Among the Fourth Graders

by Terry Carroll

Among the Fourth Graders is a year-in-the-life portrayal of a San Francisco classroom. Presented in character-driven vignettes with a large ensemble cast of mostly nine-year-olds, Terry Carroll has distilled his experiences as a volunteer into a non-fiction novel of humor and dignity.

Set in an upbeat school with a mostly poor student body, the children manage to ace many (but not all) of our society's biggest daily tests. Their voices have a crispness of immediacy as they interact continuously with the narrator -- who is himself like a forty-something fourth grader. He is an insightful but flawed guide, for both the children and the reader. Lucky in life, full of tender wisdom, and quick with improvised solutions while bringing a non-parent perspective to situations, he, nevertheless, has many issues of his own.

Told at an adult level, with mature themes -- at times wickedly funny -- ultimately this is an optimistic story, roiling with emotions. Arriving in an era of contentious disputes over the status of public education in America, Among the Fourth Graders serves as an object lesson in context and circumstance, in which nothing is standardized except outside expectations.

392 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 23, 2013

About the author

I am a writer and photographer, ambidextrous in the two forms since my mid-teens in the 1970s. With both I engage in personal reportage: through non-fiction narrative writing and human-interest photojournalism. Sometimes I mix the two, but mostly I don't. Instead, I attempt to make each medium tell its own stories.

I attended San Francisco State, where I earned a bachelor's degree in creative writing (1982) and a master's degree in American history (1988). A Bay Area native, I grew up in the town of Martinez and have settled in Oakland. I publish through Oakland House Press, which is my own operation.

A confession: I don't read much fiction. As a high school student and college English major I did -- gobs of fiction. But I've come to rely of film for my fictional storytelling medium. In fact, I don't read many books, generally. Mostly what I read are three New York publications: The New Yorker, the New York Times, and The New York Review of Books. I read those constantly, all day, every day. (Heretically, I use book reviews as my means of consuming the gist of what is out there in books.)

Film (and theater -- I subscribe to the Bay Area's American Conservatory Theater and Berkeley Rep.) serves for me as a complete package for narrative and visualization, for both my writing and photography. I'm probably in the wrong venue, here at Goodreads, but I do read constantly ... just not books so much.

So about my book ratings: Most of them are for books/plays/poetry that I experienced years ago, going back to my hungry teen years in the 1970s. My ratings are given as autobiographical impressions of what those books meant to me in my life. Many that I've rated as four or five stars probably wouldn't get such high ratings if I came to them new, now. Also, almost all of my ratings are four or five stars. That's another thing: I don't read books to completion unless I really love them, and I generally don't rate books that I haven't read to completion (do you?). Further, as someone who has produced two books of my own work and have written for publication, I know how incredibly hard the task is; and I believe (maybe naively) that most books are produced from the heart. I don't believe in pissing on the dreams of others, so I mostly only give out good ratings or none at all.

Reviews

[allysther · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full disclosure-my name appears in the long line of people thanked by the author at the end of this book.

That said-

This is a sweetly told tale of a man experiencing fourth grade as an adult. Terry Carroll is a classroom volunteer in the fourth grade at Courtney Elementary. He gets to spend this time learning about the children and assisting them with their daily classroom activities without the bother of actually having to be the one in charge. He knows how lucky he is to have this position and takes the time to get to know each child. Even better he takes the time to introduce the readers to the children one by one throughout their school year.

Is this the best piece of writing I've ever read? No. It is, however, one of the most genuine. I thank Terry Carroll for inviting us along, and for giving us a seat at the back of the class.

[Shainaq · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Among the Fourth Graders" is refreshingly candid. Through Carroll's keen observations I connected with each child in the Bungalow. Carroll expertly captures their emotions, mannerisms, language, attitudes and vulnerabilities. "Among The Fourth Graders" gives us a glimpse into the lives of these young people and helps us understand that despite their sometimes difficult home lives they are incredibly strong and talented. Carroll lovingly tells their stories and shares his triumphs as well as his faux pas. I laughed out loud and cried at times. Carroll clearly demonstrates that investing a little time in kids can make a world of difference.

[Curt Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terry Carroll is a natural storyteller and talented visual artist. Among the Fourth Graders takes the reader into Carroll's life working with young people in San Francisco Courtney Elementary School. The writing is so immediate and rich that I felt like I was there as well and shared the concerns of the fourth graders as they traversed the challenges of school and urban life. What a treasure this book is.