Tracy Kidder’s Among Schoolchildren is a study of a public school teacher and her class about twenty years ago. The author is our eyes and ears in the classroom. He reports what he sees and lets the children speak for themselves. It is serious and painful and just like sitting in the back of any teacher’s class. It’s not told with the humor that Educating Esme is; it’s more like a documentary. Still, it makes me miss classroom teaching, makes me miss the way a whole class can pull together for one effort or laugh together at a joke that is meaningful only in that context. I’ve seen a class cheer when, after going down every row, we saw that everyone managed to bring in completed homework. I’ve held a class of sixth graders in the palm of my hand at the promise of my doing a cartwheel in our doublewide, orange-carpeted room.
The successes of children can carry a teacher through a week like a strong breeze, and the troubles of his or her children are the hardest truths a teacher will ever know. Anyone who’s ever taught even one year remembers a student he or she dreamed about taking home to give a better life.
Chris Zajac is a caring, devoted, hard-working teacher who, like most, thinks about her kids when she’s not with them and has to work doubly hard to respect the ones who don’t know how to respect themselves. Thinking about becoming a teacher? Think teachers have easy jobs? Frustrated with a teacher for not dealing with your own child the way you’d like him or her to? Read this book.
Other Recommended Teacher Reading:
Educating Esme by Esme Raji Codell
Ms. Moffett’s First Year by Abby Goodnough
Teachers Have It Easy by Moulthrop, Calegari, and Eggers
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4 comments:
Thank you, Don, for introducing me to Kidder. I am also looking forward to reading House.
no problemo and back atcha, Christine.
Thanks for your prodding, suggestions and for even inspiring me to maybe have a slog thru our friend Moby.
I read Kidder many years ago while still in the classroom. Maybe this is a good time to give her a second look. I so miss being in the classroom sometimes.
For another real-world read, remember our friend Alex Kotlowitz?
Yes, aliasmom. Didn't you call him one night as he was heading out the door? His book There Are No Children Here really touched you. I just looked and found he has a book called Never a City So Real: A Walk in Chicago. Might have to add that to my growing stack of on-deck books. Nice to see you here! Let's keep it up, eh, sis?
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