit his students' comments into more comprehensible, proper English, preferring instead to simply quote them as they speak. The very title of the book stems from a common phrase used to address him: "Yo, teacher man!". He talks about the difficulties in teaching a rambunctious class of hormonally-charged teenagers, many of whom have little to no interest in a dry lesson, and the creative nature of his lessons that he employs in order to pique some enthusiasm. When he is writing about his students, the book is often hilarious, with the stories that he tells his students, and their responses, almost sure to bring a smile to the face of the reader. His simple yet vivid descriptions are almost certainly capable of illustrating simply and clearly the situations he finds himself in.

When discussing his own life as part of this semi-autobiographical book, however, the tone turns more somber. Here the themes are slightly more depressing, as he talks about problems in his personal life, and the ordeals he faces. He talks about the transitions from school to school, about the difficulties he and some of his students face. Some of the stories coming from the students are indeed heartbreaking.

The stories are both funny and sad, but most importantly, they are educational, befitting the title of the book. Much of life's lessons are contained within this text, and while some may appear to be cliched, standard life lessons (think outside the box!), the power of McCourt's pen is such that the book teaches the lessons in a seemingly new and inspired manner.