The book Among School Children was written by Tracy Kiddler. The book is a day by day account of the activities of an elementary school teacher at Kelly School in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Kiddler not only included what went on inside of the classroom, but also the backgrounds of some of the students in the class. Kiddler spent nine months observing Mrs. Zojac's fifth grade class. As a result of his observation, Kiddler wrote what turned out to be, as said by Robert Wilson in an article in USA Today, "a revealing, remarkable poignant account of education in America." His goal in writing the book was to portray the state of education in America today and the joy of making a difference. Tracy Kiddler is the author of the national bestseller, House. He also won a Pulitzer Prize for the book The Soul of a New Machine. In the book the author address many issues that teachers are faced with everyday. He also includes many behaviors, attitudes, approaches, and techniques that a teacher should have when dealing with these issues.
This book is organized in to sections that are named with different things that teachers have to deal with every day. Each selection includes how either Mrs. Zojac or her student teacher dealt with many situations. The sections also include how the issue was dealt with in the past. The book contains a running story of Mrs. Zojac's fifth grade class. It also has the history of the community around Kelly School. This book includes many issues that are relevant to teachers and teachers-in-training. The ones that are most obvious are multiculturalism, signs of abused and neglected children, and discipline. Recognizing signs of abused or neglected children is very important because it is the job of the teacher to try his or her best to make sure the student is safe and living in a safe environment. The abuse or neglect may also affect the student's learning. The acknowledgement of multiculturalism is important so that the teacher can be sure to incorporate things from all backgrounds and try not to offend other students.
