My Origin Story Part II

The right teacher can make all the difference.

10/5/22

You may wonder why I refer to my high school years as my origin story. In comic books a hero’s origin story describes how they were able to transform from an average person into something bigger, faster, stronger. I think we all have origin stories, which serve to mark the point in our history where we made the turn toward being the people we’d become. It’s very exciting to figure out what your story is. But before you get too boastful, just remember that supervillains have origin stories too.

I admit that having a good high school experience doesn’t sound like much of an origin story, not when you compare it to Spiderman’s or Superman’s story.  But the difference between mine and theirs, beside the fact that those superheroes were created by men with an obsession for tights, is that my origin story is still a work in progress. I’m also the author of my own origin story. My fate is in my own hands, and maybe my story has more than one pivotal moment, one where I realize my destiny and another where I act on it. Transformations sometimes take time.

Mine definitely started in Stuyvesant Hight School, specifically in Mr. McCourt’s creative writing class. He made learning fun, and he always treated us like adults. But what I remember most about him, aside from his off-the-wall sense of humor, was the way he connected with his students. He gave you his full attention, as if you might reveal the secrets of the universe at any moment. He never talked down to us. Instead, he treated us like collaborators. He would bounce story ideas off us and expect us to provide feedback. Sometimes he’d even drop hints about his desire to write his own life’s story. We saw how talented he was, so we encouraged him to drop everything he was doing and start right away.

But I think he was too dedicated to being an educator to suddenly stop teaching and pursue a writing career, especially after he won Teacher of the Year in 1976. He taught a full schedule of English classes, and his classes were always full. I took as many of them as I was allowed. The last class I had with him was in 1978.  I was 18. He was 48. I lost track of him after I graduated. But I had an “I know that guy” moment in 1996, years after Mr. McCourt had retired from teaching. That was the year he published his first book. I wonder if he had a clue about the direction his life would take.

Angela’s Ashes was a memoir about growing up during difficult times in Ireland. It was a New York Times Bestseller, won a Pulitzer Prize, and was made into a movie. Mr. McCourt would’ve been around 68 years old when he became an overnight sensation. But I’m sure he was more happy about getting that memoir out of his system. And I’m happy that the world finally got to see what his students at Stuyvesant had seen all along—that Mr. McCourt was an amazing storyteller.

But his love for writing came from reading. One of my favorite Frank McCourt quotes is this one: “Rest your eyes and then read till they fall out of your head.”

After Angela’s Ashes, he wrote another memoir called ‘Tis, published in 1999. But my favorite Frank McCourt book is Teacher Man, a 2005 book that he wrote about his 27 years teaching in New York’s public school system. When he wrote about his Stuyvesant years, it felt like he was writing about my class. After we moved to Florida, Donna found out that Mr. McCourt was doing a book signing in New York and arranged for a friend to have him sign a copy of his book for me. I’ll treasure it always.

In 2009 Frank McCourt passed away at the age of 78. Today his story is in every library and bookstore. I’m happy that he was my teacher and that his origin story is part of my origin story now. The world may never know my story like they know his, but time will tell. As my favorite “teacher man” would say, “Everyone has a story to tell. All you have to do is write it. But it’s not that easy.”   

No kidding. Talk about your understatement. Well, it’s time to get to work and publish my blog. I’m glad you finally made it into one of my stories, Mr. McCourt. You deserve it.

#what’syouroriginstory?