Way It Spozed to Be

by James Herndon

Book Overview

This work deals with what is still the root problem of ghetto schools: their failure to reach the kids, their obsession with rote learning, and imposed discipline, which only drives kids further into... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0553124536
• ISBN13: 9780553124538
• Release Date: July 1978
• Publisher: Bantam Books
• Weight: 0.25 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Funny, tragic, wry, true

Herndon brings us along through the mystification of his first year as a public school teacher. In the end, he is fired for, well, for teaching. This series of stories -- told matter of factly and leaving much up to the interpretation of the reader -- still rings true, as he captures the inherent paradoxes teachers and students face every day.

Great American Writer

James Herndon was a great American writer. He had freewheeling wit and intelligence, an urban beat, poignant, ironic humor, well-sketched and righteous anger and most importantly, a sense of seeking, a desire for the truth in his life. The reader becomes complicitous in the same search and thus "The Way It's Spozed to Be" is one of those rare and magnificent books in any subject area that transcends a reading experience and takes on the impact of real time.Yes, the book is about a troubled inner city school, yes the author is a first-year teacher who bucks the system, yes he was naive and idealistic, and yes there were and are many books and movies that share these premises, but what sets this book apart is the author's simple humanity and honesty. He knows he will not solve everything. In the epilogue, when he is long elsewhere, he muses sadly that conditions at his first teaching job probably haven't changed. Also, Mr. Herndon knows that even if he succeeds in getting the kids to sit still long enough to do their expected work, to act the way students are "spozed to act" and conducts classes the way they are "spozed to be conducted," what the students are learning is not a love of learning itself, but rather a perverted desire to be the "way you're spozed to be."A telling incident: Mr. Herndon sees an art project done by a class of students, mostly if not all African American. Yet the people in the poster are Caucasion. Mr. Herndon asks the art teacher why that is and is told that most of the pictures the students see are people with Caucasions. Even their imagery is the "way it's spozed to be." This is mild compared to the racism that exists within the student body, based on various shades of skin complexion and the students' features. Add in the merciless teasing doled out to anyone who couldn't read, in some classes, all but a few students, and you have a hotbed of dysfunctional and hyper-critical relationships where learning is nearly impossible. The author doesn't pretend to understand or solve large-scale economic issues, although he comments objectively that many kids don't have enough money to eat proper lunches but most are willing to buy "tennis," the slang for sneakers. He also doesn't pretend to understand social or familial circumstances, in fact, families are rarely discussed and we see the students in the stark flourescent light seen by Mr. Herndon. He doesn't offer sweeping solutions. Instead, he walks this dismal territory as a brilliantly perceptive and caring guide, bringing us close to the academically deprived conditions that we know exist, and more than puts a human face on it. He illuminates the psychology of children, concisely and with searing truth. This writer broke down many times, both in the first reading and in many successive ones. He feels the frustration of the children and shares their delights. At one point the students start a tradition called "slambooks," notebooks in which they essentially write

A captivating story that is guaranteed to make you think

The author writes of his first year teaching, which happens to be in a 98% black urban junior high school. I found this book captivating and could not put it down. It is a quick and easy read although its' contents will keep you thinking for a long time.The author begins with his first day of school and takes us through the end of the school year at which time he is fired for being incompetent in the eyes of the administrators and other teachers. Chapters are written almost as short essays on a single topic, moving through the school year. Herndon introduces us to his 7th and 8th grade students with humor and sincerity. Many of these children, to my horror and amazement, can't even read their own names let alone anything else. Herndon discusses what school policies are and how other teachers "control" the class by restricting their movement and even in one case, not allowing the children to utter one word to the teacher during class. Absurdities in school policy and administration come through to me very clearly as I read these stories. The style of writing is one of storytelling rather than a book discussing why school reform is needed, but you will clearly come to your own realizations of what the problems are by simply reading these stories.Half way through the school year, Herndon decides to do whatever it takes to get these children to learn. In some cases he comes up with innovative teaching methods and in other cases he allows the students to find their own way of doing things, and guess, what? Learning happens! Success! Well, the success is in the eyes of the students and in the eyes of this schoolteacher (not in the eyes of the administration). There is mutual respect between students and teacher but the other teachers and administrators think Herndon is an incompetent and that his students are out of control, so they fire him.I figured out the year was 1959, but this could just as well take place today. Herndon's epilogue, written six years after this year of teaching, is brilliant. This is a short book and an easy read. As you read it your mind will be reeling with emotions and ideas about public/government schooling and who are they really serving?

A Honky in a Ghetto School

White Jim Herndon saw his "impossible" junior high ghetto Blacks as human beings. By the end of the year, they'd learned both to read and write better and much more - even to love a "Honky."