Among Schoolchildren, by Tracy Kidder

This nonfiction account is a moving and inspiring portrait of a most noble profession: teaching.

It’s an amazing truth that many people often remember their teachers from early schooling all through life. I remember my teachers vividly— many for good, transformative reasons. I recently met an 82-year-old gentleman at a clinic who could recall the names of all his teachers through every year of schooling until high school.

Tracy Kidder wrote this book by spending a year following a teacher at a low-resource school in Holyoke, Massachusetts. It’s a stereotypically diverse Massachusetts town, and through the eyes and lives of the students there, he can paint a picture of some very challenging topics: poverty, ambition, bigotry.

I’ve always had a kind of wish to be a teacher, and it was a really lovely thing to be immersed in a classroom in Holyoke. This piece has the consistent, classy narrative style of Kidder’s other famous book: his biography of the doctor Paul Farmer, Mountains Beyond Mountains. But while I found myself disenchanted by the transition of Farmer’s compatriots to administrative roles and saddened by tragically dire situation in Haiti, Among Schoolchildren is filled with hope because of the main character we follow- Mrs. Zajac. She is a teacher. She isn’t trying to change the world, but in doing her job with such sincerity and charm, she does.

I can tell Kidder was a journalist who became a writer, if that makes sense. He makes himself so unobtrusive in the scene, just a fly on the wall, making it possible to observe and relay so much exquisite and authentic detail to the reader. We can imagine this part of Massachusetts. We can imagine the wonderful, wonderful Mrs. Chris Zajac who reminds me of the teachers I had in Catholic school in Lowell, Massachusetts, who changed the trajectory of my life  and dreams.

There’s something just achingly beautiful about reading about a teacher’s efforts to make a positive difference for her students. I can understand entirely the challenges and emotions of Mrs. Zajac. How much she wants to help the kids and how it is sometimes impossible, but sometimes so special, like for Claude.

Kidder describes people in such a real, almost Stephen King way- I feel like I know them in real life, or I can connect  them to people I know. This is the kind of writer I want to be: telling an authentic story about something as powerful as education, documenting efforts of real people who are doing huge and amazing things like teaching in such quiet, sincere ways.

This book will take you right back to the classroom. You might recall classmates who are unruly, perhaps identify with the challenges of some of the students or their immigrant backgrounds. Good books are supposed to teach us something about ourselves or others, and the best books do both. In Among Schoolchildren, Kidder allows us to walk a few miles in another person’s shoes. I found the journey worthwhile. ✏️