Books like Entertaining an Elephant: A Novel About Learning and Letting Go

I came across this book 20 years after its publication. While McBide's novella isn't the worst book I've read, there were a few things that irked me along the way. The biggest issue was the English pedagogy didactic insertion that promotes less grammar, less tradition, less structure. Okay, no one gets up there and teaches grammar the way they did in the 1950s, and I don't believe teaching English should be centered around grammar and rules, but a complete abandonment of grammar has cost us a lot in language skills, especially for the populations that need it the most. I agree that literature is a much better way to approach English instruction, but now schools of ed and writing pedagogy gurus are starting to chip away at that too. Composition by lit is out of style. Reading arbitrary content is outdated, they say. Next, they'll say paragraphs aren't even necessary. The grammar issue probably doesn't matter anymore to a reader in the 21st century because it's long gone after middle school for the most part anyway. But McBride also takes part in the anti-knowledge bandwagon and promotes instant gratification. Reward for work is demonized by the narrative by showing a weak protagonist who values this philosophy but fails. Overall, you get the feeling McBride wanted to teach teachers a lesson: that you don't know what you think you know. Okay, thanks, but the janitor is the wise man who does somehow have all the wisdom? Like another reviewer, I was automatically reminded of Goodwill Hunting, but according to the dates it seems the book was published the same year (the film came out in December 1997). The smart young janitor works well as a character in Goodwill Hunting, and the wise old working man also works well in The Peaceful Warrior. I know how the working class can be unbelievably smart, and that this could be surprising to others, but I don't know if a wise literary janitor works here. I have the cover with a white guy with piercings who looks college aged when the kids in the book are high school aged black and Hispanic, so I have no idea what went wrong there. The title also bewilders me, but maybe I missed something. Some of the transitions into backstory are sloppy and some dialogue is weak. For example, Reaf's dialogue is very immature for a 15 year veteran teacher who must be in their thirties. His gun references are also way over the top. Maybe teachers think about walking out the door and never coming back, but what healthy-minded teacher even considers bringing a gun to school? The mental state of this teacher is probably a better story than the surface one we have here. Entertaining an Elephant has some positive messages. For teachers- accept change, go with the flow, and don't be too overly structured. For students- realize that teachers are human too. Overall, this is a quick read with some positive messages, mixed in with some generalizations and concerning racial stereotypes. The story could promote some good discussion for a class, but I just don't think it goes deep enough.