Welcome to the Aquarium: A Year in the Lives of Children

by Julie Diamond

The loss of veteran teachers with their deep knowledge of children, the successes and failures of different teaching models, and the constraints and possibilities of educational institutions affect schools everywhere. In Welcome to the Aquarium veteran educator Julie Diamond spells out what an experienced teacher knows and shows the magic a veteran teacher works in a classroom.

Tracking the progress of one prototypical collection of kindergarteners as they become a class with a distinct personality of its own, Diamond guides us through the myriad details of classroom life: the organization, curriculum, and relationships that create a unique class culture—a culture that, she eloquently argues, can represent the reality of our social ideals and values.

For parents as well as new and even experienced teachers, Diamond lays out the logic behind the routines and rituals children need to thrive. Like Tracy Kidder’s Among Schoolchildren , Welcome to the Aquarium offers a lyrical look at the hidden structures of life in an elementary school classroom, but from the perspective of an expert insider and educator. 

“A page-turner . . . simply and gracefully written, with so much clarity, such pride, such little intrusion of ego.” – Jules Feiffer

Genres: Education, Nonfiction, Teaching

272 pages, Hardcover

First published November 30, 2008

About the author

Julie Diamond taught for many years in New York City public schools. She has worked in private schools, and taught graduate courses. Currently, she is supervising student teachers for NYU and City College. She has studied print-making extensively.

Reviews

[Phoebe · Rating 5 out of 5]

gave me the uncanny and also very gratifying feeling that Julie was speaking directly to me... truly a teacher book for the ages

[Chris Aylott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Older teachers don't get a lot of good press. Most of the time, they seem to be burnt out or caught in a routine that calcified twenty years ago, but Julie Diamond is a glorious exception.

She makes no claim to perfection, but her teaching is alive because she listens to each year's group of children, following their interests in squirrels or fish and using that to teach reading, writing, measurement and science. I'm all for educational standards -- there are too many schools where teachers don't seem to be teaching much of anything -- but she makes a powerful case that standards should be used as a reminder of what to teach, not as a method of teaching.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Considering I will be sending my kids to kindergarten soon enough, it was a good read to see a year in kindergarten through the eyes of a seasoned teacher. Interesting to read some of the educational theory, especially in kindergarten, with trying to shape kids to test well and how that works (or doesn't work as the case may be) on students so young. Hope my kids will be lucky enough to have a teacher like this one.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really lovely book that takes you through one year in a kindergarten classroom. I loved her descriptions of the kids, the activities, and her ideas about teaching.

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

If I had kindergarten-aged children, I would want for their teacher to be as thoughtful and interested and interesting as Julie Diamond.