Zigzag: A Life of Reading and Writing, Teaching and Learning

by Tom Romano

I am not a natural-born teacher. I am not a writer of ease and facility. I've done a lot of zigzagging to get where I am. . . . I have to rethink, replan, revise. Adjusting my balance and positioning is ongoing. We ask our students to write authentically, in their own voice. We validate their knowledge and their experiences. We want them to know the depth and joy of a lifelong love of reading and writing. In Zigzag Tom Romano writes his life, creating a model for us of the power that words - written, spoken, heard, read, taught - can have in shaping our professional, personal, and spiritual lives.Tom Romano has long been known for writing with one of the most distinctive and compelling voices in the field. Beginning with scenes of waxing the floor of his father's beer joint, Romano shows us how his voice evolved over time, how he found simpatico voices among friends, family, mentors, and literary writers, and how he wended a long, twisting road to helping students find their own voices. We have long cherished Romano's Clearing the Way , and here he shows us that the journey to that book led him down the same kinds of hallways we have walked, into the same kinds of classrooms we have taught in. In Zigzag we also see how the episodes of Romano's life led him to discover the dynamic fusion of imagination, voice, and content that fuels his celebrated multigenre approach and energizes writing curricula around the country.Romano speaks to us directly, confronting the problems every educator faces, and even years later finding more evidence that success and failure are not opposites but opportunities to learn - always to learn. From student to teacher, Ohio to New Hampshire, from miracle to meltdown to milestones, Zigzag opens a window into the development of a writer, a teacher, a reader, a learner. It is the story of our educational values - sometimes lived easily, sometimes shakily - and of what can happen when we pass those values on to our students.

Genres: Teaching, Nonfiction, Writing, Education

224 pages, Paperback

First published February 27, 2008

Reviews

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Masterful example of memoir! The short snapshots truly heightened the effectiveness of this book. It was only the longer narration that gave me cause to falter my attention. So many wonderful insights on the craft of writing and finding your own story. Loved it.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I picked up Zig Zag, I’m not sure what I was looking for, exactly. What I got was a whole lot of inspiration. I have been fortunate enough to have had Dr. Romano as my methods instructor last year, but reading his book, aside from a visit with a friendly voice, gave me an understanding of something I sensed, I think, at NCTE in Chicago last fall: both teaching and writing are collaborative efforts. Even though we may be alone with the page and alone with our students, it is in the sharing of what we do that we become better writers and teachers.

Zig Zag is not a book about teaching in the sense that Dr. Romano takes the reader through specific ways to teach writing–he does that in his other books, and each day he gets up to teach at Miami University, poem in hand (or head). Instead, this is the story of a teacher who found his way, who jumped into opportunities with faith and fearlessness. That’s all he ever really asked of us, and he is able to do that because that’s how he lives his career.

I eased my way through this one slowly–one or two chapters each night–because 1) I was reading other things at the same time and 2) I wanted to give myself time to think about what I had read, time to make meaning for myself and learn from someone else’s zigging and zagging. It has been a good exercise for me, and I’ve learned quite a bit about who I am and who I want to be as a teacher which, if you ask me, is a pretty good example of the impact words can have.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Romano's books. They're written for teachers, but anyone could pick up one of his books and be excited about writing. If it weren't for the fact that I picked up his first book, Clearing the Way, 3 years ago and started to read it, I'm not sure I would've discovered my passion. He always manages to find a way to get me excited about teaching. I read his words and I just want to get up and start working with kids. While Zigzag was not my favorite book of his, there were still some moments where I found myself smiling in satisfaction at the situation he was writing about or his words in general.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tom is an inspirational teacher, and I enjoyed learning more about the personal and professional "zigs" and "zags" that led him to become the man he is. I could relate to the book as a fellow person from a small Ohio town, English teacher, and Miami alum. Very interesting!

[Penny · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fabulous memoir... each essay is written with such care and clarity. I found myself wanting to write in response.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Remarkable book. I was moved to write Dr. Romano as soon as I finished reading.

If you are a thirty-something, male English teacher in the midst of a PhD program, this book is for you!

[Trisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked it so much, I bought some of his older writings.