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A review by claudiaswisher
I Am a Pencil: A Teacher, His Kids, and Their World of Stories by Sam Swope
4.0
Sam Swope, a professional children's author, decided to spend time in a public school with third graders, talking about writing, teaching writing, writing. He, like others, fell in love with his kids and spent a total of three years, following them thru 4th and 5th grade...that's the kind of luxury a 'real' teacher lives for. Imagine!
Swope gets to know the kids well. Mostly first and second generation immigrants from all corners of the world, the kids bring so many challenges and rewards to Swope's work. He's allowed into their thoughts and hopes through the writing. Any English teachers knows that's the kind of relationship that has positive and negative. He learns of the repressive religious zeal Miguel lives with, the crushing expectations MeiKai lives with. He also has run-ins with 'mean girls' who know instinctively he needs to be liked...and boy, howdy! They've got him from then on. I wish one of the teachers he worked with those years could have (maybe they did and he doesn't want to acknowledge it) taken him in hand and just explained.
What he's lacking are the tools of the teaching profession. What he has in abundance is passion -- a love for kids, a love for writing. He sets up a wonderful writing workshop approach that only works because it's on top of the regular classroom teacher's work. But I know he contributes to each child's writing life and internal life.
The setting is NYC, and the kids take the subway to and from school...Swope takes them on fieldtrips to Central Park...getting into middle schools is a whole gauntlet. Lots of differences to explore. Swope spends considerable time during the kids' fifth grade year trying to find them supportive middle schools. The demands of the system nearly broke his heart and mine too.
When sharing this with a friend, a fellow educator, I was reminded Swope can actually 'swoop' in whenever he wants to these classrooms and teach the ONE subject he loves above all others. He has no other responsibilities -- reportcards, testing...nothing else.
But, you know, if I could find my own Mr. Swope, someone who lived for books, to work with my students one on one while I did my thing, knowing NOW the kids had two caring adults to spend time and attention on them -- I'd do it in a heartbeat.
Swope gets to know the kids well. Mostly first and second generation immigrants from all corners of the world, the kids bring so many challenges and rewards to Swope's work. He's allowed into their thoughts and hopes through the writing. Any English teachers knows that's the kind of relationship that has positive and negative. He learns of the repressive religious zeal Miguel lives with, the crushing expectations MeiKai lives with. He also has run-ins with 'mean girls' who know instinctively he needs to be liked...and boy, howdy! They've got him from then on. I wish one of the teachers he worked with those years could have (maybe they did and he doesn't want to acknowledge it) taken him in hand and just explained.
What he's lacking are the tools of the teaching profession. What he has in abundance is passion -- a love for kids, a love for writing. He sets up a wonderful writing workshop approach that only works because it's on top of the regular classroom teacher's work. But I know he contributes to each child's writing life and internal life.
The setting is NYC, and the kids take the subway to and from school...Swope takes them on fieldtrips to Central Park...getting into middle schools is a whole gauntlet. Lots of differences to explore. Swope spends considerable time during the kids' fifth grade year trying to find them supportive middle schools. The demands of the system nearly broke his heart and mine too.
When sharing this with a friend, a fellow educator, I was reminded Swope can actually 'swoop' in whenever he wants to these classrooms and teach the ONE subject he loves above all others. He has no other responsibilities -- reportcards, testing...nothing else.
But, you know, if I could find my own Mr. Swope, someone who lived for books, to work with my students one on one while I did my thing, knowing NOW the kids had two caring adults to spend time and attention on them -- I'd do it in a heartbeat.