The teachers at Our Lady of Mercy had varying impacts on Mike Rose, in both positive and negative ways all of the teachers enforced the standard that "Students will float to the mark you set"
Brother Dill: the verbally and physically abusive English teacher that Rose had in his Freshman year. Brother Dill reinforced the belief in students on the vocational track that they were "bad kids" and deserved to be treated as such.
Mr. Mitropetros: The Sophomore English teacher of Mike Rose. This teacher seemed preoccupied with his other job parking cars and his life outside of the school, it became clear to Mike and the other kids that he did not care enough about them to develop an actual lesson plan and this gave clearance to the disrespect that the kids threw back in his face. "We'd ask questions and glance knowingly and snicker" the children could tell that this teacher would not discipline them because he did not care enough and this perpetuated the cycle of not lack of motivation to do well in school.
Mr. Montez: The Spanish I teacher at Our Lady of Mercy. Mr. Montez did not have any authority over the children due to his lack of discipline skills, it was this laissez-faire attitude that gave way to the students misbehaving. The students blatantly fought each other and continued the poor behavior because they were just testing the limits of the teachers authority, goes in line with the statement about floating to the line that is set, the line is nonexistent for Mr. Montez's room so the children will run free.
Brother Slattery: World history teacher that wanted to try and make a difference with the children. Slattery had more authority and tried to impose weekly work to keep the kids engaged, but Rose reveals that it took more of a creative perspective to teach the material as many of the children were not familiar with the textbook ways of learning information.
Brother Clint: One of the more influential teachers in Mike Rose's life, Brother Clint was the one who noticed that Mike did not really belong in the vocational track and fought to have him moved up. Brother Clint was teaching all levels of kids the same material and was able to alter the method of teaching enough to gain respect from the students and make the material interesting, at least for Mike Rose. All it took for Mike Rose to begin to break out of the cyclical ways of the vocational program was for one teacher to take note, that teacher was Brother Clint.
Mr. MacFarland: Jack MacFarland was an instrumental figure in Mike Rose's life, not only in getting him interesting in literature and excited about school, but he also helped Mike pursue higher education and think of other courses for his life to take. Jack MacFarland assigned a lot of coursework, comparable to a private boarding school. However, the literature that he assigned and the discussions had in the classroom kept the students engaged and commanded their respect, despite previous judgements about him. Jack MacFarland saw the passion for writing and reading that Mike Rose had and other like him, so he started a club outside of school to give those students a space to explore literature and different identities within themselves that they did not know they could pursue. Not only did Mr. MacFarland help Mike get into college and find a passion for writing, but he gave him an opportunity to branch into a new world of friendships, interests, and personality.