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Critical Analysis

The Water Is Wide

<marquee behavior=alternate>Written By Pat Conroy</marquee>

Connecting With The Students

With each passing day on the island, Conroy’s knowledge of his students expanded. With that knowledge came his understanding that traditional teaching methods did not work for all students, especially his current scholars. The books found in the classroom far surpassed any of the students’ minds. Most of the young learners in the class could not even read or write, yet they were all at ages where words and sentences should have been flowing freely and intelligently through pencils, pens and their own enthusiastic minds. Not only were the students’ intellects in limbo, but also were their fragile self-esteems. The children had been called stupid, slow, and retarded so often that they were unable to comprehend that they were truly not. The strong fear of the physical abuse that had been delivered by their previous teacher, Mrs. Brown, also haunted their minds. Yet, Conroy also saw that their eyes did not see past the island that had involuntarily become a prison for those who inhabited it. During a class discussion, Conroy realized that the children of Yamacraw Island had no knowledge of and had never celebrated Halloween. Instead of just reading books to the children, he chose to show his students Halloween. The students that year experienced something that their wildest dreams could not have imagined. They ventured beyond the island to his home town to spend Halloween as a typical American child. Just as they left the island, Conroy (2002) realized, “My students were no longer bound to the island and had begun what was perhaps the greatest adventure of their lives” (p. 122).

Conroy wanted to take the children of Yamacraw everywhere, but of course that was impossible. Throughout the year to go on the trips, Conroy had to go to each parent and convince them that their students needed to attend the field trips. His task was daunting because he had to persuade uneasy parents that crossing the treacherous river would lead to an amazing experience for each and every student. At first, most parents were uneasy about the children needing to cross the river and would say ‘No’ at all costs. Conroy was persistent, however, and was able to allay most of their fears. On one occasion, Conroy was able to take some of the children to see the Harlem Globetrotters. This experience was amazing and unforgettable to them, perhaps for some a life-changing event. He took another group of his children across the mighty river to his own home for a Valentine’s Day party. Toward the end of his teaching career at Yamacraw, he was even able to venture with his students to Washington, D.C. On the trip back, one student asked what the lines on the road meant. At first Conroy (2002) could not comprehend what his young student was asking, then he realized: “I regretted that I was old, that I could no longer appreciate the education afforded by an American highway, and that I could not grasp the mystery of a single line painted down a road going north” (p. 221). Their adventures made it clear to the children of Yamacraw that there was a wonderful and interesting place past the river that had unwillingly captured their insignificant island. Throughout the year Conroy gave the children every opportunity he could to allow them to learn what lay beyond the river. At the times when a field trip was out of the question, Conroy used film and audio tapes to show the children the world they knew so little about. While all the trips he planned and all the class time he spent did not go by without some sort of flaw, he realized that the children had to know what was beyond the river, so they would not become hopeless and insecure like so many other victims of the island.

The Duty of a Teacher

Conroy began to realize that he had a duty as their teacher to show, not just tell, his students about the whole world. While this story took place over 20 years ago, this philosophy still holds true today. American society expects that children will become no better than the neighborhood from which they came. In the same respect, it also looks for its children to accomplish no more than their parents or guardians have. However, some teachers feel that by showing a child that there is a world past the bars of their small towns or sinister ghettos, he or she may open a pathway for those young souls to become more than what was expected of them at birth. A great example of this philosophy was shown by the teacher Miss Riley in the movie October Sky, based on a true story. Believing that her students did not have to become slaves to the coal mines as their parents had, she pushed them to reach for their dreams. Conroy pushed for his students to want and achieve more, too. He tried to show the children they could become better than what they were told, and that they could someday cross the river that their parents feared so much. They both saw something in their students that, at the time, the students could not see themselves.

The Individualism of Each Student

Conroy saw every one of his students as a wonderful and emerging individual, and treated them as such. He realized he had to teach not just a subject, but also teach each student, each child. As Conroy (2002) reflected on each student, he realized he dreamed of so much for each one:
. . . I wanted the twins to become brilliant readers and writers . . . I wanted Richard to leap and bound ahead of his peers in other schools in other places…and shine like a fallen star on his abandoned, lovely island . . . I wanted to remove the tongues from Prophet and Fred . . . and assure them that they never would have to cower before strangers again, and that their speech would never humiliate or embarrass them again . . . I wanted to give Saul the gift of height and Lincoln the gift of slimness. I wanted Mary to be aware and proud of her aloof, unspoken beauty and Anna somehow fathom the wonder of her smile. (p. 210)
Once Conroy had realized just how special each child was, he also was able to determine just what it would take to make each child excel.

While Conroy was able to determine this, he also realized that he could not succeed in making all his dreams and ambitions for each adolescent come true because the island did not expect its children to succeed in life: “Each had come into the world imprisoned by a river and a system which insured his destruction the moment he uttered his first cry by his mother’s side” (Conroy, 2002, p. 81). While the island was unforgiving to its children, Conroy knew they deserved to be considered individuals and to learn to love themselves. Conroy was able to achieve a level of respect with the children that made them feel comfortable with not only Conroy, but also themselves. Many teachers are able to gain this respect with their students; another teacher in particular who was able to earn this respect was Guy Dowd, the 1986 Teacher of the Year. His philosophy was equal to Conroy’s. He felt that in his class no one child should feel less important or better than another. He also, like Conroy, found something that his students were good at, and showed them how to excel at it. Conroy was able to find small things that his children were good at. When they realized just how accomplished they were at different things, weak-minded children seemed to disappear and in their place stood little geniuses.

Parent Teacher Relationship

Even the uneducated parents of the island saw Conroy’s love and desire for success towards his students: “Our children do want Mr. Pat Conroy to come back and teach the childrens . . . Mr. Conroy love both childrens white and color it doesn’t make any difference with him . . . ” (Conroy, 2002, p. 231). While the parents on Yamacraw Island were not especially involved with their childrens’ lives, the childrens’ excitement about learning and about Conroy could not go unnoticed by their parents. While it was a rough and bumpy road, by the end of the year Conroy had earned the respect from the parents that some outsiders to the island would have had to try for years to gain.

The Crossing of The River

Education is so important for every student from every walk of life. Unfortunately, there is not always a strong emphasis shown by society for its children to succeed. Luckily, there are teachers like Pat Conroy, Guy Dowd, Miss Riley, and countless others who realize that all children, no matter what doors restrict them, are able to overcome all obstacles and succeed in life. While a teachers’ philosophy will change throughout his or her career, depending on the situation he or she is handed, one philosophy will always stand strong: Education is more than just reading, writing, and arithmetic; it is experiencing life, and preparing students for that life. No teacher will be able to change the quality of life or unbearable circumstances for every student. But Conroy, Dowd, Riley, and so many of their counterparts have proven that by showing a student they care, and by seeing them as an individual, they just might give them the key to open a doorway that was shut tight and locked by society or their own horrible situations. Conroy (2002) reflects, “I don’t think I changed the quality of their lives significantly or altered the inexorable fact that they were imprisoned by the very circumstance of their birth. I felt much beauty in my year with them . . . For them I leave a single prayer: that the river is good to them in the crossing” (p. 258).

Graphics provided by Personal Clip Art Program and amazon.com.

Author: Jeni McDaniel
Last modified: 12/11/2005 5:33 PM (EST)

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<font size=4><center>Jennifer McDaniel's Teacher Education Portfolio</font></center>

<font size=3>Critical Analysis</font size=3>

<font size=3>Connecting With The Students</font size=3>

<font size=3>The Duty of a Teacher</font size=3>

<font size=3>The Individualism of Each Student</font size=3>

<font size=3>Parent Teacher Relationship</font size=3>

<font size=3>The Crossing of The River</font size=3>