A Teacher’s Small and Simple Acts Can Make a Difference
</i>Animal slaughter, violent drinking, and poverty stricken “colored” people is displayed everyday on Yamacraw Island. Poorly educated children roam the island like untamed lions. To make matters worse, abuse is the only education received by students at the neglected school. How can this be? Does anybody seem to care?
In The Water is Wide, by Pat Conroy, a white city schoolteacher decides he wants to teach on this hostile island. He realizes that changes must be made to help these poor, belligerent children. Conroy (1994) knows that “its very important to help Americans”(1). All educators should learn to help each other. He knows that he cannot simply wish for a change, but that he must take action. Conroy then entered the superintendent, Henry Piedmont’s office. After stating the purpose of his visit, Piedmont became overjoyed and full of gratitude towards Conroy. Piedmont even exclaimed, “Son, you are a godsend”(1). Conroy did not feel this way. He wanted to attain his goal “to some how save the world, or at least a small portion of it”(13). He wanted to impact the children’s lives by his pedagogical knowledge of teaching.
Conroy knew that Yamacraw was dying. The oysters that once filled the waters and provided source of income to the islanders were dying off in vast quantities due to industrialized factories. Also on the island, the children he met had a poor quality of education. None of the children could read, and they could not write. They did not even know who the president of the United States was. As a matter of fact, they did not even know they lived in the United States! With anger raging inside, Conroy knew they could not stay here for much longer. They had to escape this nightmare and experience new things.
First of all, he believed that learning should involve student participation. The children had never experienced participating before so it took a period of time for them to feel comfortable expressing themselves. The only other schoolteacher on the island was the hardhearted Mrs. Brown. She believed in discipline and learning by textbooks that the children could not even read. In contrast, Conroy wanted the children to be actively engaged in the learning process. In fact, “it was in this way that the pep- rally method of education began”(51). Conroy would shout out questions and the children would shout back answers. He also welcomed the children to ask him questions that they had regarding any subject matter. Since Mrs. Brown never allowed the children to speak, this was an important concept to be learned if they were ever to leave the island. Through my service learning of working in a classroom, I have seen other teachers who also believe that children can enhance their educational experience through participation. Conroy’s belief of classroom participation was one of his methods to teaching.
Then, he simply was kind and showed his care for the children he taught. He demonstrated this by writing a letter to Piedmont that indicated his unhappiness of the conditions on the island. He mentioned in his letter that the Yamacraw students “deserve the same quality of education received by children in Beaufort itself”(168). With frequent heard statements like this throughout the year, the students felt like someone wanted them to achieve greatness. It also convinced them that they were not failures and retards that Mrs. Brown made them feel like. He took things one step further and even played football with the children in his class. He would participate in extra curricular activities with the children, so the kids could see his true love and concern for them. Spending extra time with students was a strong belief in building self-esteem according to Conroy.
In closing, Conroy did not want to see the children stay and perish on the island. However, he was fired and did not feel like he had made a difference, but the reader knows that he truly did. The reader knows he made a difference in the student’s lives because he showed love and kindness to let them know he was on their side. He also took them to places that they had never before discovered to show them what they could have. And then, Conroy let them participate and have their voice heard in class. All of these simplistic techniques were used to let them understand that they can and should leave Yamacraw Island. Conroy was an example to all educators that through teacher’s small and simple acts, differences can be made in student’s lives.Graphics Portrayed found at the following:
http://www.willpattoncollection.com/WaterIsWide.jpg
http://legodude.xhaven.net/NumbWare/wallpaper/deserted_island1024x768.jpg
http://www.cecnet.net/images/Clarke%20Elementary%20students%201.jpg
http://www.retailrealtime.com/photos/football.jpg
http://www.bobadler.com/conroy-6.jpg
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