I Am a Pencil: A Teacher, His Kids, and Their World of Stories

Sam Swope didn't just try to teach these kids to write--he taught them to respect the power of words, to see their own life as stories in the making, and most importantly to understand how the unfolding of one's life is affected by writing about it. At times very moving (imagine being given three specially wrapped words picked just for you as a holiday gift), always as engaging as any novel, this book is must-read. I'd have loved to have someone like Sam teach me to write when I was 10.

Sam Swope's *I Am a Pencil" is the best. A wise, compassionate, and witty book about children's writing and about teaching children, *I Am a Pencil* should be mandatory reading for all entrusted with our young people's imaginative health. Following the same group of children over four years, Swope's account reminds us of all that is wrong with current methods of "standardized" education and all that can be right when a gifted teacher is given relatively free-rein to work his or her magic in the classroom. All parents, educators and citizens should pay attention to this account of real children, instead of listening to a lot of hand-wringing conservative nonsense about, to quote Paul Lynde, "what's the matter with kids these days." Buy this book, read it, and pass it on to others. You won't regret it. Richard Flynn, Editor, *Children's Literature Association Quarterly*

"I Am a Pencil" tells of one man's journey into the creative lives of children who are too frequently dismissed or stereotyped by politicians, bureaucrats, and even some exhausted teachers and administrators. These children are doomed to understaffed, physically deteriorating schools where they are expected at best to struggle with learning elementary English reading and wrtiting, too often taught in rote, mind-numbing ways. They are fortunate indeed when they meet a dedicated teacher or volunteer who has resisted burnout. Few adults consider that these kids are capable of or interested in intelligent, coherent, playful or elegant writing. It seems as though many of us more entitled Americans would prefer to either ignore or to sit in judgement on these children and their families. We are looking for someone to blame. And we are looking for easy answers. Sam Swope was not looking for easy answers when he volunteered to teach creative writing to the children of immigrants to Queens for three years He was not looking for someone to blame. He was not promoting a program or testing a policy. He was on a pilgrimage, a pilgrimage into the hearts and minds of youngsters struggling to make sense of their world, a world their parents didn't entirely understand or navigate well. And he was on a pilgrimage into his own heart and mind, his own fears and hopes for a new generation of Americans. "I Am a Pencil" is not a "how to." It's a "why not." Why not give Jorge, Maya, MeiKai, Rafael and Fatma the chance to master their world through writing well? Why not work for them to get into excellent middle schools by getting involved with parents and administrators? Why not take the risk to care? Mr. Swope doesn't hide behind the mask of authority. He doens't pretend that things are good when they aren't. (You won't find facile cheerleading here.) Neither, however, does his miss any authentic opportunity to celebrate victories, both large and small. It's the very realism of his story that makes it so valuable a companion for those who care intensely about the future of American education. If you are one of them, this is your book.

I AM A PENCIL is a delight. It's an amazing account of teaching creative writing to the children of immigrants. In the end, however, what it really is about is the imagination of changing cultures. As a teacher of writing for over 25 years, this memoir is a rare and honest achievement.

When teacher Sam Swope decides to give the gift of a single word to each of his young immigrant students in Queens,New York, that single word written on a piece of folded white paper suddenly seems as precious and mysterious as some fabulous jewel. More than a gesture, Swope's own gifts, both as a writer and as as a teacher of creative writing, shine through in this marvelously exotic and moving memoir of "everyday" life in an urban classroom. I loved it!