To Sir with Love

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Questions and Answers 1. Compare and contrast Braithwate's, Weston's, Dale-Evans’, and Florian's attitudes to the children of the school, as evident from the first three chapters of "To Sir With Love." In the first few chapters of “To Sir With Love,” by E.R. Braithwaite, the author’s initial attitude towards the children of the school is one of disdain and he is disappointed by the uncouth and coarse way in which they dress and behave. This is clear when he first meets them in the classroom, and is “subjected to their bold, unabashed scrutiny.” He is highly disillusioned since he had a vision of teaching in a school with well-mannered, obedient children. However, he is much impressed by Mrs. Dale-Evans’ pragmatic attitude and success with the children and he feels that if she could achieve so much “without recourse to beatings”, then he would most certainly “have a shot at it.” Mrs. Dale-Evans is shown to have a practical, understanding, tolerant and considerate attitude towards the children. While Braithwaite appreciates that she is “both teacher and mother to these girls”, he also recognizes that “she could also be tough – very tough.” Weston, on the other hand, has nothing but cynicism, prejudice and scorn for the children. He does not have anything positive to say about the children. He feels that the children’s main pastime is that of “teacher-baiting” and he mockingly observes, “none of us would want to be saddled with the crowd of, shall we say, blithe spirits, would we?” This statement criticizes Florian’s belief in “free discipline”, which Weston obviously does not share. Florian attributes the children’s behavior to their disadvantageous socio-economic background and environment. He has the children’s welfare in mind, and is obviously dedicated to teaching, but his attitude is a somewhat academic one; he views the children as a problem to be solved

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