Thursday, February 16, 2012

Chapter Five Blog


The reading of chapter five has been thus far the best reading of the assigned book. Mr. Conroy has stepped up his teaching skills for the students by thinking outside the box for ideas. As any good teacher would do for the benefit of their students to learn and gain knowledge is too go beyond the text book. Although, Mrs. Brown is still not happy and stresses that he is wasting valuable time with nonsense of films and tapes. I believe that Mr. Conroy has built a rapport with the students and has formed a bond that Mrs. Brown has never had and is probably jealous of how the students respond toward Mr. Conroy. It was in October that two California boys, Jim and Joe, from the University of California chosen for a quarter project for a sociology class. They would live on the Island and assist the teacher with the students. The students would learn how to play certain outdoor recess activities. Of course, Mrs. Brown was not pleased with the idea of wasting learning time. She was even against the two boys working in the classroom with Mr. Conroy, but she claimed that they did not have any credentials and could not go against the rules of the state. I know in today’s classroom teachers enjoy having volunteers to come in and help with the students. I find it hard to believe that she would not allow them to come and work with the students in the classroom and help Mr. Conroy. Just like the books and films that Mr. Conroy brought into the classroom that exposed the students to the outside world way beyond the Yamacraw Island those two men could have helped the students’ tremendously with reading, writing and math skills. We will never know what kind of an impact there would have been if the two men had been allowed to go into the classroom and assist with the students on their academic learning.

4 comments:

  1. I have to agree with you Renee. Mrs. Brown is definitely jealous of Mr. Conroy's teaching methods. She knows that the students never learned anything from her and now they are excited about coming to school. Pat Conroy actually teaches these children with new techniques and tries to find new methods to ensure they are learning. Many teacehs, I suppose, do no teach in that manner. But Conroy wants his students to get something out of coing to school.It is very rare to have students enthused about coming to school because they want to learn something new. I really enjoy reading this book because as the children grow in the classroom so does Mr. Conroy.

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  2. Mrs. Brown was a women who didn't want change. If change was to come about it might cause people to realize that Mrs. Brown's teaching methods were unethical and unproductive. How can a teacher or any adult embarrass children in front of others like she did with the urine incident? Mrs. Brown is beyond jealous. Mrs. Brown is trying to hide the fact that the way she has been teaching the children is not successful. If you recall in a couple of chapters back she mentioned that these children needed harsh treatment. However, Conroy has proven what she said to not be true. Mrs. Brown uses her status as a principal in the wrong manner. I am happy to see that Conroy is not the type to back down when faced with a situation that could help better the lives of the children. The two boys from California may not have been fully qualified but compared to Mrs. Brown, the children would have been much better off.

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  3. I agree with you that chapter five was an interesting chapter. I liked the way Conroy has started thinking outside of the box in order to teach his students. The films he found in the tiny library on the island were a good way to teach his students about things off of the island. Mrs. Brown does keep annoying Conroy by interrupting his class. But, he would just ignore her. He did not care if she thought that the videos were a waste of time, he thought that the videos worked. He believed that the films were good for the students.

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  4. I like this chapter a lot too. I really feel like this is when Conroy starts to come alive as a teacher.

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