The Water Is Wide by Pat Conroy

"The master of clowns, Bernie could twist his face into a thousand contortions to get kids to laugh with or at him. Bernie would tell me, 'Boy, keep them laughing. Make them laugh so damn hard and so damn loud that they don't realize they are learning.'
My tactics were different. I concentrated on variety as the primary method. Sweet talk, Shakespearean monologues, Marine Corps brutality, prayers---anything that could possibly inflame the imagination, even momentarily, of someone imprisoned in my classroom all day."
                             -from Pat Conroy's pre-Yamacraw theory of teaching

I have recently become quite a fan of this author, having read South of Broad and The Prince of Tides and enjoying them immensely. This was my favorite of the three, however, since I could so easily identify with the story. You will soon see why.

In this memoir, Conroy describes his experience teaching school on Yamacraw Island off the coast of South Carolina, where he becomes an advocate for his poor black students even defying the school administrators in the process. As a former teacher I was impressed with his efforts to help his students, going far beyond his job description. He worked very hard, and I daresay, spent much of his salary to improve their lives, as well as teaching academics.  It was important to Conroy, called Conrack by some of the students, for the children to experience the outside world. As a veteran teacher I totally approved his teaching philosophy and applauded his efforts to make learning relevant and fun for the children.  I especially enjoyed the field trip to the mainland to celebrate Halloween---his kids' first experience with trick-or-treating, and for most it was their first time off the island. Later in the year a trip to Washington, D.C. and one to see the Globetrotters in Atlanta were even more ambitious.

My emotions while reading The Water Is Wide ran the gamut---from shock at the deplorable conditions and lack of resources for the school to amusement at humorous incidents to downright rage over the racism exhibited by many educators in positions of authority, including Mrs. Brown, the only other teacher/principal who was black herself. Conroy stated "I now had to deal with a principal who acted as though she wanted to be white and an administrative head who was sorry there were blacks." It also made me mad that the educational authorities didn't appreciate what a gem of a teacher he was!  Conrad knew most of the students couldn't read the textbooks so he didn't use them, to Brown's chagrin. He searched out a variety of resources including media to enhance their background knowledge.  It also seemed to me that he managed a challenging situation without the use of corporal punishment which his cohort, Mrs. Brown, swore by. She seemed to take no joy from teaching and wanted to see that the students experienced none either. I found it appalling that she insulted them to their faces.

I did wonder if Conroy used real names of people he dealt with in his time teaching on the island. I know that Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings was sued for invasion of privacy by someone she wrote about in Cross Creek. I did learn that Conroy IS a poet, which I suspected after reading The Prince of Tides.

After what is probably my longest blog post to date, it will be no surprise: I rate The Water Is Wide  5+! I loved it! Now I am on a quest to find the movie "Conrack" based on the book.