Way It Spozed to Be

by James Herndon

The Way It Spozed to Be deals incisively with what is still the root problem of ghetto their appalling failure to reach the kids, their obsession with rote learning and imposed discipline, which only drives them further into apathy and rebellion. . . . This book exposes the conflict between image and reality, between the way things "spozed to be" and the way they are.

Genres: Education, Nonfiction, Teaching, School

Paperback

First published January 1, 1968

Reviews

[Maureen · Rating 5 out of 5]

In my town, a few years ago, an alternative high school opened where teens could learn at their own speed, set a schedule that actually gave them time to sleep, and work in small groups. Over a twelve hundred students applied for just over a hundred slots. In this book, Herndon addresses many of the same issues that the students in my hometown are facing today. It is not that children do not want to learn, they want to learn in a way that makes sense to their experience. Watching my own two children go through high school and seeing some the insane teaching methods they were forced to endure, I thought of this book many times.

Don't get me wrong: teachers are our young people's heroes and defenders, for the most part. The system forces them to teach in ways that run contrary to their own beliefs and desires, not to mention good common sense. The schools have become so obsessed with test scores that education is getting lost in the mix, If anything, there is more of a reality disconnect now than when this book was written

[Sara Goldenberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

another book from my childhood that i enjoyed.

[Ed Smiley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a classic in the teacher coping with difficult ghetto schools educational genre. I'd always wanted to read it. The author discovers that everything he is supposed to do doesn't work, and he decides to throw it all out and try something, anything. It is told with considerable humility, compassion and humor.

[Tracy Backer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I came to this book in a very roundabout way - James Baldwin mentioned that he read it and it made a big impact on him, so I wanted to check it out. James Herndon recounts his first year of teaching in such a captivating and relevant way, I could hardly put down the book. I felt totally invested in his students, curious as to how he was going to get through to them and convince them to learn. It's a challenge in the early 1960s, in a mostly urban and black school, which meant (and still means) underfunded and often neglected. Herndon is white and struggles to get through to his black students, who may have other concerns besides school. He tries and for every occasion where he feels he makes a connection or has a success, he is thwarted by an administration that seems to be going through the motions and is sure that their way, which is the way they have been doing it for so long, is the only way. The problem is, their way neglects the students' interests and abilities. And, they do have interests and abilities, and when Herndon is able to tap into them, you see the potential that may or not ever be fully realized. Sadly, little has changed in fifty years for too many students.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although quite dated (it takes place in the mid-60’)s, I think we’re still struggling with how to educate ALL children and meet them where they are and recognize what they bring to the classroom. This was a sad read for me.

[Becca · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you've ever been a teacher, this book will be funny because it's so familiar. It will also be depressing because it's so familiar.

[Vicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

A plea for relevance, creativity, humanity, and other unheard-ofs in the public schools of disadvantaged neighborhoods.

[Bruna Dias · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this book the author describes his official first year teaching and exposes a lot of nonsense that can be found in a school.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a funny and insightful look into the life of a junior high school teacher. It takes place in the 1960s but many of the events described are still happening in classrooms all over America. If it were a dry academic ethnography it likely wouldn't add a lot to what most people might assume about certain teachers of a certain era, but Herndon delivers a warm narrative that is hard to dismiss.

[Jean Nunnally · Rating 3 out of 5]

A year of teaching in an ghetto junior high school by a brand new teacher in the 1960’s. Both funny and sad to see how the establishment is often illogical but mostly how it treats the kids it deems unimportant.

[Miriam Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book gave me a point of view I would not otherwise get as a teacher. I read it during homeschooling years; it helped convince me we were on the right path.

[Oma Eagle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have 1968 edition