Compare the characters of Mr. Grycefrom Barry Hines' Kestrel for a
knave' and Mr. Squeers from Charles Dickens Nicholas Nickelby
During the course of this essay I will be comparing the teaching
methods, school conditions and general demeanor of Mr. Gryce, a
secondary school headmaster in the 1960's, and Mr. Squeers who
controls a boarding school for disabled and unfortunate children in
the 1830's. Both schools are set in Yorkshire.
Mr. Gryce is an experienced teacher with 35 years in his profession,
although he is seen as a well experienced teacher he is also at or
past the suggested retirement age, and some would consider him unfit
for the demanding job. In all schools throughout the world the main
point in attending is to receive an education, but Mr. Gryces' is
different. The reason for going to his school is to learn four things,
'Discipline, decency, morals and manners.'
On the other hand, Mr. Squeers had no teaching experience before he
started running his boarding school. The only reasons he started
teaching were for the money and secondly the power that he could be
sure of gaining even if he and his wife had to steal for it.
'...As Mrs. Squeers took the boots from the new arrivals only to be
given to her son.'
The only reason they were getting away with this conniving scheme is
that there were no educational laws at that time stopping from doing
so until the Education Reform Act was passed in 1870.
Gryces' school is a secondary modern school, as he is the headmaster
of the school and he knows that he has power over his pupils,
therefore he undermines them
'Come on in you reprobates'.
'You've nothing to comment on your just fodder for the mass media'.
Any pupil in this day and age would not stand for this much lack of
respect.
Mr. Squeers is running a boarding school for orphaned and physically
unfortunate boys. Mr. Squeers not only dislikes the boys, but he is
also against them
'Mr. And Mrs. Squeers viewed the boys in the light of their proper
natural enemies.'
For the pupils at 'Dotheboys Hall' it is impossible to learn anything
because they are constantly living in fear of their own teachers.
The positioning of the two schools in relation to the pupils'
parents/guardians is very much the opposite. Mr. Gryces' school serves
a council estate somewhere in a mining town in North Yorkshire, and
all of the pupils live only minutes away. Whereas Mr. Squeers' school,
also set in Yorkshire, is just a shoddy, converted old building, with
all of its pupils living at least 100 miles away, most of the pupils
Pheoby is Janie’s best friend in Eatonville. Pheoby is the only person who is nice to Janie, and cares about Janie in town after she returns. Janie feels like she can trust Pheoby with her story, and when people ask Pheoby will tell them exactly what Janie told her. She won’t add her own details into the story, and she will not make up lies about what happened while Janie was gone. She will also not start any rumors and she won’t gossip about Janie’s story. Also, Pheoby will not judge Janie for leaving Eatonville, and killing Tea Cake. Most of the other women in town will want nothing to do with her because they would think that she is crazy for running off with someone and then killing them. She knows that Pheoby will not do that. After Janie finishes telling Pheoby about her life story, Pheoby is happy that Janie was able to go out and live a life that she missed out on when she has married to Jody. I think that Pheoby has a new-found respect for Janie because she was able to live the life she wanted filled with adventure, and that she was able to stand up for herself and fall in love. Pheoby even said, “" Ah done growed ten feet higher from jus' listenin' tuh you, Janie. Ah ain't satisfied wid mahself no mo'. Ah means tuh make Sam take me fishin' wid him after this. Nobody better not criticize yuh in mah hearin'." (Hurston 182-183).
Poverty can be a terrible thing. It can shape who you are for better or for worse. Although it may seem awful while you experience it, poverty is never permanent. In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, which takes place in Alabama in the middle of the Great Depression, Walter Cunningham and Burris Ewell are both in a similar economic state. Both of their families have very little money; however, they way they manage handle themselves is very different. In this essay, I will compare Walter Cunningham and Burris Ewell’s physical appearance and hygiene, their views on education, and their manners and personalities.
Edward "Blackbeard" Teach was undoubtedly one of the most feared and most despised pirates of all time. Edward Teach is thought to have lived in England before his pirate career, although his exact origins are unknown. He was named "Blackbeard", for his large black beard that almost covered his entire face. To strike terror in the hearts of his enemies Blackbeard would weave hemp into his hair, and light it during battle. Edward Teach was an unusually large man, carrying two swords, numerous knives, and pistols- he was feared by his own crew.
It’s no surprise that there are faults within our schools in today’s society. As both authors’ point out if our educational system is
When it comes to education, it is about helping people discover, refine, and develop their gifts, talents, passions and abilities; and then helping them discover how to use those gifts, talents, abilities in ways that benefit others and oneself (Bull, 2015). However, with education, there are many places where this does not happen and learners may fall between the cracks. Schools are heavily measured on testing, student outcomes and student numbers that it has become the main focus to excel the school district—but what about the students? I recall a time where I was sitting in a classroom and the teacher was going over a math lesson. Many students struggled and were having a difficult time following along with the task. The teacher started
“If you would just get up and teach them instead of handing them a packet. There’s kids in here that don’t learn like that. They need to learn face to face. I’m telling you what you need to do. You can’t expect a kid to change if all you do is just tell ‘em.” Texas student, Jeff Bliss, decided to take a stand against the lack of teaching going on in his class (Broderick).
In Tovani’s Chapter 9, “Did I Miss Anything? Did I Miss Everything?” Last Thoughts, she concentrates on explaining the importance of teachers focusing on their learning to be in touch with students’ learning. Tovani opens the chapter with a story about a time she felt stressed out about what to teach, and how she established that she should take the advice she gives to her students. Throughout the chapter, Tovani proceeds with the importance of realizing as educators that giving students the opportunity to think should be supplied every day. To conclude, Tovani writes that every teacher should follow their instinct of what is right for their students because they have the essential tools.
While some secondary schools do not disregard all standards of teaching, it is becoming more and more common for educators to converge with the increase of unearned grades of students. When such occurrences as this happens, the “disengagement compact, a term coined from George Kuh, [where there is an] agreement between teachers and students, ‘I’ll leave you alone if you leave me alone.’ ” (Allahar and Côté 2). This means that the teacher will not put in too much effort into teaching the students, so long as he/she does not have to mark as many papers or worksheets. This lack of effort from both groups is a main cause of grade inflation. Without anyone pushing students to the fullest extent of their comprehension in certain subjects, there will not be enough material for the educator...
The students’ eyes: this lens establishes just how congruous the teacher’s assumptions about effective learning correspond with those of the students in his or her class.
Visual, reading and writing, and kinesthetic, etc. are various type of learners in our schools today. But, the educational system only focuses on the reading and writing learners, this is absurd. This is a contribution to the increasing numbers of students cheating. A true education is not only learned from books and taking a test. The modern day educational system is unfair; it also sacrifices the abilities of each student. This is allowing students to think that they are stupid, useless and incompetent. But it is the inflexibility of our teachers, they are not flexible enough to teach other types of learners and therefore only focuses on the reading and writing learners. But, no two brains are the same, each student has different strength, abilities, dreams; yet, everyone is being taught the same. Modern day schooling claim to prepare students for the future, but seems more as competing for an ‘A’, instead of grasping the concept being taught. Therefore, so many students are cheating their way through school and throughout
I am entirely certain that twenty years from now we will look back at education as it is practiced in most schools today and wonder how we could have tolerated anything so primitive. The pieces of the educational revolution are lying around unassembled."
According to Byman and Kansanen (2008, p605) ‘… teaching in itself does not imply learning’. The underachievement of young people in education has been a priority in British politics for over two decades (Ross, 2009). The estimates of academic underachievement at Key Stage 4 (KS4) are reportedly between one fifth and one third of the KS4 population in England (Steedman and Stoney, 2004). An Ofsted (2013) report identifies that pupils’ aged from 11 to 16 (early KS4) is below the national average. Underachievement in KS4 has become a recurring phenomenon (Wogboroma, 2014), with several academics and government bodies, identifying a range of significant implications, not only for the individual but also for wider society (Beinart, et al. 2002; McIntosh and Houghton, 2005; Hosie, 2007; Ofsted, 2013; DfE, 2014). This unseen cluster of learners that are academically underachieving is representative of an objectionable waste of potential, in addition incurring subsequent costs, from an individual viewpoint to a national scale (Ofsted, 2013). Consequently, recognizing and instigating timely interventions to tackle underachievement in KS4 and subsequently achieve social justice for this learner group should be a fundamental goal for schools. Motivation is recognised as an effective tool to overcome underachievement (Mega, et al. 2014) Furthermore, the intrinsic loci of motivation has developed to become an important phenomenon for educators, as it produces high-quality and effective learning in addition to creativity and achievement that can be progressively nurtured by teacher practices (Ryan & Stiller, 1991). Theories of motivation, self and society are critically evaluated to determine effective strategies...
In today’s America, the educational system has been blaming teachers for the failure of students. This pressure put on teachers causes a lot of unneeded stress and can even be demoralizing. Instructors are always trying to put the student’s
to do his or her homework; but often times, the student forgets how to do the problems taught in
I will be addressing these points from my own experience and views as a secondary school teacher.