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" We don't look at teachers as scholars the way they do in Europe. In Spain you're called a professor if you're a high school teacher, and they pay teachers - they pay teachers in Europe. "
Frank McCourt
Teacher
High School
Look
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" You're beginning to hear the tale of the common man and woman rather than the traditional memoir about the generals who just finished the war or the politicians who just rendered glorious service to the country. "
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" Autobiography should be more stringent. It should adhere more to the standards of journalism - assuming that journalism has the truth. The memoir gives you more scope, is more poetic, and allows you to play around with your own life. "
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" When I was a teacher, I'd walk into the classroom. I stood at the board. I was the man. I directed operations. I was an intellectual and artistic and moral traffic cop, and I - and I would direct the class, most of the time. "
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" Even when I went to the Lion's Head in the Village, where all you journalists would hang out, I was always peripheral. I was never really part of anything except the classroom. That's where I belonged. "
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" I was unloading sides of beef down on the docks when I decided enough was enough. By then, I'd done a lot of reading on my own, so I persuaded New York University to enroll me. "
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" The uncluttered life is the key to a good memory. "
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" I had never attended high school, but I was fairly well read. "
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" I had moments with my father that were exquisite - the stories he told me about Cuchulain, the mythological Irish warrior, are still magical to me. "
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Father
Warrior
" I've been writing in notebooks for 40 years or so. "
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Years
Been
Notebooks
" We had nothing, no television, no radio, nothing to get in the way. We read by the streetlight at the top of the lane, and we acted out the stories. "
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Top
Way
Nothing
" We never really had any kind of a Christmas. This is one part where my memory fails me completely. "
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Number
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" When I read about Joyce, I realised that there was no eight-till-one in his life: it was 24 hours a day for him. "
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Life
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" St. Patrick, bringing the religion to Ireland, this is what we should celebrate. "
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Should
Religion
Celebrate
" I couldn't fit in the Irish community in New York. I was never one of the boys because they would talk about baseball or basketball, and I knew nothing about it. "
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Nothing
New York
Baseball
" They tell me I'm on 'Politically Incorrect' with Ollie North. That should be a lot of fun. "
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Should
North
Me
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Be Different
Thought
Would
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Shoes
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Father