What do you think?
Rate this book
Me the Flunkie
Me The Yearbook of A School For Failures (View amazon detail page) B002VL2OCS
Paperback
First published March 4, 2014
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 18, 2011
I first read "Me the Flunkie" while on a church youth trip from Louisiana to Oklahoma. I bought it somewhere along the way to have something to read while on the bus. It was a mere 75 cents. I was 15 at the time, and the characters (who were real, live students at a school in Texas) were aged 15 to 17. They were part of what was known as "Operation Wastebasket", in which all the "un-teachable" students, from broken homes and with various learning disabilities, were lumped together in a class taught by Andrew Summers during the school year 1965-1966.
It is both hilarious and sobering. These kids were the outcasts of society, always in trouble for one thing or another. Summers presents a collection of class assignments, notes, even prayers from a prayer box - I laughed out loud from some of them, and was torn in my heart while reading others... it's a reminder that even the outcasts of society are people too - and they are worth the effort to reach them.
I recently acquired a worn copy of "Me the Flunkie", and paid $27 for it - this book has become both rare and coveted, and actually usually sells for nearly twice what I paid for it. I've often wondered why the book was never reprinted, since it is still in such high demand by teachers. As of yet, I have not been able to get in touch with Mr. Summers, although I did get in touch with the Andrew Summers in England that wrote "The Essex Hundred" and "On This Day in Essex". Alas, they are not the same person.
I would like to reprint this book, but as of yet have not been able to find the copyright holder. I even went so far as to contact the Publishing Company that now owns Fawcett Publications, but they have no record of the book.
If you know Mr. Summers or perhaps any of his children, please contact me.
It is both hilarious and sobering. These kids were the outcasts of society, always in trouble for one thing or another. Summers presents a collection of class assignments, notes, even prayers from a prayer box - I laughed out loud from some of them, and was torn in my heart while reading others... it's a reminder that even the outcasts of society are people too - and they are worth the effort to reach them.
I recently acquired a worn copy of "Me the Flunkie", and paid $27 for it - this book has become both rare and coveted, and actually usually sells for nearly twice what I paid for it. I've often wondered why the book was never reprinted, since it is still in such high demand by teachers. As of yet, I have not been able to get in touch with Mr. Summers, although I did get in touch with the Andrew Summers in England that wrote "The Essex Hundred" and "On This Day in Essex". Alas, they are not the same person.
I would like to reprint this book, but as of yet have not been able to find the copyright holder. I even went so far as to contact the Publishing Company that now owns Fawcett Publications, but they have no record of the book.
If you know Mr. Summers or perhaps any of his children, please contact me.
April 25, 2021
I read this in high school and was bowled over by these students and their lives, the challenges they faced, and the way they described it all-- so raw and messy, unlike anything I had ever read before. It wasn't the Queen's English. It was their words, their unfiltered, unedited truth. I think it has something to do with why I'm a teacher, and why I think natural writing, even if it is "imperfect" is a powerful thing.
July 22, 2008
Great book for any educator. Especially interesting if you work with unmotivated students. Laughing and crying, just like teaching.
September 5, 2022
I first read this book on a church youth group trip. We took turns reading it aloud (or trying to through fits of laughter). It was only after I became an English teacher that I realized, Ohhh, that kid was ADHD, that one autistic, that one ESL. These real kids had real issues. The book is hysterical and heartbreaking.
January 7, 2017
This is the The Freedom Writers Diary a generation before that book. Me The Flunkie: Yearbook of a School for Failures is eerily similar with premise almost exactly the same. A teacher tries and educate uneducatable kids. I was not sure whether to laugh or cry as I read the book. There is plenty of humor to be found, but much of it is laced with sadness knowing the background of the students. Robert Andrew Summers tries various methods until he stumbles upon one that works, sort of.
The Freedom Writers Diary is a bit of a conundrum for me. I am giving it three stars, but immensely enjoyed it too. It is not particularly well written (I am not counting the students work), but it has stuck with me non-the-less. I cannot get it out of my mind. I wonder what happened to the students.
If you enjoyed The Freedom Writers Diary, then you will like this also.
The Freedom Writers Diary is a bit of a conundrum for me. I am giving it three stars, but immensely enjoyed it too. It is not particularly well written (I am not counting the students work), but it has stuck with me non-the-less. I cannot get it out of my mind. I wonder what happened to the students.
If you enjoyed The Freedom Writers Diary, then you will like this also.
February 26, 2019
This was a cute little read, and it does provide an idea of the why and how a child turns out to be bad. Having said that, I felt it was all over the place and had no real plot.
The teacher, Mr. Summers does pick up from various writings created by his students. It takes you on an adventure in their mind. But, otherwise, it does not provide more about their family or upbringing.
I would have liked to see more of what their environment was like. Was the parents also drop outs? Did they suffer bad grades? Usually there is a history of illiteracy in the home, or other forms of mental disabilities. It would have been interesting to hear from that angle.
Did they suffer physical and sexual abuse? That also sadly tends to be the case. There is some form of alcohol or drug usage.
It is still a nice read for only 176 pages. Most of us have known a person like the children in the book.
The teacher, Mr. Summers does pick up from various writings created by his students. It takes you on an adventure in their mind. But, otherwise, it does not provide more about their family or upbringing.
I would have liked to see more of what their environment was like. Was the parents also drop outs? Did they suffer bad grades? Usually there is a history of illiteracy in the home, or other forms of mental disabilities. It would have been interesting to hear from that angle.
Did they suffer physical and sexual abuse? That also sadly tends to be the case. There is some form of alcohol or drug usage.
It is still a nice read for only 176 pages. Most of us have known a person like the children in the book.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews