I recently read “Confessions of a Bad Teacher” by John Owens, which was featured in Salon. I found that as I was reading it, it didn’t feel like I was reading for a school assignment, but rather for enjoyment. The story flowed very well and kept me interested. I think this has to do with how it incorporated the key parts of a memoir. “Confessions of a Bad Teacher” is about how Owens decided to go from being a writer and publisher to being a teacher. A teacher in a bad area, nonetheless. The story tells us about the troubles he faced, such as kids not wanting to learn, administrators who didn’t care, and trying to discipline difficult students.
The conflict of the story is between Owens, who wants so badly to teach and help these students, and the students who would rather do anything than learn and behave. Owens shows the audience the conflict through many examples, such as trying to hold the students hostage for an extra ten minutes, or being called a pervert for trying to get a student to put her cell phone away. The resolution of this memoir ends up being that Owens quits, or is let go, after receiving a “U”. Even though he quit and it seemed like he failed, at the end his students told him what an influence he had on their lives and how they didn’t want him to leave. There are actually several morals to this story. One is that one does not always realize the affect that they have on someone else’s life. Owens thought that he was a failure of a teacher who didn’t even deserve to teach anymore, when in reality the students confessed that he taught some of them more than anyone else ever had. This story also teaches to not go by the normal definition of “right” and “wrong” when it comes to teaching and discipline. Even though some of his methods were unconventional, i.e. singing the Star Spangled Banner very loudly, they still worked. Finally, this memoir shows that even if you technically “fail”, in this case by getting a “U”, its all how you look at it. Yes, Owens ended up leaving the school, but he left a lasting impression on his students’ lives. This story is relevant to the times because a lot of the public school systems in urban areas are overlooked. There are many problems with the administrators, teachers, students, and parents. Many officials tend to turn the other way and pretend these problems don’t exist so that they don’t have to deal with it. “Confessions of a Bad Teacher” exposes these problems in a way that will make readers want to be informed. This story could potentially spark a change. The intended audience for this story would be aspiring teachers, current teachers, or administrators. It could teach them many new things or encourage them to rethink their old ways.
I think that a narrative technique that was used well in this story was characterization. Owens provides strong details and dialogue so that the reader can truly visualize the students. Owens also has a very strong voice, and it is as if you could almost hear him telling you the story. He also uses subheads to transition between time and different subjects. I think that “Confessions of a Bad Teacher” was a well-written memoir.
The conflict of the story is between Owens, who wants so badly to teach and help these students, and the students who would rather do anything than learn and behave. Owens shows the audience the conflict through many examples, such as trying to hold the students hostage for an extra ten minutes, or being called a pervert for trying to get a student to put her cell phone away. The resolution of this memoir ends up being that Owens quits, or is let go, after receiving a “U”. Even though he quit and it seemed like he failed, at the end his students told him what an influence he had on their lives and how they didn’t want him to leave. There are actually several morals to this story. One is that one does not always realize the affect that they have on someone else’s life. Owens thought that he was a failure of a teacher who didn’t even deserve to teach anymore, when in reality the students confessed that he taught some of them more than anyone else ever had. This story also teaches to not go by the normal definition of “right” and “wrong” when it comes to teaching and discipline. Even though some of his methods were unconventional, i.e. singing the Star Spangled Banner very loudly, they still worked. Finally, this memoir shows that even if you technically “fail”, in this case by getting a “U”, its all how you look at it. Yes, Owens ended up leaving the school, but he left a lasting impression on his students’ lives. This story is relevant to the times because a lot of the public school systems in urban areas are overlooked. There are many problems with the administrators, teachers, students, and parents. Many officials tend to turn the other way and pretend these problems don’t exist so that they don’t have to deal with it. “Confessions of a Bad Teacher” exposes these problems in a way that will make readers want to be informed. This story could potentially spark a change. The intended audience for this story would be aspiring teachers, current teachers, or administrators. It could teach them many new things or encourage them to rethink their old ways.
I think that a narrative technique that was used well in this story was characterization. Owens provides strong details and dialogue so that the reader can truly visualize the students. Owens also has a very strong voice, and it is as if you could almost hear him telling you the story. He also uses subheads to transition between time and different subjects. I think that “Confessions of a Bad Teacher” was a well-written memoir.
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