Analysis of Among Schoolchildren Book by Tracy Kidder - Essay Example

mong Schoolchildrn Tchrs typiclly do not rliz tht thy cn mk diffrnc in childrn's lif, vn whn it cn b drmtic on. In som css tchrs chng childrn's lif forvr just by giving thm fling tht thy r worth somthing, by ltting know tht thy bliv in thm, thy rdirct nd str thir livs. Trcy Kiddr, n uthor of th mong Schoolchildrn mngd to spnt n ntir yr mong twnty schoolchildrn nd thir stubborn, compssiont tchr. This book hlps to gin n insight on wht mks good tchr, nd n xmplifid rol of th tchr nd bility to improv child's lif without vn rlizing it. This book rvls th story of young tchr's lif nd work in th Klly School, prt of th Holyok, Msschusts school systm. Th book provids insight into wht it is lik tching in multiculturl clssroom nvironmnt nd how importnt it is to b bl to monitor nd djust to troubld studnts, how vitl it is to chng your mthods of working, whr tching 24/7 profssion, not 8:00-5:00 job. During th whol yr Chris tckls not only issus of difficult studnts but prsonl issus s wll. This book provids futur tchrs with much rquird glnc t th rlitis of tching whr strss of bing tchr is vidnt. From Sptmbr to Jun, Chris Zjc, compssiont, dvotd tchr struggls with th nrly suprhumn tsk of tching innr-city childrn, mny from impovrishd nd brokn homs. .It fls lik you r in th clssroom with Mrs. Zjc. Trcy Kiddr dscribs rl tchr nd hr studnts nd tks th rdr with thm through th school yr. Zjc mngd to rlt th problms s wll s th succsss in th clssroom. Zjc is th kind of tchr tht prnt would wnt thir child to b round, bcus sh dos not only tchs bsic skills nd knowldg, but lso nturs nd dls with childrn who com to th clssroom with lot of bggg. Mrs. Zjc posssss ll trits tht vry tchr should hv: tough in loving wy, disciplind, slf-wr, nd willing to confss to hr own fults. Onc in whil whn sh rlizd tht sh is probbly boring, sh tris to shk up th lsson to void wtching bord studnts. Mrs. Zjc is wondr tchr tht vry child should hv t lst onc in thir grd school crr, bcus sh posss ll ncssry qulitis of n xcllnt tchr. Sh is sympthtic, lmost to fult, bcus somtims sh givs too mny scond chncs to pupils who try to disordr hr clss, but sh lso mngs to gt through ll of thm, vn th ons who hd to b rmovd. Sh is hrd-working tchr nd lwys brings hom both th ppr grding nd th worris in which sh constntly rumints on ch studnt's lif nd how sh cn improv it. Sh dos not lv tchr flings t th school door nd s rsult lmost ll of innovtiv ids build up whil sh broods t hom ovr som kid's dilmm. Sh hs big hrt, nough to mbrc nd provid thm with unconditionl lov, spcilly to thos who xprincs hrdships t hom or vn to thos who dos not vn hv hom.In ordr to b n ffctiv tchr on hs to nturlly possss ll thos trits nd b bl to us thm in ordr to gt through to thir studnts. It is chllnging to b bl to s th diffrnc btwn "problm studnts" nd "good studnts" nd th chllngs thy prsnt in vry dy situtions. Th mjority of studnts in Mrs. Zjc's clss r Hispnic-- growing truth throughout th Unitd Stts--so long with th vrydy frustrtions of vry tchr, w s tht Mrs. Zjc hs n dditionl worklod imposd mrly by th prsnc of lngug brrir. Looking t fiv min rs of Mrs. Zjc's clssroom cn giv n insight into wht mks hr good tchr nd thos trits includ: tchr's intrction with th studnts, studnts' intrction with th tchr, studnts' intrction with othr studnts, contnt, nd nvironmnt.Sh intrcts in such wy tht studnts hv prcption tht sh wnts th bst out of thm, so thy try hrd in ordr to mt thos xpcttions. Whn Hnritt wntd to quit working on hr mth, Mrs. Zjc just tris to rpt hr xpcttions by sying, " No, Hnritt. You cn't quit. You hv to kp trying. You cn't just quit in lif, Hnritt." By following nd mting thos xpcttions, studnts t som point will try to outprform vn. nothr lsson tht cn b drivd from Mrs. Zjc's styl of tching is hr ttitud towrds trting studnts , whr sh sys "Trting studnts qully oftn mns trting thm vry diffrntly." Sh undrstnds tht vry studnt's bst is diffrnt, but just th fct tht h of sh trid to rch thir bst is lrdy nd indictor of succss. For xmpl, sh rlizd tht th ssy tht Jimmy wrot ws hug progrss, vn th qulity ws not sufficint nough, but sh kps on sying tht "trting studnts qully oftn mns trting thm vry diffrntly" philosophy should b doptd by ch tchr. If nothr studnt submittd such n ssy, sh would probbly sk for rtst, howvr, sh cn rliz tht it is not only possibl but lso probbl tht th ssy is Jimmy's bst. Of cours, thr r som popl tht would sy tht Zjc's tching mthod is inffctiv nd most probbly thy would point out to th fct tht Chris Zjc tchs only fw blocks from th hous in which sh ws born in th city sh hs nvr lft. In fct, whn sh onc lft Msschustts bcus hr husbnd took rportr's job in Florid, sh insistd thy mov bck month ltr. With th xcption of on trip to Purto Rico, ll hr vctions r stt-bound, spnt on Cp Cod. On cn point out to th fct tht Zjc sms prochil. Thr is littl vidnc tht sh rflcts on how hr studnts, most of whom r fricn mricn or Purto Ricn, might diffr culturlly from hr, whos bckground is Irish nd somtims sh dos not cknowldg th wildly sprd chos in which most of hr studnts liv. Homwork cn only b rflctivly ccomplishd undr circumstncs most of hr studnts cnnot find t hom, rquiring s it dos tim, plc, nd support systm-s wll s silnc. vry problm s wll s vry prson hs bd nd good sid, but you cn not tk wy th outstnding profssionlism of Zjc, vn whn sh flls short somtims. Just rding this xcllnt book mks vrybody mor wr nd t th sm tim lss scrd of th plight of th tchr. Kiddr puts you right into th shos of Chris Zjc, nd llows you to s how "good" tchr dls with th rlitis of tching. I would suggst this fbulous book to vrybody, s it cn b usful not only for tchrs, but lso for prnts, who quit oftn fc dilmm of trting nd bringing up thir childrn in th qul but t th sm tim diffrnt wy. Bibliography: 1. Tom Donahoe, Phi Delta Kappan. Finding the Way: Structure, Time, and Culture in School Improvement. Journal article by, Vol. 75, 1993. 2. James Albright The Logic of Our Failures in Literacy Practices and Teaching. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, Vol. 44, 2001. 3. Anne C. Lewis Education Is the Only Way out of Poverty. Journal article Phi Delta Kappan, Vol. 76, 1994. Read More