Customer Reviews

I Am a Pencil: A Teacher, His Kids, and Their World of Stories

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

Sam Swope's *I Am a Pencil" is the best. A wise, compassionate, and witty book about children's writing and about teaching children, *I Am a Pencil* should be mandatory reading for all entrusted with our young people's imaginative health. Following the same group of children over four years, Swope's account reminds us of all that is wrong with current methods of "standardized" education and all that can be right when a gifted teacher is given relatively free-rein to work his or her magic in the classroom. All parents, educators and citizens should pay attention to this account of real children, instead of listening to a lot of hand-wringing conservative nonsense about, to quote Paul Lynde, "what's the matter with kids these days."

Buy this book, read it, and pass it on to others. You won't regret it.

Richard Flynn,
Editor, *Children's Literature Association Quarterly*

"I Am a Pencil" tells of one man's journey into the creative lives of children who are too frequently dismissed or stereotyped by politicians, bureaucrats, and even some exhausted teachers and administrators. These children are doomed to understaffed, physically deteriorating schools where they are expected at best to struggle with learning elementary English reading and wrtiting, too often taught in rote, mind-numbing ways. They are fortunate indeed when they meet a dedicated teacher or volunteer who has resisted burnout. Few adults consider that these kids are capable of or interested in intelligent, coherent, playful or elegant writing. It seems as though many of us more entitled Americans would prefer to either ignore or to sit in judgement on these children and their families. We are looking for someone to blame. And we are looking for easy answers.

Sam Swope was not looking for easy answers when he volunteered to teach creative writing to the children of immigrants to Queens for three years He was not looking for someone to blame. He was not promoting a program or testing a policy. He was on a pilgrimage, a pilgrimage into the hearts and minds of youngsters struggling to make sense of their world, a world their parents didn't entirely understand or navigate well. And he was on a pilgrimage into his own heart and mind, his own fears and hopes for a new generation of Americans. "I Am a Pencil" is not a "how to." It's a "why not." Why not give Jorge, Maya, MeiKai, Rafael and Fatma the chance to master their world through writing well? Why not work for them to get into excellent middle schools by getting involved with parents and administrators? Why not take the risk to care?

Mr. Swope doesn't hide behind the mask of authority. He doens't pretend that things are good when they aren't. (You won't find facile cheerleading here.) Neither, however, does his miss any authentic opportunity to celebrate victories, both large and small. It's the very realism of his story that makes it so valuable a companion for those who care intensely about the future of American education. If you are one of them, this is your book.

I AM A PENCIL is a delight. It's an amazing account of teaching creative writing to the children of immigrants. In the end, however, what it really is about is the imagination of changing cultures. As a teacher of writing for over 25 years, this memoir is a rare and honest achievement.

When teacher Sam Swope decides to give the gift of a single word to each of his young immigrant students in Queens,New York, that single word written on a piece of folded white paper suddenly seems as precious and mysterious as some fabulous jewel. More than a gesture, Swope's own gifts, both as a writer and as as a teacher of creative writing, shine through in this marvelously exotic and moving memoir of "everyday" life in an urban classroom. I loved it!

First, let me say I loved this book! It's truly inspirational and provides insight into the sometimes thankless job of teaching. The children's writing interspersed throughout is fascinating and the extent to which the author went to "collaborate" with the kids and befriend them and their families is moving. I definitely recommend reading it. I could say more good things about the book, but since the rest of the reviews on here seem to cover it, I will point out the couple of things that left me wanting more:

One major disconnect was how the author went from running a 10 day writing workshop to "adopting" the class for three years. The author doesn't mention this at all, and I would have liked to have read more about how and why this happened and what kind of thought went into the decision.

In addition, although the book is well written and well worth the read, it is not what I expected based on the back cover. It is not as much about the children's lives and the immigrant experience as the back cover leads you to believe. While there is some mention of these things - particularly with a student named Miguel - the book is primarily about the creative writing process and the writing itself.

Also, with the number of students introduced in the book, it is difficult to track (with a couple of exceptions) the progression of the students over the years. So with regard to the writing process itself, there is not as much observation of "talents blossoming and fizzling" over the years as I expected based on the back cover.

Having said that, however, I realize it must have been tough for the author to narrow down the experience into a cohesive book -- which, he has done. And, perhaps it is simply a testament to a well written book that I am left selfishly wanting more.

Sam Swope is obviously an excellent writer--and teacher of writing. This story is filled with his experiments to draw out the beauty of words from a variety of children and can serve as an inspiration to anyone who is interested in children, education, and writing. If only all of us writing teachers had the chance to work so intensely with a relatively small group of students! If only we could talk to them one-on-one about their writing while another teacher worked with the rest of the class! Anyone who reads this and wonders why all teachers don't follow Swope's examples must realize the uniqueness of his situation. Even so, teachers can and should use his creative approaches to elicit more and better writing from today's tv and video generation of students.

"I am a Pencil" by Sam Swope is a great story about a gifted teacher from New York who helps kids of various ethnicities learn to write different types of poetry. He takes on a huge reponsibility by helping these struggling children learn to progress in their poetry writing skills.
This book was one of the best books that i've ever read. It provided me with a lot of insight on how many schools in New York operate and what they teach. I loved how Swope not only worked hard to help these kids at school, but he took them to places they've never been before and showed them that there's life outside of New York City. I would reccomend this book to someone who is a teacher because it is very inspirational and will help you become a more caring and creative educator.

This book interested me because I love teaching writing in the workshop model. I was not disappointed one bit. Mr. Swope details both his triumphs and frustrations over the three year period. We get to know the students and to experience their progress. I bought one of Mr. Swope's books and I am going to give it with "I Am A Pencil" to my friends who share my enthusiasm for teaching writng.

Wonderful descriptions of the children, their world and their concerns. I loved the samples of student writing. Swopes has great insight into the world of schools. There are few studies of children's writing over time and this look at how the children evolved as writers from third grade through fifth grade is priceless. Should be required reading for all elementary education teachers!

I stumbled upon this wonderful book at my local library. I have found three of my favorite books in this way, and for those who love working with children, this book is a must read.

Swope is a wonderful storyteller and his favorite stories from the children he taught in NYC are priceless.