Response to "Debating the Canon in Class"

Reading this article reminded me of how completely the teacher shapes the course and materials that students are expected to learn. Get a good teacher and even a subject that once seemed difficult unfolds in an intelligible way. The demystifying of geometry or cell division or The Scarlet Letter is important beyond the test score. To go from muddled incomprehension to mastery is empowering, and students need to have faith in their abilities if they are to succeed "in the real world." In the real world, not everyone gets an "A" for effort, so student empowerment should be accompanied by the acquisiton of skills (critical thinking, literacy, grammer, etc.)



A teacher who sheds light on a dreary subject, or breathes new life into the mummified remains of the classics is a treasure. Every person who has been properly "schooled" probably has memories of the teacher who terrorized them or turned them off a subject forever. The OMP type from the Graff article may revere what he teaches, but if he's sick of his students then his knowledge and passion will not be transmitted. Add an addiction to alcohol or poor command of English to an "OMP-type" personality and the students will retreat from both subject and instructor as fast as humanly possible. My high school math teacher, Mr. Ho, cemented my aversion to math. He was a nice man who told anecdotes about his daughter, "Baby Ho," to the merriment of the class. His knowledge of math did not automatically translate into teaching ability, and over half the class flunked the state test at the end of the year. Mr. Ho was still around to pass on his peculiar blend of chalkboard squiggles and personal conversation when my sister had him two years later. If only tenure was tied to teaching ability!