RE: RE: RE: coining phrases

Eugene Matusov (ematusov who-is-at UDel.Edu)
Thu, 14 May 1998 14:05:54 -0400

Hi Kathie and everybody--

I want to make a brief comments about cultural genre of teacher myths. I
noticed that in US myths have a happy end like in that you presented (see
also movie "Stand and Deliver" "Mr. Holland's Opus." Meanwhile in Russia
(or better to say the former Soviet Union) the ending is often tragic (Jan
Korchack, a Polish teacher who went with his kids to concentration camp
during the W.W.II, a teacher who loses her/his job because of advocating for
the students are really heroes over there).

There are different tears poured and messages sent. There are different
prolepses and different ZPD. US teacher myths are more individualistic
(everything depends on an individual teacher who makes a huge difference and
becomes happy ever after) -- it teaches to transform. Russian teacher myths
are institutional and communal and fatal -- it teaches to sacrifice.

What do you think?

Eugene

>
> This makes me think of the teacher myth about the story of the fifth grade
> teacher with the difficult, unlikeable boy. In the beginning of this
> tale, she "delights in writing an 'F' on the top of his paper." Because
> she is overworked, it's November before she reads his file and the teacher
> comments from past years.
> Then she learns that his mother died and his father consequently withdrew
> from him.
> Here the boy instantly stops being unlikeable and becomes endearing and in
> need of a little care and concern.
> So she honors the broken, gaudy piece of jewelry and the almost empty
> bottle of cologne he gives her for a Christmas gift. She cries when he
> tells her that she "smells just like my mom used to." So do many of the
> women in the rooms where I've heard this told.
> The boy, of course (this is a myth after all, and very popular-I've heard
> it twice in the last semester)begins to excell and get good grades. He
> ends up finishing medical school and asks the teacher to come to the
> wedding and "sit in the seat reserved for the groom's mother."
>
> This folk tale/myth reveals a lot about teachers' values and beleifs, but
> reverse causality, teacher/student relationship, affective learning,
> prolepsis-I think they're all embedded.
>
> Kathie
>
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> Life's backwards,
> Life's backwards,
> People, turn around.
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Sinead O'Connor and John Reynolds
> Fire on Babylon: Universal Mother^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> Katherine_Goff who-is-at ceo.cudenver.edu
> http://ouray.cudenver.edu/~kegoff/index.html
>