Among School Children Book Review
"Teachers usually have no way of knowing that they have made a difference in a child's life, even when they have made a dramatic one. But for children who are used to thinking of them selves as stupid or not worth talking to or deserving rape and beatings, a good teacher can provide an astonishing revelation. A good teacher can give a child at least a chance to feel, "She thinks I'm worth something. Maybe I am." 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 also 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."Anyone looking for insight into what makes a good teacher would greatly appreciate reading Tracy Kidder's Among Schoolchildren. This passage from the book exemplifies the importance of a role that a teacher plays in a child's life. Teachers have the ability to improve a child's life without even realizing it - a refreshing revelation for both new and old teachers who may often wonder if they have ever made a difference.
She goes on the trip to gain a better understanding of where her students come from. Among Schoolchildren is truly a book worth reading; however, it does contain a couple of flaws. The reader sees Miss Zajac walk in the classroom and set goals for each of her students to achieve. She is going to get her paychecks regardless if they understand her or not. One sees Miss Zajac going home at night adjusting her lesson plans because her class is not understanding the way she has always done a particular lesson. Often at times the reader is lead to believe that it is Chris Zajac writing the book, that this book is a narrative. By the end of the school year her students did not want to leave her. One sees in the beginning how the children hated her, they called her a witch, cursed at her or wrote negative comments about her in their journals. Therefore, we see Miss Zajac go home at night and continuously try to improve her lessons. Reading this book can be a good wake up call for some veteran teachers, especially those whose lesson plans have turned yellow throughout the years. The self-fulfilling prophecy is the tendency of students to achieve the levels expected of them by their teachers. Among Schoolchildren does not let readers forget what teaching is all about. We meet and get to know many of her students. Among Schoolchildren focuses on a particular group of students, especially those that give Miss Zajac the most trouble or the ones that she finds difficult to deal with; it also tells of the children who are the brightest in her classroom.
Common topics in this essay:
Miss Zajac,
,
Miss Zajac's,
Chris Zajac,
Kidder Zajac,
Judith Clarence,
Kidder's Schoolchildren,
Puerto Rican,
Schoolchildren Kidder,
Puerto Rico,
miss zajac,
child's life,
miss zajac's,
chris zajac,
puerto rican,
reading schoolchildren,
miss zajac's trip,
zajac home,
class twenty,
education courses,
fifth grade,
zajac walk classroom,
miss zajac home,
chapter miss zajac's,
zajac home night,
|
Acceptance Essays
