No Place but Here - Hardcover

Keizer, Garret

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0670814989 ISBN 13: 9780670814985

Publisher: Viking, 1988

Synopsis

Provides trenchant commentary on, and anecdotes about, the trials and triumphs of teaching in a rural community, reflecting on the challenges of the teaching profession and the ability of a teacher to make a difference

About this title

Reviews

The Northeast Kingdom, in rural Vermont, is not only "an amenable place to settle," but evidently a fine place to be a teacher. Keizer, an Episcopal minister, writes here about his seven-year teaching career at Lake Region Union High School and his students, who present special challenges arising from the isolation of farm communities. In his warm, anecdotal narrative Keizer shows how an artful iconoclasm in the classroom promotes sprightly discussion and, sometimes, a change in outlook among students. One such class involves the study of mythology, made immediate by Keizer's stories of his own bouts with the mythology surrounding the "facts of life," and we see the amusement and understanding of the farm-wise students. There are the usual bureaucratic frustrations, professional defeats and victories, but the good fit of teacher and student as recounted here speaks of a true vocaton.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

In Keizer's compassionate and articulate narrative based on his experience teaching high school English in Vermont, he examines fundamental issues ranging from the philosophy and role of education to student mores and the salaries of teachers. Although the focus is on rural education, the topics discussed are intrinsic to education everywhere. One can only hope that the majority of teachers are as sincere and sensitive as Keizer. Whether pedagogists and lay readers agree or disagree, they will enjoy Keizer's tale and his unpretentious, often humorous writing style. L.R. Little, Penticton P.L., British Columbia
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Viking
• Publication date: 1988
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0670814989
• ISBN 13: 9780670814985
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32