Watching the video in class today, the main themes that stood out to me were chances, collaboration, and growth. Listening to McCourt, the first thing I noticed was the charismatic energy he emanated, one where I could tell that his stories and wisdom were genuine and grounded. As he talked about his long, fulfilling career, I felt that although it'd be impossible now, he would've been a teacher that I'd look back fondly upon. The contents of his stories were also inspirational, and I found the idea of giving others a chance to be reinforced. McCourt never attended high school, but the dean of NYU's education department gave McCourt a chance. His first students saw a foreign, unfamiliar presence, but they invited him (albeit bluntly, which was funny) to teach, and in turn McCourt gave his students a chance, and continued to do so with the next thirty years of students that came after. If any of these chances were not given, then I feel that many of the lives that have been touched would be less rich than they are now. It makes me want to be an educator with an open-mind, without biases, and seeing potential in anyone I can connect with.
Another notable thing was the adaptive, think-for-yourself manner of teaching that McCourt employed. I liked that when his students were naturally resistant to the class material, he went along with them. "Explain to me why you hate this," he would say. It felt like a great way to channel the students' innate craziness into something inquisitive, as the emotions familiar to the students were allowed to act as a driving force instead of a barrier. Another part I liked was when he took the problem of excuse note abuse and created an engaging Shakespeare assignment - it showed adaptivity and an eagerness to embrace the chaos. This give-and-take process where the students taught the teacher and vice versa allowed McCourt to iteratively mold his classes throughout the years, which I would argue made for a richer learning experience for both him and his students. As someone hoping to teach the different subject of mathematics, I now wonder: how could I channel student resistance into motivation, and get them thinking for themselves and with each other?
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