Blog #3: Memoir Analysis of "Confessions of a bad teacher"

In Confessions of a bad teacher, John Owens tells his unfortunate tale of his teaching journey in the New York public school system.  The story begins with a clear, exciting beginning; showing the goofiness of his hard-to-control 9th grade writing class as they sing the Star Spangled Banner.  In poor neighborhoods with conflicted kids, John Owen practically embraces a daily battle with his classes.  He transitioned from being a professional writer, working in the corporate field, to teaching.  He was confident, with a goal to change the lives of students and set out to teach in the South Bronx, but his journey was short-lived and disappointing due to his inconsiderate students at various levels and his apparent racism that did not actually exist.  John Owens was a bad teacher.  The conflict in this story is Owens' inability to successfully control and teach students.  He was facing a constant battle with both his students, Mrs. P (founding principal), and the NY Public school system.  After switching classes several times, John still feels as though he is living a nightmare.  He tried to succeed in teaching and reach his goals, but his corporate job was a suited a lot more for him, so why not go back to it?  The resolution of the story was how he realized he must say goodbye and leave this job for good.  The purpose of the story is to share his tragedy of teaching, and prove how sometimes jobs won't always work out for the better.  However, that doesn't mean that certain goals aren't worth trying; John goes back to his old job and proves that one often has nothing to lose.  We are not all meant for everything, and John realizes he is not meant to be a teacher.  But, we should all go for our goals no matter what the outcome.  This story is particularly timely and relevant not only because it teaches a lesson that could be useful to everyone, but also because it is that time of year again!  Back to school, the fall, the season that gives us all butterflies each successive year.  This is the time of year that we set new goals for ourselves and see if we can achieve them, and we try new things.  The intended audience will most likely consist of mostly teachers and students, but i think it could be enjoyed by anyone.  John Owens makes us laugh in this memoir, and he also teaches the viable lesson of trying new things, and moving on if they fail.  He uses memoir techniques such as using very detailed descriptions and metaphors.  For example, I particularly enjoyed this description: "Ms. P kept her hair pulled back tightly. Her eyebrows were long, thin and very expressive, moving up and down like a caffeinated drawbridge. Ms. P's large mouth, set between grapefruit-size cheeks, was in a constant frown." I plan on using metaphors and details like these in my own memoir about my Grandmom, allowing my audience to evoke different feelings in the way I did as I read Confessions of a bad teacher.  I also really enjoy how he opens up with an exciting opening, and then it ends with that same class saying goodbye.  He adds background about his previous job and experience after he talks about his 9^th grade class, and I plan on setting up the scenes of my memoir in a similar way.  His transitions are clear even though he doesn’t stick to a strict chronological order; it is easy to follow.  I like how John Owens added bold font before separate little anecdotes within the memoir, to almost add a chapter sort-of effect.  The techniques used in this memoir have inspired me to write a story as appealing as his.  All audience members can easily feel how John Owens felt in his tragedy of teaching, and visualize exactly what he went through.  Confessions of a bad teacher was a great memoir and taught me not only to reach for my goals, but to also write a remarkable memoir.