Thursday, March 25, 2010
Response to Mr. Harvey
In “The Obituary” we meet Lovely and her best friend Jerry. They are in the same fifth grade class with their “worst teacher” Mr. Harvey. Mr. Harvey is a very hard character to like in this story. He is a very negative teacher, who tends to find the worst in his students, constantly putting them down and making them feel worthless. For Lovely in particular this kind of attitude is hard to deal with, she’s a sensitive child who is just starting to realize who she is and where she comes from. She is secretly ashamed of her family, the way they talk, what they eat, and where they live. To have someone in a role model position in life who tells you you’re not good enough and you will not be accepted by others can be quite damaging to a child. It makes me wonder why Mr. Harvey is such an unhappy man. As I think about It, I think he is frustrated teaching children who are not “perfect little American”? If they spoke perfect Standard English would he still treat them the same way?
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5th graders cannot handle those types of pressure. They can't be told that they are stupid and are useless. They are slowing learning. Mr. Harvey definitely needs to change his style of teaching or we will not be having anymore students to teach. He need someone to teach him how to teach.
ReplyDeleteHi Kelly,
ReplyDeleteYour last question has me wondering about Mr. Harvey and whether or not his frustration is with teaching in general, teaching in Hawaii, or these particular students. If the answer is either of the first two, then the students are unfortunate victims of his frustration. He forces them to personalize and internalize his criticisms, when those criticisms have everything to do with Mr. Harvey, not the students’ abilities.
Thanks for giving me more to think about!
Lauren :)
Kelly,
ReplyDeleteI agree that he was a hard to character to like and it sounds like none of us did. he was a frustrated tired teacher who should not have been there. He was cruel to be kind to his students but we know he ended up with one author out of his teaching method. i am not saying it is right but the author realized how poor and stupid her family sounded and escaped the life through writing. I think it always reflects on a teacher when a class does poorly not on the students. I also agree it is damaging to a student to feel that their culture is stupid for using a language handed down for generations.
I really like how you explained your thoughts towards Mr. Harvey. I also agree with you on how it is damaging for kids who face people and teachers like Mr. Harvey. It's hard learning "standard english" and being perfect. Mr. Havey needs to realize the way he's teaching and the affects it has on his students.
ReplyDeleteI think he is a very mean teacher as well. He should be a little softer person with his students and help them how to be better at English. He should be more friendly with them so they could like him a lot more and they could trust him
ReplyDeletei agree with you that he only finds the negative qualities in his students. yah i wonder how he would teach if he taught perfect little amercians? good point!!! i just think that he is burnt out and very frustrated with teaching!! good response!
ReplyDeleteNiki
Hi Sarah, I wonder the same thing. If the students were able to speak standard English would he still treat them so badly? Probably so is what Im guessing.
ReplyDeleteI think the same thing. Mr. Harvey should be setting good examples for the children he teaches, because him being disrespectful and making them feel stupid can be damaging towards the kids and can make them feel like they aren't good enough.
ReplyDelete