Being with children

In the 1960s, prizewinning writer Philip Lopate went into an urban school to teach poetry and became a part of the school community. Being with Children, first published in 1975 but out of print for many years, is Lopate’s classic account of his relationship to his craft and to his young students. Hailed by the New York Times as “a wise and tender portrait of a small society,” Lopate’s book explores the horrible and beautiful aspects of being with young people five hours a day, and explains why teachers persist in staying with the public schools and trying to make them into places where young people can flower.