Character Analysis Of Up The Down Staircase

Up the Down Staircase

The novel Up that Down Staircase provided me deeper insight on the broad array of personalities encountered in the classroom setting better understand as an educator. Previously employed by the local school district I have experienced some, but not all, of the described personalities from the novel in past students. I was able to take a deeper look into the teacher Ms. Barrett and how she was able to connect with each individual student and the impact it made on her classroom and the students success.

Ms. Barrett faced many difficult challenges in trying to manage the classroom environment with such a diverse atmosphere. Ms. Barretts ability to reach every student in the beginning was difficult. Although, as she began

Barretts first year teaching experiences at Coolidge High School. This novel being written in 1967 still depicts a regular school setting in today’s society. It addresses drop-outs, runaways, lunchroom riots, drug use, suicide and students below grade level reading. The above concerns will only continue to rise for concern in the future of education. In our local area the most common have recently been suicide or drug use. These things are only escalating and being able to understand students and connect with them is vital to helping them avoid their possibility of

Barrett had gained a connection to those students and she knew that if she accepted the other position she was offered some of her current students would lose the growth she had seen. Although the connection had been made with students Ms. Barrett was consciously aware of student teacher boundaries in the novel she states “There is a need for closeness, yet we can 't get too close. The teacher-pupil relationship is a kind of tightrope to be walked. I know how carefully I must choose a word, a gesture. I understand the delicate balance between friendliness and familiarity, dignity and aloofness. I am especially aware of this in trying to reclaim Ferone. I don 't know why it 's so important to me. Perhaps because he, too, is a rebel. Perhaps because he 's been so damaged. He 's too bright and too troubled to be lost in the shuffle.” (Kaufman, 2014) There will always be a tight rope to walk in understanding and knowing your student and respecting the parent student