The Water Is Wide - Pat Conroy

I finished this book ... and I LOVED it! There is a little language and they use the "N" word a bit, which I am not generally a fan of, but the story is fascinating.

Conroy wrote the original book in 1972 and is in autobiographical. He spends a year teaching on Daufuskie Island off the coast of South Carolina. All of the students are black and descended from slaves. They have minimal to no contact with people on the "mainland" and know little about life off the island.

As Conroy soon learns, his students range in age from 10 to 13 ... and the majority are illiterate. Some can't count to ten. He struggles with ideas and techniques on how to reach these children. They have no idea what the capital of South Carolina is or who is the current President of the United States.

Several moments stand out in the book. He brings in music and spends an entire day moving through different music and evoking emotion on each one. Later in the book, the kids are treated to a concert from a pianist who goes through the songs they learned. They giggled and shouted in unison ... Beethoven, Mozart, Brahms. Conroy brings animals, maps, countries, world leaders, and more into the classroom. The previous teacher is continually irritated because he won't teach the assigned curriculum. Yes, because that has been so successful!

The best part of the book for me came when he took them to the mainland to participate in a Halloween carnival. Costumes were found. Rides were offered. Families opened their homes and made sure these kids LOVED their first ever Halloween. Remember ... in the South in 1972 ... this was not the norm.

It can be so amazing to see things through the eyes of a child ... and he does a fantastic job allowing you to see and hear these children as their eyes are opened to the world.