Pulitzer Prize-winning memoirist Frank McCourt combined his own experiences with poverty and years of teaching with a charming wit to captivate listeners at his lecture at the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum on Monday night.
McCourt, the popular author of a memoir entitled "Angela's Ashes," spoke about his teaching career in New York City's public schools. He also discussed his forthcoming memoir, "Teacher Man," which is due out later this year.
Though he was born in the United States, McCourt moved to Limerick, Ireland at a very young age.
In his first autobiography, "Angela's Ashes," McCourt gave a stirring and biting review of his childhood, years that were filled with hunger, alcoholism, a harsh Catholic diocese, and religious tensions.
"Angela's Ashes" left off with McCourt in his late teens. His story picked up in "Tis," a memoir that chronicled McCourt's early years in New York City. The author will soon add to his the set with "Teacher Man," due out in November.
While McCourt's later works have received less critical acclaim than his debut, audience members at Monday night's forum made it clear that the author has retained a dedicated following that will return for his third installment.
As one elderly woman gushed into the microphone during the question and answer segment, "I love you. You are courageous. Will you sign my book?"
McCourt seemed experienced at dealing with such devotion. McCourt kept an audience made up of both college students and older fans laughing throughout the discussion.
The author opened Monday night's forum with the story of his first job in the United States, working at New York City's Biltmore Hotel. While in New York, McCourt "became very Irish."
He spent time sitting in bars and drinking fifteen-cent beers, until the owner of the bar tossed him out and told him not to come back until he had read Samuel Johnson's "Lives of the English Poets."
McCourt subsequently discovered the New York Public Library and became a voracious reader, eventually setting him on the path to become an English teacher.
McCourt first taught at the McKee Vocational High School, set in a dangerous neighborhood on Staten Island.
The author said that he was ill-prepared for the challenges of teaching high school English in such a harsh environment. In what would become a thematic message of the evening, McCourt simply stated that in response to these hardships, "the only solution is to stay in the classroom year after year after year."
Having interacted with an estimated 11,000 students, McCourt has developed many of his own theories about education. He fleshed out several of these during the event's question and answer session, emphasizing the importance of giving power to teachers.
"Most of the people supervising [schools and teachers] aren't qualified," he explained. "The teachers in the trenches are paid less than some jerk drawing up the spending list at the board."
The audience, filled with educators, responded enthusiastically to these remarks. In his most vigorous emotional show of the evening, McCourt blasted today's education culture, stating that it revolves around testing, medicating, pre-kindergarten, and corporate schools. "The politicians come in with all the answers. Do they consult with the teachers? No!"
Despite the hardships that today's education system faces, McCourt still treasures the classroom profession, stating that "[teachers] are the ones dealing with the richest material in the country: kids."
