Reading with Patrick: A Teacher, a Student, and a Life-Changing Friendship
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.99 (612 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 081299731X |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 320 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2014-08-18 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Years later, on the eve of her graduation, she learns that Patrick has been jailed for murder. In this stirring memoir, Kuo, the child of Taiwanese immigrants, shares the story of her complicated but rewarding mentorship of one student, Patrick Browning, and his remarkable literary and political awakening. Little by little, Patrick grows into a confident, expressive writer and a dedicated reader galvanized by the works of Frederick Douglass, James Baldwin, Marilynne Robinson, W. In her time reading with Patrick, Michelle is herself transformed, contending with the legacy of racism and the question of what the privileged owe to those with bleaker prospects.Reading with Patrick is an inspirational story of friendship, a coming-of-age story for both a young teacher and a student, an expansive, deeply resonant meditation on education, race, and justice in the rural South, and a love letter to literature and its power to transcend social barriers.. Fifteen and in the eighth grade, Patric
"A book that doesn't offer platitudes or easy answers" according to R Kanakia. Normally I am very cynical about all these people who talk about the liberal arts education and the benefits of humanism, etc. I mean I love to read, but sometimes these claims feel as laughable as when sci-fi nerds say that watching Star Trek makes you a better human. I mean if education in the humanities is really necessary for someone to be worthwhile, then obviously most people are not living worthwhile lives, because most people care nothing for books. And that's not a conclusion that I can support.In . Couldn't Put This Book Down! shg19 What a powerful story that is so lovingly crafted. Can't put this book down and have been binge reading this for the last day. Very honest, nuanced story about teaching in America. Has a lot of angles going on (think hillbilly elegy meets Work Hard Be Nice). The core story of Patrick is infused with empathy and warmth and the love of literature and reading shines through. I can't believe this is a first novel. The pacing is spot on and the writing is punchy and evocative. We need more books like this--books. I love memoirs and biographies I love memoirs and biographies, and Michelle Kuo's Reading with Patrick shines even among some of my favorite books in this genre. The students that Michelle describes with tenderness and love are complicated and interesting individuals whose perspectives on race and family, education and literature, history and social justice are incisive and deeply illuminating. The story is compulsively readable, and the snippets of prose and poetry -- written by students and authors alike -- are gems that stay with you
Kuo knows the complications and the limits of helping, but she is brave and generous and stubborn enough to do it anyway."—Larissa MacFarquhar, author of Strangers Drowning. Advance praise for Reading with Patrick“This book is special and could not be more right on time. It is also an empathic story of connection: between a dedicated teacher and her student, between history and our current times, and between literature and life. Reading with Patrick is a significant work that could swell the ranks of highly motivat
The daughter of Taiwanese immigrants, Michelle grew up in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Michelle Kuo taught English at a school in the Arkansas Delta for two years. Currently she teaches courses on race, law, and society at the American University of Paris. After teaching, she graduated from Harvard Law School and worked