"Gryphon"
By: Charles Baxter
About the Author
Charles Baxter was born on May 13, 1947 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He graduated from Macalester College, which is in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Charles Baxter then taught at Wayne State University in Detroit for a few years. Baxter moved to the Department of English at the University of Michigan in 1989. Charles Baxter now teaches at the University of Minnesota.
Pre-Reading Reflection
What do you expect to learn when you have a substitute teacher?
What I expect to learn when I have a substitute teacher is what we have been learning with my usual teacher. I expect to continue where we left off with my substitute teacher.
What are some strategies substitutes used to teach their classes? Which strategies work? Which do not?
A strategy substitutes would use would be to continue where the class left off with their usual teacher last time. That strategy would work. A strategy that wouldn't work would be where the substitute would give a totally different procedure for the class. The class may not know the routine of how the substitute would teach.
What I expect to learn when I have a substitute teacher is what we have been learning with my usual teacher. I expect to continue where we left off with my substitute teacher.
What are some strategies substitutes used to teach their classes? Which strategies work? Which do not?
A strategy substitutes would use would be to continue where the class left off with their usual teacher last time. That strategy would work. A strategy that wouldn't work would be where the substitute would give a totally different procedure for the class. The class may not know the routine of how the substitute would teach.
Vocabulary
Painstakingly:
The term "painstakingly" means boring, or not exciting, as used in the quote "Let us go on to your assigned problems for today, as painstakingly outlined, I see, in Mr. Hibler's lesson plan." (Page 69)
Cosmic:
The term "cosmic" means supernatural as used in the quote "Pyramids," Miss Ferenczi went on, "were the repositories of special cosmic powers." (Page 72)
Improvise:
The term "improvise" means to create or perform without preparation as used in the quote "I had to improve, to outrage him." (Page 74)
Variant:
The term "variant" means another type of something as used in the quote "After five minutes I found it. Gryphon: variant of griffin." (Page 76)
Fabulous:
The term "fabulous" means astonishing or incredible as used in the quote "Fabulous was right. I shouted with triumph and ran outside to put my father's tools in their proper places/" (Page 76)
Pretense:
The term "pretense" means an attempt to make something that is not the case appear true as used in the quote "This time there was no pretense of doing a reading lesson or moving on to arithmetic." (Page 76)
Demoralized:
The term "demoralized" means having lost confidence or hope as used in the quote "The meat-eating plants. I know it's true. I saw it on television. The leaves have this icky glue that the plants have got smeared all over them and the insects can't get off 'cause they're stuck. I saw it." He seemed demoralized." (Page 79)
The term "painstakingly" means boring, or not exciting, as used in the quote "Let us go on to your assigned problems for today, as painstakingly outlined, I see, in Mr. Hibler's lesson plan." (Page 69)
Cosmic:
The term "cosmic" means supernatural as used in the quote "Pyramids," Miss Ferenczi went on, "were the repositories of special cosmic powers." (Page 72)
Improvise:
The term "improvise" means to create or perform without preparation as used in the quote "I had to improve, to outrage him." (Page 74)
Variant:
The term "variant" means another type of something as used in the quote "After five minutes I found it. Gryphon: variant of griffin." (Page 76)
Fabulous:
The term "fabulous" means astonishing or incredible as used in the quote "Fabulous was right. I shouted with triumph and ran outside to put my father's tools in their proper places/" (Page 76)
Pretense:
The term "pretense" means an attempt to make something that is not the case appear true as used in the quote "This time there was no pretense of doing a reading lesson or moving on to arithmetic." (Page 76)
Demoralized:
The term "demoralized" means having lost confidence or hope as used in the quote "The meat-eating plants. I know it's true. I saw it on television. The leaves have this icky glue that the plants have got smeared all over them and the insects can't get off 'cause they're stuck. I saw it." He seemed demoralized." (Page 79)
Contrasting Ideas
Examples of when Miss Ferenczi says or does something typical of a teacher:
An example of when Miss Ferenczi says or does something typical of a teacher is when she goes over arithmetic with the class. Every teacher goes over math with the class. For example, "We were doing multiplication tables. Miss Ferenczi had made John Wazny stand up at his desk in the front row. He was supposed to go through the tables of six." (Page 67) Miss Ferenczi says or does something typical of a teacher when she goes over spelling with the class. For instance, "We were taking spelling dictation and looking at the clock. "Thorough," Miss Ferenczi said. "Boundary." She walked in the aisles between the desks, holding the spelling book open and looking down at out papers." (Page 69) Another example of when Miss Ferenczi says or does something typical of a teacher is when she commands the students to sit down or to not goof off. Every teacher tries to raise their voice to get the class's attention. The author states "She clapped her hands at us. "Little boys," she said, "why are you bent over together like that?" She didn't wait for us to answer. "Are you tormenting at animal? Put it back. Please sit down at your desks. I want no cabals this time of the day." We just stared at her. "Boys," she repeated, "I asked you to sit down." Miss Ferenczi says or does something typical of a teacher when she does a reading lesson with the class. For example, "We shall start with your reading lesson. Take out your reading book. I believe it is called Broad Horizons, or something along those lines." (Page 66) Another example of when Miss Ferenczi says or does something typical of a teacher is when she greets the class. For example, "Good morning," she said. "I am Miss Ferenczi, your teacher for the day." (Page 65) |
Examples of when Miss Ferenczi says or does something not typical of a teacher:
An example of when Miss Ferenczi says or does something not typical of a teacher is when she says that six times eleven is sixty-eight. It is really sixty-six. For example, "In higher mathematics, which you children do not yet understand, six times eleven can be considered to be sixty-eight ." She laughed through her nose. "In higher mathematics numbers are . . . more fluid. The only thing a number does is contain a certain amount of something." (Page 68) Miss Ferenczi says or does something not typical of a teacher when she draws a tree on the board, which is very unusual. For instance, "With white and green chalk, she had started to draw a tree on the left side of the blackboard. She didn't look usual. Furthermore, her tree was outsized, disproportionate, for some reason." (Page 65) Another example of when Miss Ferenczi says or does something not typical of a teacher is when she tells to the narrator that during a spelling test, "if you don't like a word, you don't have to use it." (Page 69) Miss Ferenczi says or does something not typical of a teacher when she does not eat at the teacher's lounge, where all the teachers gather to eat. Instead, she eats in the classroom, where all the students are. The author stated "Miss Ferenczi," I said, raising my hand. "You don't have to eat with us. You can eat with the other teachers. There's a teacher's lounge," I ended up, "next to the principal's office." "No, thank you," she said. "I prefer it here." (Page 70) Another example of when Miss Ferenczi says or does something not typical of a teacher is when she makes up stories about certain things. For instance, "She said that an old man in Egypt who worked for a circus had personally shown her an animal in a cage, a monster, half bird and half lion. She said that this monster was called a gryphon and that she |