Among Schoolchildren by Tracy Kidder
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(Paperback - Reprint)
- Pub. Date: September 1990
- 352pp
- Sales Rank: 37,343
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Product Details
- Pub. Date: September 1990
- Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
- Format: Paperback, 352pp
- Sales Rank: 37,343
- Series: Quill
- ISBN-13: 9780380710898
- ISBN: 0380710897
- Edition Description: Reprint
Synopsis
Tracy Kidder — the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Soul of a New Machine and the extraordinary national bestseller House — spent nine months in Mrs. Zajac's fifth-grade classroom in the depressed "Flats" of Holyoke, Massachusetts. For an entire year he lived among twenty schoolchildren and their indomitable, compassionate teacher — sharings their joys, their catastrophes, and their small but essential triumphs. As a result, he has written a revealing, remarkably poignant account of education in America . . . and his most memorable, emotionally charged, and important book to date.
Annotation
An intense and affecting chronicle of one teacher's passionate dedication to the children in her classroom.
Publishers Weekly
Christine Zajac teaches fifth grade in a racially mixed school in a poor district of Holyoke, Mass. About half of her students are Hispanic; many come from broken homes. Through Kidder's calmly detailed re-creation of Zajac's daily round, we come to know her students' fears and inmost strivings; we also share this teacher's frustrations, loneliness and the rush of satisfaction that comes with helping students learn. It's a tough job: in one social studies class, half the pupils can't name the country they live in. Kidder ( House ; The Soul of a New Machine ) writes with sensitivity of Zajac's Irish-Catholic roots, of the need for educational reform and of the Holyoke Puerto Ricans' struggles for equality and success. We see Kelly School as a compelling microcosm of what is wrong--and right--with our educational system. Author tour. (Sept.)
More Reviews and RecommendationsBiography
Tracy Kidder has won the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, and the Robert F. Kennedy Award, among other literary prizes. The author of The Soul of a New Machine, House, Among Schoolchildren, Old Friends, and Home Town, Kidder lives in Massachusetts and Maine.
More About the AuthorCustomer Reviews
An Enjoyable Readby Anonymous
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May 16, 2005: This book was reccommened to me for a school read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Possibly one of the best books I have read this school year. However, I did find the parts without Clarence and Robert acting up a bit boring, they were the bggest part of the entertainment for me.
Among Schoolchildren Hits the Nail on the Head!by Anonymous
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February 02, 2002: I loved this book! In fact, I often reread my favorite parts when I need a boost or a reminder that what I do in my job as an elementary principal in an urban district really DOES make a difference. My favorite quote: 'Good teachers put snags in the river of children passing by, and over the years, they redirect hundreds of lives. Many people find it easy to imagine unseen webs of malevolent conspiracy in the world, and they are not always wrong. But there is an innocence that conspires to hold humanity together, and it is made of people who can never fully know the good that they have done.' I initially read this book for a graduate class. We were asked to pick an ethnographic study to read and give a report. I chose this book not knowing that it would prove to be one of the most impactful and insightful books I have ever read! Tracy Kidder does an impressive job of getting into the heart and mind of a teacher in Massachusetts. As he studies and describes a year in her classroom, I found myself reflecting on things that I felt and worried about as a teacher. I have bought numerous copies of this book as gifts for fellow educators. It is certainly one of my favorites!
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