Reading with Patrick: A Teacher, a Student, and a Life-Changing Friendship

*Reading with Patrick* is exactly the kind of inspiration I need at this point in my teaching career—reminders about what teaching is truly about, a plea to teach kids and not content, and even a few ideas on how to tighten up my methodology. But, even more importantly, the book is also exactly the kind of testimony that our country needs. At a time when teachers are still scrutinized, often with suspicion and sometimes even contempt, Michelle Kuo offers a reflection on the true dignity of the teaching profession and the sacred relationship between teachers and their students. She not only humanizes teachers but also the most troubled and disadvantaged of young people.Kuo made me think deeply about our greatest educational injustices. It reminded me a little of Ernest Gaines' *A Lesson Before Dying*, with the notable exception that the teacher role here is played by a willing, eager and optimistic Teach for America educator and you can't help but root for her. I nodded my head at her descriptions of the workings of a poorly run, broken alternative school. I could see so much of my early teaching experiences in the detailing of this one Arkansas school system and her sixty students. I understood completely the love and care that seemed to burn from her, and I appreciated her generous insights into sociology, history and law. The complicated emotions around wanting to stay in the system, however damaging, for the sake her students, though, were easy for me to understand without any further explanation.I took many things away from this book—and it is one I will definitely keep near me to remind me of those lessons—but the most impactful hit me near the very end after reading this lovely passage:"I have to believe that two people can make a powerful impression on one another, especially in a certain kind of place, where so many have left, and in a certain time, when we are coming of age, not worn down or hardened. In these times and places we are fragile and ready."I began the summer reading a novel about a high school teacher (*The Most Dangerous Place on Earth* and it left me thinking of all the missed opportunities we run into—all the students we aren't able to get through to or build a relationship with). It feels fitting that I would end the summer with a book about a high school teacher who made one special connection and fought vigilantly to keep that connection—a reminder that our presence and efforts as teachers DO make a difference.Kuo made me think that my softness, vulnerability and bleeding heart are not weaknesses, and that so long as I can still see myself, just months away from turning 40, as still coming of age, then I am still poised to build relationships with students that are meaningful and authentic and transformative. Kuo may not have taught as many years as I have, but she understands the magic (as well as the struggle) of the role better than most of us. This is a particularly beautiful and illuminating passage:"To know a person as a student is to know him always as a student: to sense deeply his striving and in his striving to sense your own. It is to watch, and then have difficulty forgetting, a student wrench himself into shape, like a character from Ovid, his body twisting and contorting, from one creature to another, submitting, finally, to the task of a full transformation. Why? Because he trusts you; because he prefers the feel of this newer self; because he hopes you will help make this change last."I can't imagine a better validation for the work I strive to honor with every day of teaching I commit myself to; I heartily recommend this book to all my teaching friends, and anyone who believes in the importance of education, literacy, and justice.ONE FINAL NOTE: Kuo includes a generous Author's Note to explain the texts she used to understand the complexity of her and Patrick's situation. It's an excellent reading list for those who are wanting to continue learning about the topics covered in the book.

Almost impossible to believe the devotion one teacher has for a student. Even as teacher teaches the teacher is taught. Intentions to broaden an impoverished young man’s flattened world leads to new self-understanding. A book for those who appreciate introspection about a life of service and who are curious to understand how life’s inherent qualifiers exert influence on another’s life paths yet bend to one’s will to transcend them. Words and poems, but mostly caring presence, open shut doors. Perhaps a tad sentimental in the final three chapters. Ammons’ poem “Easter Morning” becomes a metaphor for important occasions of life that are lived through yet which remain unfinished, and to places and times and people for which one is compelled to keep returning. In the end I sensed the weight of Kuo’s obligation for Patrick’s success. And yet, it is obvious: she succeeds and he succeeds, and no matter what could not be done in those days together on the Delta, a language for hope and to hope was given birth and always remains. We should all be so fortunate to be cared for as Ms. Kuo does Patrick. Her memoir restores my faith in humanity.

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 long after you've turned the page.As an Asian American immigrant whose upbringing was somewhat similar to Michelle's, I treasure the book most of all because of its narrative on race, its descriptions of her family's and her own struggles with racism in America, and how her personal experiences relate to her work as an educator. Growing up, my father told me that everyone would take advantage of me because I was Asian. I refused to believe it. I thought that my denial of it could will it from existing, even as I tried my best to hide my "Asianness" (whatever that meant). As I grew older, I learned about the Chinese Exclusion Act and decried the history of racism against Asians, blacks, Hispanics, etc., but continued to deny the existence of modern-day racism against me, my family, and people like "us." My father's "paranoia" continued to irk me. Michelle's book doesn't hide from any of it. Instead, she admits to her own and her family's vulnerabilities, and challenges the reader to identify shared experiences of racism. Even though the African American experience differs from the Asian American experience, and both groups continue to struggle in their own complicated ways, it's comforting to know that a person's willingness to confront her own vulnerability can lead to some understanding, however shallow, of the vulnerability of others.

There are so many wonderful things I could say about Reading with Patrick. This story is so moving; I couldn’t put the book down! She approaches taboo and difficult topics carefully and with grace.

The greatest teacher, it is said, is one who makes you want to learn. We see this saying personified in Ms Kuo. The author has beautifully captured her experience of teaching in the backward town of Helena. This is a story of hope. Patrick, Ms Kuo's favourite student ends up in prison for an accidental crime. The story of how the author kindles hope and curiousity in Patrick through poetry, literature, history and letter writing is very moving. Beyond the personal stories of the author and Patrick, the book sheds light on the condition of black Americans and the poor state of education and judicial system. Highly recommended.

An insightful and deeply compassionate account of what it is to be a teacher and to try to connect with, understand and build the confidence of those you teach. And a questioning and thoughtful account of how best to make a difference to race relations, poverty and education in the US Deep South.

Enjoyed reading the book. Very thought provoking book.

This was a very touching book. It was good to read about a disadvantaged person from such a sympathetic point of view. Ms Kuo revealed Patrick's faults as well as his virtues, while showing how difficult sustained success can be for someone in his situation.