Analysis Of Gryphon By Charles Baxter

Mr. Wray was the first teacher and the only male teacher I observed. The class was a 7th grade Social Studies academy class. Throughout the observation I noticed he really cares about his students. He took his time going over the topic of discussion, and when some of the students couldn’t catch on he stopped to help the individuals. His class was very well behaved. The only time I really noticed any of the students socializing were when Mr. Wray put them in groups to complete a study guide. The second teacher I observed was 6th grade teacher Mrs. Dunn. She was teaching English to her students. She went over verb phrases and helping verbs throughout the class. I noticed whenever she asked questions quite a few of the students participated by answering. Mrs. Dunn had a positive attitude throughout the class period. I felt she truly enjoyed all her students and treated them the same. Even when some of the students didn’t answer questions correctly she didn’t make them feel dumb. She would just tell them good try. I could tell her students really liked her as a teacher also. The last teacher I observed at Westside Junior High was 7th grade Science teacher Mrs. Dugas. This lady came off as a very strict teacher compared to the other two I had observed. Her students were very talkative, which only made her become more annoyed when having to fuss at them. At the beginning of class the students had a bell ringer to complete. On the particular day I went the bell ringer

In the short story entitled “Gryphon” by author Charles Baxter, the author begins to formulate a storyline about a young boy named Tommy and his experience with his new substitute teacher, Miss Ferenczi. Miss Ferenczi being a new substitute teacher in Five Oaks, Michigan provides Tommy’s class with a unique atmosphere. Ferenczi’s personality and teaching methods are particular features newly encountered by Tommy. Moreover, Miss Ferenzi’s is presented as a strange individual amongst Tommy’s class because of her attire and the two lines present across her face. Tommy and other classmates begin to alter their perspective on Miss Ferenczi’s as her character begins to unravel. Further, characters such as Miss Ferenczi and Tommy begin to change behavior through the continuation of the story. For instance, Tommy starts to develop his imagination and Miss Ferenczi begins her ascension as a fictional storyteller. As the story progresses, each character experiences continuous changes such as Tommy’s development of a sense of imagination and Miss Ferenczi’s implantation of fictional storytelling.

The short story named “Gryphon” takes place in the rural community of Five Oaks. Tommy is a young perceptive boy who knows everything about his community. One day, his regular teacher, Mr. Hibler, develops a cold and the substitute who takes his place is a woman named Ms. Ferenczi. Ms. Ferenczi is a very interesting substitute, one that Tommy had never seen before. She told Tommy’s class many different ideas that the classmates had never heard before. When disaster strikes, and Mrs. Ferenczi has to leave the school, Tommy stands up and fights for her. Over the course of the book I could see that Tommy seemed to be greatly influenced by Ms. F ( Ms. Ferenczi

In “Nothing but the Truth” by Avi Miss Narwin,is a dedicated,21 year teacher. Miss Narwin teaches ELA at Harrison High. She also has a sister who lives in florida who wants her to take an early retirement and move in with her. Miss Narwin shouldn't have left her job because before the suspension incident students enjoyed having her as a teacher. Allison says “Narwin is one of the best teachers. All the kids say so.’’(p.148) This quote shows how the students enjoy having Narwin as a teacher because Allison said it and she is enjoyed by the students because they have the best grades.

I was a little thrown off with this explanation of teaching professionals, “Now that these professions are much more open to women, we have come to accept that pre-college teachers will, on the whole (and with admirable exceptions), be our less successful students.” (Par. #8) I could not understand why this point was in the context, I didn’t get the connection between this and the point that he’s trying to convey. After reading the article several times, I finally came up with my own interpretation of it, I think he means that since less students would be going to college, less college professors would be needed, therefore more money available to provide a better incentive to the new teachers recruited after a vigorous search for high school educators.

Despite my somber interest of my temporary workplace, I still yearned to do something different. Therefore, I took a clean shot at substitute teaching, but little did I know that the captivating adventures of Substitute Teaching, Up-Close and Personal were in steady progress.

The teachers profiled in “Unforgettable Miss Bessie”, “My Favorite Teacher”, and “And the Orchestra Played On” are remembered and admired by the narrators. Miss Bessie, Miss Hattie, and Mr. K. possessed significant qualities that made them remarkable educators. They inspired and encouraged students. They only wanted the best for their students and prepared them for their futures, enabling them to overcome difficulties in school. Besides the content of their subject matter these educators their taught students to believe that their lives and future all depends from themselves: whether they would choose the clean asphalt road or dirty, bumpy one.

This supports Griet’s change in identity, form being too scared to speaking her mind to having the courage to give her opinion to her master.

"The Kid Nobody Could Handle" by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. is a short story that represents how troubled kids are sometimes treated by society. In general, when an adolescent is misbehaved, they are seen as a nuisance and blamed purely based off of what is seen, and people are disinclined to look further into the issue. However, in every situation there is an outlier which views things from a different perspective. In "The Kid Nobody Could Handle", this outlier is George Helmholtz, who sees the "delinquent" Jim Donnini, for more than he appears to be. The situation shown in the story is a quality model of Plato's Allegory of the Cave theory. In the story, Jim Donnini, a character deemed as a troubled teen faces child neglect. This, in turn, leads to

The Coney Island is known for being a family-friendly place by being filled with rides and festivals and by being a popular family destination that allows a family to have fun and enjoy a day with the family. The only problems are that not a lot of people realized that Coney Island is home to more than an amusement park but it is home to a community that cares about each other and wants to help improve the environment they live in. Within each new and old members of the community new achievement are being created which are helping to create many amazing inspirational stories. Mathylde Frontus is one of the many stories that inspired others to look at Coney Island as more than a family-friendly vacation area, but to look at it as a place where change is being made and new creation or movement are being created.

James Wytte was a guy who had everything he could ask for. Money, Girls, A Famous Name, and the looks, the problem with all of that was he needed more substance in his life than form. Although he was brought up in a lifestyle where people were shallow and never looked past the other’s designer outfits. He had somehow managed to escape the shallowness. He yearned for people who were more like him, the only problem with that was, he could not be seen hanging out with a kid from downtown. That would ruin the family name as his father put it. The standards set before him were quite high and the expectation that he would live to those standards.

Gretel represents the change that occurred in a whole generation of German Youth (Hitler Youth) during WWII, she starts as a child with dolls then abandons these for propaganda in the hope of gaining power in the eyes of Herr Lizt, Kotler and her Father

Like many success stories, it begins on the Lower East Side of New York City. The date was August 28, 1917, and the Kurtzberg { long for Kirby } family at 147 Essex Street was given a baby boy with the name of Jack. And the growing up period is not entirely normal, either Street-fighting, the usual childhood activities, and the constant instinct of self-preservation were all a part of it. And too, there was the foreshadowing of what was to come , the doodles cluttering every available scrap of paper, the ‘wasted’ afternoons at the movies… the profound interest in stories. That, more than anything else occupied young Jack’s time. Schooling was not the best and inadequate in the field of creative writing and art.

When reading English literature, the reader can see the tradition of the female character as a compliant object. In the writings "The Importance of Being Earnest" and "Pygmalion" we see a different side. The female characters take a break from tradition. They assert themselves as outgoing and intelligent. Two examples of this is the characters Gwendolen Fairfax from "The Importance of Being Earnest" and Liza Doolittle in "Pygmalion". Both of these ladies stand up for themselves, they show they are confident and stand up for themselves and what they want. This is not a norm for women in English literature and is refreshing to see.

“Pygmalion was written to challenge the class system, traditional stereotypes and the audience’s own views.”