Tales Out of School: Contemporary Writers on Their Student Years, edited by Susan Richards Shreve and Porter Shreve (2000). From the publisher, Beacon Press: "Sherman Alexie, David Sedaris, and fifteen other writers on their recent experiences in American classrooms Tales Out of School is a luminous collection of diverse and passionate life stories—on-the-ground testimonies of sitting in an American classroom today. Sherman Alexie writes of the "sweet, almost innocent choices that Indian boys [are] forced to make" in school. Stuart Dybek tells his own story of highly instructive Catholic grade-school field trips to the county jail and the stockyards, and David Sedaris narrates a horribly funny account of life underground as a gay eighth grader.
These and other writers contribute original essays that tease out the powerful, flawed, wildly diverse experience of school in America. A book for teachers wanting to understand, parents needing to make decisions, and anyone who's sat in a classroom and can't ever forget it."
Here are the Tales Out of School pages at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Powells.
And here's the Table of Contents:
SUSAN RICHARDS SHREVE INTRODUCTION vii
SHERMAN ALEXIE INDIAN EDUCATION 1
STUART DYBEK FIELD TRIPS 8
CAROLYN FERRELL TIGER-FRAME GLASSES 14
BICH MINH NGUYEN THE GOOD IMMIGRANT STUDENT 33
DAVID SEDARIS I LIKE GUYS 43
CAROLINE KETTLEWELL AUDITORIUM 54
GLO DEANGELIS A CONVERSATION WITH JUDY BLUME 63
FRANCESCA DELBANCO THE PROGRESSIVE BASICS 70
ABRAHAM RODRIGUEZ JR. THE BOY WITHOUT A FLAG 82
MICHAEL PATRICK MACDONALD FIGHT THE POWER 99
NINA REVOYR PUBLIC VS. PRIVATE 116
PORTER SHREVE NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH 128
DAVID HAYNES MAKE ME 142
LOIS-ANN YAMANAKA OBITUARY 154
JEFF RICHARDS LD 164
ASHLEY WARLICK WHAT WE COME ACROSS 176
CHARLES BAXTER GRYPHON 184
CONTRIBUTORS 202
CREDITS 206