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 differe

Among Schoolchildren is truly a book worth reading; however, it does contain a couple of flaws. Often at times the reader is lead to believe that it is Chris Zajac writing the book, that this book is a narrative. One sees what appears to be her deepest thoughts but then one remembers that this is not a narrative but an observation by Kidder. This aspect is often troubling when reading this book.

We model by what we see. These students are products of their community, Holyoke, and they are just modeling the behavior that they are used to. It is not necessarily wrong or bad, they are just acting the only way they know how.

Another flaw, is that Kidder offers a whole chapter on Miss Zajac’s trip to Puerto Rico. She goes on the trip to gain a better understanding of where her students come from. This chapter was a little unrealistic and unnecessary. It made Miss Zajac look “too perfect” of a teacher. And Kidder gave such a well-explained background of Holyoke and the Puerto Rican history that to dedicate a chapter about Miss Zajac’s trip was truly not necessary. It detracts the reader from the rest of the story.

One theory that most educators study in classes is the self- fulfilling prophecy. We see in this book how true this is. The self-fulfilling prophecy is the tendency of students to achieve the levels expected of them by their teachers. Chris Zajac does not walk into her classroom saying that the children in her class are from nothing and probably will aspire to be nothing. She is going to get her paychecks regardless if they understand her or not. The reader sees Miss Zajac walk in the classroom and set goals for each of her students to achieve. She tries to instill a positive attitude and confidence in all of her students throughout the book. One sees that not all of the goals she had set forth for each of them are met, but some students make an improvement or start to take positive steps in achieving their goals, which is still just as important. One sees in the beginning how the children hated her, they called her a witch, cursed at her or wrote ne

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