I know that it is easy to vilify Miss Samson, David's speech teacher in "Go Carolina." However, I think that attempting to do that is unfair and is neglecting to think about the time and period in which this essay takes place. Miss Samson wasn't doing anything wrong in her mind, and if anyone should be blamed, how about the school system? How about David's nonchalant mother? Dare I say even David himself?
Miss Samson is just trying to do her job to the best of her abilities. Sure, she is brash and even downright rude sometimes. But I don't feel like she is a villain in this piece. She expects respect from David when they first meet each other, and David does not seem to give her much with his short, casual answers (such as "Uh-huh" and simply nodding-6). Miss Samson just wants "an actual answer," (6), and David's disrespect starts the two off on the wrong foot. Miss Samson states that her goal is to "work together until eventually you can speak correctly" (6). Even David's mom feels that "the girl's just trying to do her job" (9). While Miss Samson may have ulterior motives (treating David's homosexuality"), no one else in the story seems to stand up for David.
David seems to jump to the conclusion that Miss Samson is singling out all of the "FUTURE HOMOSEXUALS OF AMERICA" (10), but it is actually the teachers around the school that are telling Miss Samson "I've got one in my homeroom" (10). While "one of those" is either someone with a speech impediment or someone they expect is gay is up for debate, but the fact that the teachers are singling these students out shows that Miss Samson isn't the only to blame. David calls Miss Samson "a slightly dopey, inexperienced speech teacher" (15), again showing that he has no respect for her. Even though it seems as though Miss Samson plays a pretty cruel trick on David, she seems sincere when she says "As a speech teacher, I'm a complete failure" (15). It is kind of sad to think that Miss Samson feels herself a failure, even if her goal is to stop David from being homosexual.
I can totally understand why people would not like Miss Samson. And if her motives are strictly to stop David from being homosexual, that is an irresponsible use of her ability as a speech therapist. However, should we vilify Miss Samson, and not the rest of the school employees such as the teacher, principal, etc? What about David's mother who never seems to really listen to David? And even David himself, who, at least to me, comes off as a disrespectful brat?
I have to question your argument that Miss Samson was sincere when she said, "As a speech teacher, I'm a complete failure." Would a teacher really ever admit that to a student, especially a student with whom she hasn't exactly been able to connect? But I don't entirely consider her the "villain." Miss Samson was just a young, new teacher trying to do her job.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, to some people, 13-year-old David probably would have come across as a brat, but I think that he was rather hilarious. "On the final day of the year we take down the pine tree in our living room and eat marine life" (14). I would probably have been snickering too much to be angry with him.
To add to my point about Miss Samson's "complete failure" statement because there's no way to edit comments without deleting them: If she were sincere, wouldn't she have apologized, saying something like, "As a teacher, I've failed you, and I'm sorry"?
ReplyDeleteWhat David was doing with his words was substitution, which is a common way of dealing with a speech impediment. So I can't really see him as a brat in that way, but because he was thirteen(?) at the time, it might have also been his age.
ReplyDeleteI also don't view Miss Samson as a villian, she was just doing her job the way she was trained to. I remember my own speech therapists using similar methods, but I do believe that David did not have the right mindset. He didn't seem to really want to "get better", so he just blamed the teacher. Sometimes it's not the teacher, but actually the students (or their homelives).
There's something about how she tricks him at the end that doesn't seem right to me. Maybe I have a softer view of education but doing this just seems cruel and undermines the trust in the instructor. She might not be a villain but she does seem to be a bitch.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Bethany. I think she was more upset with herself than showing any consideration to David. I think she realized that she was unable to accomplish what she was asked to do, and sincerely feels horrible (for herself, not for David's sake). I think she does feel that she failed as a speech teacher, and that is why she kind of plays a cruel joke on David. But that is just my opinion on the matter, your opinion is definitely plausable. As for Rebecca, I fully agree that students (and their parents) are quick to call the teacher the failure when the situation does not get corrected. Sometimes the student needs to look inside of himself/herself and see that more work needs to be done.
ReplyDeleteI don't think anyone in class argued that she was a villain in the classic sense--just the villainous character in this rather small, funny story. And yeah, she's totally trying to trick him in the end. :)
ReplyDelete