The Education of a Teacher by Susan Van Kirk

I think this book falls into the category about how a small town changes over the decades. The 1960’s were about rock music, Vietnam, and the sex revolution. Then came the 1980’s, with the crack epidemic, crime, teen pregnancy becoming less of a stigma, and some good things too, like computers. The dynamic is that this is in a small town, not a city.

In the early 1970’s, Susan Van Kirk is young, green, and living in Monmouth, Illinois, a time and place where teaching is considered “woman’s work.” The very worst thing for her is “fighting” between farm boys, nothing more. But in the 1980’s, a student comes to her for help because her foster parent is coming into her room at night and “taking liberties.” In the 1970’s, a teen would not have been likely to tell a teacher about this, and would probably have been advised to keep it hushed.  I guess there was one good thing about the 1980’s, in that we were moving away from victim-blaming.

One poignant story in this book is about a black student, a true “minority” in a dominantly white town, torn between sports and academics.  He opens up about how he actually dislikes football; it’s the macho coaches pushing him into it, but his real talent is in computers. Here we see the transition towards technology in American life, and the stigma that was attached to it. In the 1980’s the computer scientist was the pencil-necked geek with 50’s glasses and a pocket protector, not the stylishly dressed hippy with torn jeans and lots of tattoos, making big money on the internet. But a “tough” black boy teaching himself advanced programming, now that’s a minority within a minority.

What’s missing from the book is the physical change of the town.  She admits early in the story that it became a college town after decades of farming. But how did it effect the kids? There must have been some transition as well from the factories. Did they close? Did the town lose jobs? She makes it clear in the intro, this is not going to be “Dangerous Minds” or “Freedom Writers.” It’s a small town, not a blighted city. But it couldn’t have all been good.

Van Kirk dislikes the NCLB law. She left before it came about, and transitioned to teaching at a local college. There used to be more expected from teachers, and they were trusted more. Now the teaching is towards the tests, and the teacher can’t make things fun. I also suspect that in a small town it’s easier to get a part-time job for a teenager, like the chapter “Mister Detroit.” The boy husks corn for money, a job you won’t see in New York City. But I promise you, my worst students would’ve loved that job.

Perhaps when you have sports and work, the kids have a better focus for their energy?