Frank McCourt: Rest In Peace

Three years ago Waxing America submitted a Book Report covering Frank McCourt's wonderful trilogy of memoirs. Today, it is our sad duty to report McCourt's death at 78. Unfortunately, some in his hometown of Limerick, Ireland, still begrudge his success, and bitterly resent his exposure of the poverty and misery of "the lanes," Limerick's slums, and the role of the Catholic Church in perpetrating those conditions.

The recommendation is the same as it was three years ago:  listen to the McCourt books as read by McCourt.  Savor the singing and the personal speaking style.  Don't start with the first, most well-known, Angela's Ashes; it's too depressing. Start with 'Tis or Teacher Man and work your way back.

Rest in peace, Frankie McCourt, New York City high school teacher (retired), and may your memory be for a blessing to your family.

- Barry Orton

Comments

[Brian]

I read several of his books about his teaching experiences. McCourt is a great writer who tells wonderful stories about life.

Do recognize, though, that his teaching style was more in the traditional model of chalk and talk rather than one in which students were deeply engaged in pursuing their own questions. Students were more passive and than active. Knowledge tends to be not internalized or constructed by the student in the traditional sit and git classroom.

McCourt's style lends itself to evaluation by test score rather than the better performance assessment model.

And we now see the test score accountability model failing all across America as it is crushing the life out of our schools, dumbing down kids and straight jacketing creative teachers. McCourt is not responsible for this in any way, but you cannot resist this corporatization unless you put forward a better model of teaching-learning-assessing-accountability in the public arena for people to debate and discuss.