I read this book for a college course in education, and the following is an essay I wrote to review it:Tracy Kidder’s 1989 book, Among Schoolchildren, is a year-long case study in which Kidder describes day-to-day experiences in Mrs. Zajac’s 5th grade classroom. Kidder divides the book into nine sections, each of which contains around four to six chapters. The case study is organized chronologically, beginning with the section “September” and the start of the year, and ending with “June”. The majority of the sections, however, are not named after months, but rather relate to particular themes or significant events in the school year. For example, “Isla del Encanto” details the teachers’ trip to Puerto Rico, organized by the school, in which they learn about the culture from which many of their students come. In this section, as he often does throughout the book, Kidder expands the concrete events to a more abstract discussion. Not only does he discuss Puerto Rican culture, Kidder also describes racial and cultural tensions faced by Puerto Rican students and their families in the United States. The case study ends at the end of the school year, with the section “June”, which describes how Mrs. Zajac wraps up the year and plans for the future—teaching sixth grade.The central focus in Among Schoolchildren is on Mrs. Christine Zajac, a thirty four-year-old elementary school teacher in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Kidder establishes Mrs. Zajac as a shrewd educator who “wasn’t born yesterday” (Kidder 1). She knows how to control her classroom, and also cares deeply about each of her students. At the beginning of the year, Mrs. Zajac has a student- teacher in her classroom, Pam Hunt. “Miss Hunt”, as she is called, studies at Westfield State. At first, she nervously observes the class, then progresses to taking over some lessons. Kidder explains that Mrs. Zajac has several difficult students, and Miss Hunt has trouble initially in commanding their respect the way Mrs. Zajac does.Nonetheless, as Kidder gradually reveals, even Mrs. Zajac is troubled by how to “reach” a particularly difficult student, Clarence. Though other teachers have told her rumors about Clarence’s behavioral issues, Mrs. Zajac “[tries] to ignore what she [has] hears, and deal with the problems as they [come]” (9). Clarence rarely does his work, and throughout the year, his behavior escalates. He often bullies other students, and no form of penalty, such as detention or lost recess, seems to motivate him to stop. Mrs. Zajac faces the difficult balance between disciplining her misbehaving students and teaching everyone. Her students also come from varied backgrounds and family situations. Alice, for example, is white and middle-class. Her family lives in the Highlands, a wealthy neighborhood, but many other students live in poverty in “the Flats”. The Flats are a poor section of Holyoke, where many families reside in unsafe or unsanitary apartments.Though students may come from inauspicious beginnings, these beginnings do not define what they are able to achieve. For example, Kidder introduces readers to Judith, a girl from a Puerto Rican family living in the Flats. Judith is one of the highest-achieving students in Mrs. Zajac’s class, despite the apartment she goes home to every day. Kidder writes: “the outer doors at the project had lost their locks and knobs. Anyone who wanted to get in could crook a finger through the hole and pull open the door… there were drug addicts around. Judith’s parents almost never left her alone in the apartment” (235). As the school year goes on, Kidder delves into the lives of many of Mrs. Zajac’s students in this manner, revealing what they deal with at home. He notes that Mrs. Zajac never judges students by their wealth, race, or living situations, but rather by their intellect. Kidder quotes Mrs. Zajac as saying, “ ‘I think the cruelest form of prejudice is… if I ever said, “Clarence is poor, so I’ll expect less of him than Alice… I want his best’” (19). Kidder also examines Mrs. Zajac’s personal history. Readers learn that she grew up in Holyoke, and though she lived in Florida for a time, never felt at home anywhere else. She is married, with a young son and infant daughter. Kidder develops Mrs. Zajac as a personal outside of school as well as in the classroom. He shows readers a memorable scene which features Mrs. Zajac at home, agonizing over grading her students’ exams as fairly as possible, calling each child’s face and mannerisms to mind as she does so.School worries encroach on Mrs. Zajac’s personal life when she learns that she must send Clarence away to Alpha, a special behavioral program at another school. Dread over having to break the news to Clarence consumes her days and nights. Sending Clarence away is incredibly difficult for Mrs. Zajac because she does not want to appear to “give up” on him. Kidder also writes that she feels guilty at being relieved to have his disruptions out of her classroom. Clarence’s departure is the focus of the section “Sent Away”, and probably the most traumatic disruption of the year in Mrs. Zajac’s room. Throughout the rest of the book, Mrs. Zajac rallies, continuing to teach well. She does not shy away from difficult subjects such as slavery and prejudice, and in fact wants her students to understand them.In the Spring, the school holds a science fair, about which Mrs. Zajac feels conflicted. She notes that “the children whose parents had come to the [fair]… had the best projects and knew the most about their subjects. In general, the forlorn projects belonged to the children with no parents on hand… The whole event looked like a rigged election… as if designed to teach the children about the unfairness of life” (280). Though Mrs. Zajac makes every effort to reach all her students, Kidder notes, she cannot do everything herself. Some children’s parents do not—and perhaps never will—provide the support their children need. Many of her students face prejudice and unfairness every day, and will continue to face it in their lives as adults. These are harsh realities for Mrs. Zajac to face. When the year ends, Mrs. Zajac misses her class, wishing she had more time with them. Overall, Kidder tells us, the students enjoyed her teaching and believe she made an impact on their lives.I felt that Among Schoolchildren had many more strengths than weaknesses. While he sometimes focuses too long on mundane events, and the book is occasionally repetitive, Kidder’s writing style is engaging and descriptive. He is able to give insight into the lives of the students in the class, making the book highly readable. Kidder’s audience learns that “difficult” students, like Clarence, are not simply “brats”. Rather, their actions are informed by a complex web of situations in both school and the outside world. Kidder writes eloquently, making the reader feel part of Mrs. Zajac’s classroom. One passage in particular that stayed with me after reading is the one in which Kidder describes Judith’s writing:“The story Judith wrote about having to move to the Flats from her family’s last, nice little house, and the part of the essay about her mother sitting on the porch steps and Judith sitting down beside her, and neither of them speaking, but each knowing how sad the other felt—that was an essay written by an adult" (86)Because of his choice to write the case study in a personal manner, Kidder is able to invest readers in the lives of people that may, in many cases, be vastly different from their own. Passages like the above prove just how adult children can be, and, in my opinion validate decisions by teachers like Mrs. Zajac not to hide serious world issues from them.Kidder completed this case study in the 1980s, so the book is outdated in some respects. Most notably, Mrs. Zajac sometimes hugs, or even kisses, students to show affection. In a contemporary context, teachers are no longer allowed to be so “motherly” in their affection for their students, and touching is no longer allowed. Nonetheless, the lessons Mrs. Zajac instills in her students about navigating an often unfair world are still very much relevant. Unfortunately, many students today still live in poverty, or have parents who do not help them with their science fair projects. Mrs. Zajac’s observations of the “rigged election” therein continue to ring true. In today’s classroom, it is important to do as she does and question how curriculums are designed, and if they inadvertently favor some students over others. Such debate is currently taking place about whether SAT questions place white, middle-class students at an advantage to their peers. Though I plan to teach at a secondary level, unlike Mrs. Zajac’s elementary class, reading about her teaching techniques can certainly connect to my own experiences. I respect teachers like Mrs. Zajac who understand that their students, though young, understand many adult aspects of the world. Kidder reveals that the only time Mrs. Zajac cries in front of her students is when she receives the news about the Challenger space shuttle tragedy. I was reminded of my second grade teacher explaining to my class what happened on September 11th, 2001. I was around eight years old, but I was able to understand, more or less, what had happened. To this day, I appreciate how my teacher chose to handle the situation; she had us all sit in a circle and ask whatever questions we wanted to ask. Rather than attempt to hide or sugarcoat the truth, my teacher, like Mrs. Zajac, was honest and told us what had really happened. To be honest with students, even about difficult and tragic situations, is to treat them with respect. It is also a crucial part of forming compassionate adults.
I was given this book by a teacher that I worked with who told me that it was great. Newly retired, I put it on my bookshelf to read at a future date. I took it out the other day because I have had it for a while and I wanted to read it so that I could return it to her. I am glad that I did!Having been in education for over 30 years which included the time period when this book was written I found that I could easily identify with the teacher and her thoughts and feelings as described by Kidder. Kidder observed this class for a year and also spoke with others who both knew Chris Zajac or were involved in education. He also had done research. I could easily see myself doing similar things in a classroom. Wondering about home lives, critiquing lessons that you had done and ways they could be improved, rejoicing over some break throughs with students, encouraging children, making children feel that they are worth something and can learn etc. It is always rough when you realize that there are just some things that you can't control in a child's life but that you wish you could make better. I read some of the reviews of others and as always am discouraged when I read those which talk about how education has failed miserably. I saw teachers every day who worked so hard to make a difference in children's lives. Granted, we didn't have the power to overcome poverty or provide parents who were loving and caring or make some students at least attempt to learn the material we were teaching but we didn't give up and we did make a large difference for some of those kids whose lives we have touched. I challenge anyone to go into a classroom and attempt to do what teachers do each and every day. One other item really struck me. In the book Kidder told a little about the history of public education. He listed a quote from Kohl which he had written at the end of his second year teaching in Harlem. "The thought of twenty-five more children the next year, twenty-five that might have a good year yet ultimately benefit little or nothing from it, depressed me. I wanted to think and to write, to discover how I could best serve the children." I guess he didn't believe that one person could make a difference in a child's life and that next year's teacher might continue the child down that road. Thank God not everyone feels that way and leaves the classroom! Kohl also wrote that during his second year he received discouraging news about students from his first class. He began to feel that other teachers and omnipresent racism had started to undo whatever good he'd done. But weren't there other good teachers that came after him perhaps that could have an equally good effect on students? And isn't one great year better than none if it can cause a child to look at himself differently - perhaps as someone capable of learning? Thank you to all the good teachers in the classroom now and in the past, who have made a difference. Always keep in mind the students who you have effected in a positive way, always reflect on what you do in your classroom - both your lessons and how you teach children to treat one another, and don't become discouraged. You are important in the lives of your students!
What do You think about Among Schoolchildren (1990)?
This book was recommended to me by a co-worker. Tracy Kidder is a Pulitzer prize-winning author (for Soul of a New Machine) with a unique style. He basically picks someone interesting, and follows them around for a year or so and records everything they do. He combines that with a lot of research and interviews and then still manages to write a book that reads almost like a novel.In Among Schoolchildren he follows around Mrs. Zajack, who is a really good fifth-grade teacher in a really difficult school. It is fascinating to looks in on her classroom for a year and witness how a truly good teacher teaches.In one sense, it's a very encouraging book. Mrs. Zajack is everything you hope your child's teacher will be: she works hard, cares deeply about each child, treats every child fairly, gives a lot of individual attention, manages the children's behavior well, and all of that. But it also demonstrates clearly that even a great teacher can only do so much, and that the most important factor in determining a child's success or failure is--almost without exception--their home life. That's an important "almost," though, and at the end of the year even one of the students with the most problems shows some encouraging signs of progress.Having just married an educator, I think this book will be valuable as I try to understand my wife's work.Now if I could just remember to return this book to the library. I probably owe $5 on it already.
—Nathan
I did enjoy this book, mostly the topic. I have a lot of fierce opinions about education, though I haven't read many books on the subject; generally, anything longer than an article would just make me too angry. I thought this book did well at balancing the personal stories of Chris and her class with the historical/factual details of Holyoke and public education in general. I enjoyed that the book was told more or less chronologically, but that it was also divided into topical sections. I didn't think that the section titles always made the most sense, but I think the overall structure was successful. I liked that the author did not insert himself too obviously into the book, and that the views he expressed were not too radical or overzealous. I also appreciated that he backed up his opinions with facts from other publications. I think he made plenty of good points, and gave the pros and cons to many sides of the public education question in America.In reading this for a creative writing class, though, I wasn't entirely happy with the writing overall. I thought he was a fine writer, but nothing spectacular. One part specifically bothered me; that is, when he described physical movements, especially Chris's gestures in class, I could not picture them. The writing was not clear in those instances, and I felt like that took away from the text.I was also disappointed that a few items were brought up but not mentioned before the end. For instance, on page 308 Chris said she finally filed the 51A for Robert, so he would be evaluated by a psychiatrist. It's never mentioned again, even though we get some sort of closure in the stories of her other troubled students, like Clarence and Pedro. Even if it was something like, by the end of the year Chris still hadn't heard about the 51A on Robert and she was anxious, that would have been better to me than nothing. I felt like it was a situation that fell off the map a little.I also think this book suffers from being outdated. It was published in 1989. While certain elements I think are still similar, there are others that are not. For example, on page 300, America spends $150 billion on primary and high school education per year. I looked it up, but could not find a figure on how much that has changed (if it has changed) in the last 13 years; whether it has or hasn't, either one would be really interesting. Education and education policy in America, as well as the status of the American education system on the world's stage, have been hot button issues as of late, so I would be interested to read a more recent book.
—Alison
Immersion reporting is my favorite, and Among Schoolchildren is the immersion reportage bible. Kidder lingers in the back of a fifth grade classroom for one year with a pencil and a notebook, long enough for the children to forget about his presence and start acting real. Not only is it a gem of immersion writing, but it also validates teachers of all grade levels throughout America as we often forget how important our job is. Kidder shows us that we may not be able to reach every kid in the classroom but the tiny differences we make can and do change the world. Intriguing, thought-provoking, humurous and meaningful.
—Reed Stratton
