Customer Reviews

The Thread That Runs So True

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I happened upon this fine autobiography one day while browsing through the library at West Middle School where I am a 7th grade teacher. I don't even remember what drew me to this book, but some form of "magic" must have been involved, because its enchantment is still on me. I hold this book in such high regard that I have read it to my classes over the years. I don't recall one student ever asking me to stop reading it. The stories of this fine man's life are intriguing and in many ways unbelieveable! "Thread" chronicles Jesse Stewart's career as a teacher/principal/superintendent of schools in rural Kentucky. He not only fought for the rights of his fellow teachers, but also the rights of his students. He believed that an education would set any man or woman free, especially those he taught inKentucky's hills and hollows. This book should be read by every teacher. It should be required reading for every principal and school superintendent in this fine country of ours. Do yourself a favor and buy this book.

This is the best book I have read about teaching. It is inspirational as well as entertaining. . Jesse Stuart knew how to teach children in such a way that they wanted to learn. His approach to education was one of making learning practical as well as fun. He also instilled in them a pride for themselves and for their school. The Thread That Runs So True should be required reading for every teacher education program in the United States.

The Thread That Runs So True was a marvelously written autobiography with much meaning. Jesse Stuart wonderfully depicted his life as a school teacher. Somewhat near the beginning of the book, the written meaning of the title is revealed when Stuart is singing a song containing the words. The thread that runs so true is play, which is emphasized throughout the book. Yet, there is a more meaningful lesson taught. Contextually, it is evident that the thread is also the teaching profession itself. Stuart's thread would most likely be the country life. After being a successful teacher and administrator, traveling abroad, and numerous other ventures, he returns to his Kentucky home and farms sheep. This is fantastic for almost any audience, students, teachers, and those who were once either or both. It is filled with unbelievable experiences from Stuart physically fighting his students to him being shot at for dating a particular lady. In the case of good fiction, you must remind yourself that the events didn't actually happen. In reading this book, I learned that with the most interesting non-fiction, you must realize that the events actually did occur.

I first read this book when I was in the ninth grade, and it, more than any other book I ever read, inspired me to become a teacher. This book has (I believe) been in print without interruption since it was originally published in the 1940s. I myself have bought so many copies that I have lost count, replacing copies borrowed by students and never returned. Although the world that Stuart wrote about, rural Kentucky in the 1920s and 1930s, has pretty much vanished, the book, in its passion for the good of education, in its compassion for both students and teachers, feels utterly contemporary. The stories of Stuart's experiences as teacher and administrator speak to our needs, even though most of us will never have to ride horseback to school or beat a student senseless to earn classroom control or be beaten ourselves by ignorant opponents of out views. But in our different world it is good to be reminded of the power of the teacher-student bond, a bond that will not soon be eliminated by distance education. Teachers who know how to make a class come alive, how to bring learning to life, are as important today as they were sixty years ago, or indeed 600. Inspirational, insightful, theoretical, this book is all, but it has also one more virtue: the prose is a bit breathy, but Stuart really knew how to tell a story!

The thread That Runs So True autobiographical story is a personal writing about his teaching career. He narrates a several experiences regarding his teaching and how he had to face difficult situation to remain teaching at school with success. However, he persevered and got success with his students. His students demonstrated interest and enjoyed learning as a consequence of his method of teaching with new ideas, trying to get interest and attention from his students. I enjoyed the way he narrates his experiences with tender feelings towards his students and courage to confront different situations as a teacher in the mountain region of Kentucky. I believe The Thread that Runs so True is a great example to follow for teachers and works as an inspiration for them in order to obtain the same results as Jesse Stuart

I am so blessed to have been given a first edition signed by the author copy of this book. I had read the paperback previously and enjoyed it so much. As a teacher, I felt it was written just for me. I have purchased several copies as gifts for teacher friends as well as for two of my own children who are teachers. The women who gave me the first edition are elderly school-teachers who knew Jesse Stuart personally and have no children with whom to leave the book. I count this book as one of my greatest treasures. Thank you, ladies. He was an inspiration to future generations of teachers and I have quoted him many times. I plan to give several copies as Christmas gifts this year to friends, family, and team-mates.

I first read Jesse Stuart 30 years ago in high school. I remember giving an oral book report to my English teacher and expressing surprise that rural Kentucky teachers continued to teach even when they were not receiving their pay. I remember my teacher telling me-- in all sincerity-- that she would do the same thing. Wow. I never looked at teaching the same way again!

The only reason I give this book 4 instead of 5 stars is that I wish Stuart had delved more deeply into the characters in the beginning of the book. There was certainly enough material there for an entire book by itself-- then Stuart could have used his years as a high school principal for a second book.

I read this book while preparing to do the play based from it, and I must say that it is an amazing piece of literature..... each student in the book is so lifelike that when it came time for my friend and I to play the parts of Guy Hawkins and Vaida Conway, we knew just what to do. It is a heartwarming tale....... Jesse has so many experiences with so many people in the book that it makes the story easy to follw and believable..... I would recommend this book to anyone!

This fellow worked very hard to become the wonderful person he was. The effort to do what he loved was, ultimately, overwhelming. He was a school teacher who became a sheep farmer and an author.

I really liked his growth through all the trials and tribulations of life in the Kentucky hills as a school teacher. He shows how dedication to an ideal, with a bit of imagination, can create a quality that was missing. Mr. Stuart truly loved teaching. His greatest success was in helping others learn and come to love the profession as he did. He has written a paean to the teaching profession and you feel proud for him and all teachers to be able to do what they can do for so little renumeration, and, sometimes, outright hostility.

This is a sad story because the teachers he works with are lured away from where they grew up and are needed, to teach in other districts where teaching is valued a bit higher. Mr. Stuart, himself, quit school teaching to become a sheep farmer and writer because he could not foresee being able to raise a family on the earnings of a schoolteacher and writer. But this was in 1920's and 1930's Kentucky where the teacher's motto was, “Thank God for Arkansas,” the only state with standards below Kentucky's.

Here is a thought, at one point in his story, he and his teachers were not getting paid, but still teaching and all. He mentions that he was not expecting this, but was pleasantly surprised when he saw it happen. I suppose this was in 1929 or so. But my question is, would our teachers of today do that? I know that the system and society of today make it highly unlikely for it to happen at all, but still the notion does present a quandary, since teachers today are not farmers or gardeners able to provide for themselves, as those in the old days were.

At first when I looked at The Thread That Runs So True by Jesse Stuart, I thought it was going to be boring. After I read the preface,I had a much better view of the book. The way he uses experiences from his own life truly opened my eyes. The way he wrote the book was good because he starts from the beginning of his teaching career and includes details one after another and didn't leave me hanging or wondering. It is very clear that if teachers took some time to read this book then maybe the teachers who are stuck on one thought and who are close minded might change. Then perhaps classrooms would run better and the children would learn more.

Although every part of a teacher's life clearly doesn't have anything to do with what they do or how they act in their classrooms, this book gives a true glimpse into what teachers really go through and what their lives are like.

I give "The Thread That Runs So True" 4 stars because I thought that Stuart could have given a more satisfying ending with all the work he accomplished as a teacher.