Analyze The Story 'Gryphon,' By Mrs. Ferenczi

Her Own Kind The story Gryphon is from a student’s point of view. The student ends up losing their teacher because of a sickness. So then a substitute teacher is assigned to their classroom. Miss Ferenczi is a substitute that does not teacher like the narrator is used to teaching compared to a “normal substitute.” The teacher does this by the first appearance the students see when they walk in. When Miss Ferenzci is in the classroom the students noticed that she was drawing a tree on the chalkboard. She tells the class they needed a tree in there. She then goes on to introduce herself to the class. Miss Ferenczi shares with the class that her grandfather was a Hungarian Prince and other things about her family. Then to continue not doing the norm of a teacher she does not allow the kids to say the “Pledge of Allegiance,” because she did not feel like it was needed. Starting the morning like this, the students expected an interesting day of lessons. She gave them a lesson with vocabulary and reading. The way she taught the lesson she seemed not to care. Marie Lassmann talks about what a substitute teacher is expected to do. Miss Ferenczi was correct in
doing what she was left to teach. Marie talks about how they need to follow the lesson plan and be able to keep control of the students. However she also shares that the substitute should be able to help further the education (625). Then one comes to find out that she does not help the kids when she moves to her next lesson. The narrator expresses how they were disappointed by just an ordinary lesson. Miss Ferenczi did not let them be disappointed for too long, she decided to switch it up. When she was teaching math, she asked what six times eleven was, then a child responded with sixty eight, and she said the student was correct. After that a student questioned Miss Ferenzci, and explained to the children that some people would disagree that the answers was sixty-six. She tells them numbers are more fluid in higher math. Unlike most substitute teachers, they would not make up substitute facts that are not true like she did. However, she tells the students that when their teacher gets the answer with be sixty-six again. Furthermore, with using her own teaching style she still decides to eat in the classroom with the students when she does not have to. Most substitute would go into the teacher lounge to eat, but Miss Ferenczi decided not to eat with the other teachers because she did not get along with the other teachers. Since she is new in the area, majority of new people would want to get along with the actual teacher in the area. As they talked the students they decided she is lying, but the narrator disagrees.
The narrator liked her and goes home to share with his parents, about the way Miss Ferenczi taught the class. Then she shows up the next day and changes her look. Instead of doing what the teacher had planned, like a normal substitute, she had her own idea for the day. She started with love and proceeded to talk about how humans lived in trees and ate monkeys. Most teachers would not talk about that. Then Miss Ferenczi also talked about angels living under the clouds. Oddly enough, she goes on to talk about how planets control behavior, as well. Lastly she leaves the class talking about how there is no death and one turns to earthly things. Everything she tells the students is not normally what one should not be telling a
child. Later on, Miss Ferenczi shows up into the classroom. When she arrives she brings a small box for a reward. Most substitute teachers would not come back to “reward” the students that he or she had. The box she has was called a Tarot pack. Brett Almond shares that Tarot cards are representing events that could occur in life. One does this by reading cards some of the 78 cards that are picked (Almond). So, the Tarot pack is there to tell their fortunes. She tells the students what their fortunes and all the cards are decent, except one. A student named Wayne tells him he has a death card, but she tried to make the card not seem as bad. However, Laura Parker and Donna Leinwand state does not really mean death, the card refers to a life transition (Leinwand). Then Wayne tells the principle, and she is gone by noon that day. Most substitutes should not have to be told to go home like that. Jactyn Zubrzycki writer of “Educators Take Another Look At Substitutes,” share how teacher are wanting more requirements because in some states they just need a back ground check. While other are now starting to want to have them pass an assessment (3). Miss Ferenzci may or may not have had to do anything but this could help the substitute situation, even if we go back to how she taught the students in math. As one can see, Miss Ferenczi is not a substitute teacher most students like the narrator are used to. She starts off very different. Then her teaching becomes different and the students noticed it more. Donald Fielder writes about how behavior effectiveness is important in a substitute. The more traits they have then more likely it can be effective, but Miss Ferenczi had different kinds. Donald talks about positive reinforcement and how that is a rewarding behavior (375). When she tried to reward it just got here in a place where she was asked to leave. Miss Ferenczi is her own kind of substitute teacher.

Work Cited
Almond, Brett. "Beginners Guide to Tarot Cards." Beginners Guide to Tarot Cards. Holisticshop.co.uk, Web. 18 Sept. 2013.
Fielder, Donald. “An Examination of Substitute Teacher Effectiveness.” Clearing House 64.6 (1991) 375. Academic Search Premier. Web. 20 Sept. 2013.
Lassmann, Marie E. “Defining the Role of the Substitute Teacher.” Education 121.3 (2001) 625. Master FILE Premier. Web. 18 Sept. 2013.
Leinwand, Donna and Parker, Laura. “Tarot Card’s Meaning, if Any, Undetermined.” USA Today. Academic Search Premier. Web. 20 Sept. 2013.
Zubrzycki, Jactyn. “Educators Take Another Look At Substitutes.” Education Week 31.36 (2012) 3 Academic Search Premier. Web. 28 Sept. 2013.