Gryphon
By: Charles Baxter
About the Author- Charles Baxter
![Picture](/uploads/2/2/8/7/22875302/1184261_orig.jpg)
Charles Baxter was born on May 13, 1947 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He graduated from Mancalester College in Saint Paul. In 1974, he received a PhD in English from the University of Buffalo with a thesis on Djuna Barnes, Malcolm Lowry, and Nathanael West. In 1989, he moved to the Department of English at the University of Michigan--Ann Arbor and its MFA program. He now teaches at the University of Minnesota. Baxter is the author of 5 novels, 5 collection of short stories, 3 collections of poems, 2 collections of essays on fiction and is the editor of other works.
Prereading Reflection
What do you expect to learn when you have a substitute teacher?
I expect to learn at least the same thing that the normal teacher was supposed to learn. But I really don't expect much, because they do not regularly be with us or teach us, so therefore, they will not know what would be going on.
What are some strategies substitutes used to teach their classes? Which strategies work? Which do not?
Some strategies that substitutes use are to yell at the students to make them stop and listen. Some substitutes, especially the nice ones, they tend to teach us through kind and nice strategies. They will talk to us as normal people, they might also play a game with us. The strategies that do work are the ones that nice teachers use to talk and play with us. The one that does not work out so well for us is the one where they yell at us and tell us what to do.
I expect to learn at least the same thing that the normal teacher was supposed to learn. But I really don't expect much, because they do not regularly be with us or teach us, so therefore, they will not know what would be going on.
What are some strategies substitutes used to teach their classes? Which strategies work? Which do not?
Some strategies that substitutes use are to yell at the students to make them stop and listen. Some substitutes, especially the nice ones, they tend to teach us through kind and nice strategies. They will talk to us as normal people, they might also play a game with us. The strategies that do work are the ones that nice teachers use to talk and play with us. The one that does not work out so well for us is the one where they yell at us and tell us what to do.
Vocabulary
Painstakingly - Detailed, boring. "Let us go on to your assigned problems for today, as painstakingly outlined, I see, in Mr. Hibler's lesson plan." (p.69)
Cosmic - Supernatural. "Pyramids," Miss Ferenczi went on, "were the repositories of special cosmic powers...."(p.72)
improvise- substitute "I had to improvise, to outrage him."
variant- different kinds/types "Gryphon: variant of griffin."
fabulous- amazing "Griffin: 'a fabulous beast with the head and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion.'
pretense- no warning/signal "This time there was no pretense of doing a reading lesson or moving on to arithmetic."
demoralized- doubt "He seemed demoralized."
Cosmic - Supernatural. "Pyramids," Miss Ferenczi went on, "were the repositories of special cosmic powers...."(p.72)
improvise- substitute "I had to improvise, to outrage him."
variant- different kinds/types "Gryphon: variant of griffin."
fabulous- amazing "Griffin: 'a fabulous beast with the head and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion.'
pretense- no warning/signal "This time there was no pretense of doing a reading lesson or moving on to arithmetic."
demoralized- doubt "He seemed demoralized."
Contrasting Ideas
TypicalAn 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) |
Not TypicalAn 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 |
The Gryphon
The Gryphon myth originates somewhere in the Near or Middle East. It is found depicted in ancient Babylonian, Assyrian, and Persian paintings and sculptures. It is believed the myths found life around 3,000 B.C. to be the Pharoah's companion in Ancient Egypt, and later became sacred guardians in Minoa. Gryphon, like birds, built nests. The Gryphon laid huge eggs. Their nests were built of gold found in the mountains where they lived. Griffins are usually heroic symbols. They are well known for their speed, ability to fly and having eyes like an eagle, as well as the strength and courage of a lion. In hieroglyphics, griffins represent heat and summer. In Greek mythology the griffins were always at war against a race of one-eyed humans called Arimaspians who were constantly trying to steal their gold. Due to their attraction to gold, griffins became legendary as guards of hidden treasure. Some legends claim only female griffins have wings