The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark
Miss Brodie fails to be a good teacher because she teaches on her own accord, gives her students wrong impressions, and displays unprofessional behavior towards her staff and pupils.
As a schoolteacher in Edinburgh during the 1930’s there were many rules and regulations that teachers had to adhere to in order to successfully feed the minds of their young pupils. Schoolteachers had more of a responsibility during this period than today because school was the only source of information and education that people could receive. Due to this fact, the government set strict policies and curriculums (and still do) that teachers must follow so that students could grow up to become well round individuals. Miss Brodie seemed to side step, insult or simply ignore some of the curriculum that was given, and teach her students on her own conditions. An example of this is when Miss Brodie is telling the girls that she and Miss MacKay have a radical difference in their principals of education. Miss Brodie has told Miss MacKay that the girls will be equipped with the necessary information needed to pass the end of term exams. After she says this to the headmistress, Miss Brodie says to the girls:
I trust you girls to work hard and try to scrape through (the exams), even if you learn the stuff and forget it the next day.
This statement is telling the girls that she does not believe in the required curriculum and she wouldn’t care if they have forgot it after their exams. She only wants the girls to study of these exams so that she can have an excuse to boast to Miss MacKay, seeing the girls do well in them is not her primary concern.
Another example of Miss Brodie teaching on her own accord was her lesson under the Elm tree where she told her students about her holiday in Egypt. It is evident that Miss Brodie is pretending to teach her students but trying to make it quit believable for all who look upon her shaded class when she says to her students:
Hold up your books, prop them up in you hands, in case of any intruders, we are doing out history lesson…our poetry…English grammar.
Although Miss Brodie’s lessons were somewhat educational and her students learnt new concepts and ideas, the schools during that time would not allow “freestyle teaching” because it made the students too reprehensive. By sett...
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...f lust with Mr. Lloyd only creates a poor image for the students to have of her. Miss Brodie’s hostility toward Miss MacKay also demonstrates her inability to maintain a professional manner. She is constantly telling her students indirectly the she does not like Miss MacKay through various tactics. When Miss Brodie lashes out to Miss Mackay for trying to make her resign, she makes matters worse for herself because is only creates more tension and frustration between the two teachers. Miss Brodie unprofessional manner and inability to maintain her lust gives good reason for why she is a poor teacher.
As a person, Miss Brodie does have many positive qualities that she seems to have used in the classroom. Her students did take interest in her teaching, but only because they were so different from what they were used to. Miss Brodie was a very smart and well-traveled woman, which was another positive aspect that she brought to her classroom. However her inability to teach the given curriculum, giving her students wrong impressions, and her numerous affairs and arguments with the staff leads one to believe that even though Miss Brodie was in her prime, she was still a poor teacher.
Scout learned a number of things in the book, but most of them all refer back to a statement that Atticus and Calpurnia said, which goes, “It’s a sin to kill a mockingbird because all they do is sing their hearts our for us.” (Lee, pg. 90). Scout learned that about people, too. She learned that some people don’t do anything to you, so it would be a sin to do something mean in return. Over the course of the story Scout becomes more mature and learns the most important facts of life. She was living through a very difficult time and most of that helped her get through.
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From school buildings to supplies and teacher license requirements, life is very different for students and teachers today compared to two centuries ago. Today’s teachers receive higher education to learn the profession, and students learn new subjects such as foreign language, art, health, and science. After a long day of learning, most take the school bus home and continue their studies further. One thing that is similar between education in the 1800s and education now, however, is that children grow up to become well-educated, well-rounded individuals who are knowledgeable about themselves and the world around
...roughout the session. “Good teachers are not born, nor are they made by tutors. They make themselves. Whats more, anyone can teach well. Research shows that there is no personality type that makes a good teacher. Whether you are a shy introvert or an enthusiastic extrovert, you can teach effectively, but only if you know how to learn from your mistakes and your successes”. (Petty 2009 pg.516 2009)
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Lacks, C. (1997). The teacher's nightmare: Getting fired for good teaching. English Journal, 86 (2), 29-32.
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