Synopsis
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.
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Among the Fourth Graders
Seller: Books From California, Simi Valley, CA, U.S.A.
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perfect. Condition: Good. Cover has light shelf wear &dirtiness. Seller Inventory # mon0003184553
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Among the Fourth Graders
Seller: Books From California, Simi Valley, CA, U.S.A.
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
perfect. Condition: Very Good. Seller Inventory # mon0003179967