In chapters 2 & 3 the read was much better than the 1st chapter. I knew that as a future teacher that Mr. Conroy would elaborate on areas that would benefit and open my mind to a higher level of teaching children. The characters were coming to life as he describes and how the people viewed them. Mr. & Mrs. Stone for instance, I pictured them as being peoples the watched over any type of activities on the Island . It was like they had the last say so to people coming or changes that might come up. Mr. Stone was sort of like someone that compresses their real feelings about situations and then is compelled to explode how they really feel. I really didn’t like some of the tactics that Mr. Stone did and at the same time he would come through for help when Conroy needed him. I believe his viewpoint of Conroy changed when he moved off the Island and he went to investigate the house Conroy left. The poster of McQueen and the motorcycle was a nail in their relationship after Conroy moved out and began commuting. Mr. Stone had gone to investigate the house and saw some of his belongings left behind. Mr. Stone’s personality changed to the darker side. I also thought of the “Little House on the Prairie”; when he described the school house and having one teacher teach the ranges of school age students. When he met the Mrs. Brown and the students was very interesting to say the least. I do know that I have never met a Mrs. Brown described in the book and would not want too. After he assessed them and knew they could not write their name or form any kind of sentences he had to look for other means of teaching and giving them experiences off the Island . Teaching with music and other interactive learning games like the maps, gave Conroy a chance to assess them of what they were learning verbally. The students learned some of the most wonderful composers and could identify them. This was brilliant and creative. Reading how Conroy interacted with the students and sought any type of resources that could help them learn revealed that he was determined and believed that they all could learn.
I agree with the statement that it gave you “a Little House on the Prairie feeling” but with a twist of more isolation. The school houses description took you back to a time that was not advanced as our world is now. However, while thinking this way it makes you wonder what could have been done to improve the lives of the people on the island. The areas outside of the island didn’t live in such conditions as these people were left. Conroy gave in detail of how he made his bed on the floor inside the school. I cringed when he elaborated on how he plucked the ticks off his skin. The area on the island seemed to have a ran down shack feeling with maybe dogs running loose on the land. However, even though the sleeping conditions for Conroy were not the Holiday Inn Express, he stuck it out to find ways to help the children to learn. Teachers aren’t quitters; teachers hold the essence for overcoming.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that chapters two and three were a much better read than chapter one. The first chapter in a book usually is not as good as the rest of the book. I believe that as the book progresses further it will get even more interesting. I also liked your description of the school house. It really does remind me of a one room school house like what you would find on "The Little House on the Prairie." I had no problems picturing this old fashioned one room school house.
ReplyDeleteConroy seemed to have really reached his students through the aspect of music. He integrated music and geography together and made it fun for his students. I can imagine doing something similar to this in my classroom because as you said he was able to assess what his students were learning. His students are very important to him. I really enjoyed this chapter.
ReplyDeleteMusic can be such a powerful teaching tool because many of our students are auditory learners or have strong musical intelligence. Good post! Be sure to pull out one sentence that you really like and comment on it.
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