The Unteachables

I chose to read the book The Unteachables when I saw it in the library because I read the inside cover and felt like it would be a good story for a teacher to read. I am glad I made the decision to read it, because although it is fiction, it touches on issues that are very real in the education system. Students with learning disabilities or behavioral disorders that schools do not want to “deal with,” whether it be due to time or money, are often placed in secluded classrooms all day with little learning actually occurring. The students then become more academically behind than their peers and do not develop socially. That is what has happened to the ”Unteachables,” a group of eighth grade students with various learning disabilities and delinquency issues. Their teacher in the secluded classroom for the year, Mr. Kermit, hands them worksheets all day. He does not attempt to teach them anything, because the school does not believe they are teachable, and the goal is to just keep pushing them through the grades. This sadly is very realistic compared to what some students actually experience.

I love the author’s writing style! Each chapter is told from a different point of view. Some chapters are told by the students in the “Unteachables” class, Mr. Kermit, the superintendent of the school, and more characters that the reader meets along the way. The fact that each chapter has a different narrator with a unique personality and tone makes the story more interesting. It allows me to understand how each person would feel if this were a real situation. As I have continued reading, I have realized that no person in the story is necessarily a “bad” person, they just have had different experiences that have led them to hold the opinions that they do. The different points of view gives the reader an entirely new outlook on the story!

Mr. Kermit is compared to the Grinch by the students in the contained classroom. He used to be a passionate and excited teacher, but a former student cheated on a state test and helped the entire class cheat. It was blamed on Kermit, even though he had no idea it was occurring when it did, and his reputation was ruined. He gets assigned to the “Unteachables” classroom as payment for the cheating scandal. One of the most compelling parts of the story is when Mr. Kermit decides to take the students in the class on a field trip. Jake Terranova, the student that caused the scandal, now owns a million dollar car sales business. He apologizes to Kermit for what happened and invites his class to take a field trip to his car dealership. Surprisingly, Kermit takes up Jake on the offer for the field trip, despite his resenting feelings toward him. On page 149, Kermit is asking the principal for permission to take the class to Jake’s car dealership and says, “I know they’re awful, but what we did to them is just as awful. Are we really going to keep them cooped up like prisoners until they can be the high school’s headache? If there’s a chance for them to have a real education, we have to take it. And if that means Jake Terranova, then so be it.” This makes me start to look at Kermit in a different way. The fact that he is beginning to fight for his students to receive real education and be treated as more than prisoners makes me believe he actually has a heart and can become a good teacher again. I also think the fact that he was willing to visit Jake’s business with his students was very humbling and shows a deep care for the students.

I am hoping Mr. Kermit will connect with the so-called “Unteachables” and realize they are teachable! I would like to see him fight to change the way the school treats this group of students. I wonder what made him decide to ask the principal if he could take the class on a field trip? He has shown no interest in the students’ education up until this point, so I would like to find out what sparked the sudden concern! I would also like to read how the students feel about Mr. Kermit’s change of heart. If he attempts to teach them from now on, will they appreciate learning? Have the students grown so used to doing nothing all day that it is what they prefer, or would they rather learn and move to a regular classroom? I am excited to read what happens next and I hope that the ending brings justice to the “Unteachables.”