Rating: 
Summary: Terrific!
Review: Pat Conroy never disappoints
Rating: 
Summary: Teachers will love this book
Review: Pat Conroy's "The Water is Wide" is an early work of his that talks about his teaching career on a Carolina sea island with gullah children of very little education. Teachers will find this inspiring. I loved how he told the status-quo maintaining administration to go to hell! As always, Conroy's prose and understatement is terrific.
Rating:
Summary: All veteran teachers should make time to read this book
Review: Pat Conroy's teaching experience on an impoverished South Carolina island in 1969 is reminiscent of Eliot Wigginton's situation in Rabun County, Georgia, during the same time period. (Read Wigginton's book, _Sometimes a Shining Moment: A Foxfire Experience_, if you can locate it.) In each instance, a well-meaning and hopeful young teacher was dropped into what seemed to be an almost impossible educational situation -- an isolated community with seemingly backward students, nonexistent funds for decent materials, and goals and textbooks that didn't come close to meeting students' needs. In Conroy's case, the added strains of regional racism and administrative power games were too much to overcome, and he had to leave after serving a little more than a year there. And yet, _The Water is Wide_ is a humorous book. We laugh at the white teacher's ignorance of the Gullah children's lifestyles, and we laugh at the children's reactions to the facts he tries to teach them. It's one "fish out of water" gag after another, so to speak. We applaud Conroy's dismissal of the educational chain of command and we cross our fingers that field trips to the mainland will come off without a hitch. We hope that the students will be better off than they ever were before his arrival; for this commentary on one year at one small elementary school stands for all the rest of us, across time, at all the other schools in the nation. The most disturbing fact here is that those of us working in public education today can easily recognize practices that we still have to deal with: superintendents as dictators; ineffective or intimidating school boards; administrators who rule from afar and never set foot in any classroom. Most of us squeeze the living daylights out of the scantiest of budgets and rebel against the pressure to see the kids as testing statistics rather than human beings. It's all right there, in Conroy's book, and it's still in our schools today. So you can read his words and say to yourself, "Geez, at least we don't have it THAT bad," or you can find yourself commiserating with him and saying, "Wow. We're not that different. I hear you, Pat. Go for it." "Conrack" may not have made as much of a difference in his students' lives as he would have liked. (Who among us does?) But Pat Conroy has given teachers an inspirational, impactful story: one we can learn much from.
Rating:
Summary: And the children shall teach us
Review: Published in the 1970's, "The Water Is Wide" was the first of author Pat Conroy's novels to be adapted for the big screeen, that project being "Conrack," starring Jon Voight. Conroy's uproaringly hilarious and, at the same time, heartbreakingly honest and moving story-telling should be read first to catch the spirit that the film doesn't totally harness. Conroy spent a year on the improverished, virtually isolated and forgotten Yamacraw Island off the South Carolina coast as teacher to an economically and socially devastated group of children, most African-Americans, that the outside world seems to have cast off and neglected until Conroy reaches shore. Little does he know on arrival just how desperate his pupils lack even the basics of life, and he gets a clue when his children, unable to pronounce their teacher's name, instead come up with "Conrack." But through an ingenuity as an educator and an even greater gift to tap into the souls of his destitute pupils, Conrack manages to lift the veil of ignorance and instill in his wards a thirst for knowledge. In powerfully moving story-telling fashion that will invoke both laughter and tears, Conroy teaches us just how much one person can make a difference in a life of another who has been left behind. And at the same time, Conroy manages to instill in his readers a sense of compassion for the status quo that most of us are blessed enough not to endure. Well worth a read once and again, "The Water Is Wide" masterfully bridges the gap between classes and races and implores each of us to exericse our humanity for the good of the lesser of our children.
Rating:
Summary: And the children shall teach us
Review: Published in the 1970's, "The Water Is Wide" was the first of author Pat Conroy's novels to be adapted for the big screeen, that project being "Conrack," starring Jon Voight. Conroy's uproaringly hilarious and, at the same time, heartbreakingly honest and moving story-telling should be read first to catch the spirit that the film doesn't totally harness. Conroy spent a year on the improverished, virtually isolated and forgotten Yamacraw Island off the South Carolina coast as teacher to an economically and socially devastated group of children, most African-Americans, that the outside world seems to have cast off and neglected until Conroy reaches shore. Little does he know on arrival just how desperate his pupils lack even the basics of life, and he gets a clue when his children, unable to pronounce their teacher's name, instead come up with "Conrack." But through an ingenuity as an educator and an even greater gift to tap into the souls of his destitute pupils, Conrack manages to lift the veil of ignorance and instill in his wards a thirst for knowledge. In powerfully moving story-telling fashion that will invoke both laughter and tears, Conroy teaches us just how much one person can make a difference in a life of another who has been left behind. And at the same time, Conroy manages to instill in his readers a sense of compassion for the status quo that most of us are blessed enough not to endure. Well worth a read once and again, "The Water Is Wide" masterfully bridges the gap between classes and races and implores each of us to exericse our humanity for the good of the lesser of our children.
Rating:
Summary: A memoir from a younger Pat Conroy.
Review: Set on a small island off the Carolina shores, where Conroy spent a year teaching a small group of black children, who were so lost in time that the name of the ocean that surrounds their island was unknown to them. This colorful and delightful memoir will warm your heart and open your eyes to a system that has not delivered on its promises. Those promises being, the right to an education funded by taxes and delivered in the appropriate manner by someone who can get the job done. Ever upbeat we find the protagonist working his way into the lives of the children on this all but forgotten island. We watch them attempt to bloom like so many different flowers, and enjoy their trials and tribulations as well as their ability to conquer their ignorance when given half a chance. Different than his novels, PRINCE OF TIDES and BEACH MUSIC, but none the less just as good, this is an endearing and sweet taste of a champion among the children. Kelsana 7/24/01
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Summary: Yamacraw is a precursor to the rest of Conroy's Books
Review: Somebody else already attacked the other reviewer for calling this book a novel. This memoir is fact. But the other writer wrote that Pat Conroy went to Yamacraw Island to fight "institutional racism", blah, blah, blah. That misses the point entirely. Pat Conroy was a native of the South Carolina coast. Being a writer he took the job of being a school teacher at Yamacraw because he wanted to teach. That would give him time to write. And living on Yamacraw would give him something to write about. Pat Conroy is the author of "The Lords of Discipline" , "The Great Santini", "The Prince of Tides", and "Beach Music". Fans of these novels should add "The Water is Wide" to their bookshelves. In this memoir the young Pat Conroy takes a job teaching black children on Yamacraw Island. There is no road there so he takes a boat to work each day. The school kids are pretty much illiterate. Complicit in the neglect of the school-from a materiel point of view-is the headmistress. Representing the status quo do-nothing school board, she is just like the matron in George Orwell's novel "The Clergyman's Daughter". Just like in the same novel, Pat Controy, the bright new school teacher, comes along with some new ideas and is able to achieve some positive results in the classroom. The bureaucrat in the way laments Conroy's efforts. She says he should just beat them. That's the only way to instill discipline she says. I think that Pat Conroy might have come to Yamacraw to live the contemplative live of a writer. But he soon is embroiled in controversy and busy fending off the headmistress and bewildered parents. But his skill as a teacher is he is able to mollify his critics. The apogee of his success is when he organizes his retinue for a field trip to Savannah. This is one of the most enjoyable and most worrisome parts of the book as he and the kids have a great trip, but Conroy must jump through hoops to get the requisite signatures from all of the parents. For some of the kids this is a their first trip off the Island. One should not look upon the people of Yamacraw with pity as I am sure Pat Conroy did not. What ruined their lifestyle, he clearly points, out is the pollution of the Savannah River which wiped out the crab population there and the islander's livelihood. (Probably the crabs have rebounded now with the Clear Water act and other efforts to curtail nitrogen and other emissions.) Rather Conroy's look at the Island is whimsical-i.e. he has a fondness for the winding creek and the expanse of marshes, the live oak forests, and the simple life of the agrarian dweller. He genuinely grows fond the of kids under his kids. As was his goal, all of this provided greater fodder for his memoir. The only criticism I have of Pat Conroy is he seems to have strayed from literature and gone commercial. "The Lords of Discipline" was a great yarn about life at the Citadel. But I refused to read "Beach Music" because it seemed to use the same backdrop of South Carolina as a setting and theme one time too many. Not being a writer with the skills of Faulkner-who kept his focus on one tiny county in Missippi-I think Conroy could have gone elsewhere after he wrote "The Prince of Tides". Maybe he is one of these writers like Tom Wolfe (of Asheville and not the Richmond writer) who can only write autobiographical books.
Rating:
Summary: Yamacraw is a precursor to the rest of Conroy's Books
Review: Somebody else already attacked the other reviewer for calling this book a novel. This memoir is fact. But the other writer wrote that Pat Conroy went to Yamacraw Island to fight "institutional racism", blah, blah, blah. That misses the point entirely. Pat Conroy was a native of the South Carolina coast. Being a writer he took the job of being a school teacher at Yamacraw because he wanted to teach. That would give him time to write. And living on Yamacraw would give him something to write about. Pat Conroy is the author of "The Lords of Discipline" , "The Great Santini", "The Prince of Tides", and "Beach Music". Fans of these novels should add "The Water is Wide" to their bookshelves. In this memoir the young Pat Conroy takes a job teaching black children on Yamacraw Island. There is no road there so he takes a boat to work each day. The school kids are pretty much illiterate. Complicit in the neglect of the school-from a materiel point of view-is the headmistress. Representing the status quo do-nothing school board, she is just like the matron in George Orwell's novel "The Clergyman's Daughter". Just like in the same novel, Pat Controy, the bright new school teacher, comes along with some new ideas and is able to achieve some positive results in the classroom. The bureaucrat in the way laments Conroy's efforts. She says he should just beat them. That's the only way to instill discipline she says. I think that Pat Conroy might have come to Yamacraw to live the contemplative live of a writer. But he soon is embroiled in controversy and busy fending off the headmistress and bewildered parents. But his skill as a teacher is he is able to mollify his critics. The apogee of his success is when he organizes his retinue for a field trip to Savannah. This is one of the most enjoyable and most worrisome parts of the book as he and the kids have a great trip, but Conroy must jump through hoops to get the requisite signatures from all of the parents. For some of the kids this is a their first trip off the Island. One should not look upon the people of Yamacraw with pity as I am sure Pat Conroy did not. What ruined their lifestyle, he clearly points, out is the pollution of the Savannah River which wiped out the crab population there and the islander's livelihood. (Probably the crabs have rebounded now with the Clear Water act and other efforts to curtail nitrogen and other emissions.) Rather Conroy's look at the Island is whimsical-i.e. he has a fondness for the winding creek and the expanse of marshes, the live oak forests, and the simple life of the agrarian dweller. He genuinely grows fond the of kids under his kids. As was his goal, all of this provided greater fodder for his memoir. The only criticism I have of Pat Conroy is he seems to have strayed from literature and gone commercial. "The Lords of Discipline" was a great yarn about life at the Citadel. But I refused to read "Beach Music" because it seemed to use the same backdrop of South Carolina as a setting and theme one time too many. Not being a writer with the skills of Faulkner-who kept his focus on one tiny county in Missippi-I think Conroy could have gone elsewhere after he wrote "The Prince of Tides". Maybe he is one of these writers like Tom Wolfe (of Asheville and not the Richmond writer) who can only write autobiographical books.
Rating:
Summary: You don't realize how good you have it!
Review: The Water is Wide by Pat Conroy is a great book. The Book is about a white school teacher going to Yamacraw Island to teach the deprived black children. The book touches your heart and makes you think how well you have it. You will learn many things from this book like what it is not to have a house, electric, and even a good education. I think that all teachers should read this to understand how much some people love their job and this book can help you improve the way you teach. This book is also shows how if you want something so bad and you work at it you can achieve your goals.
Rating:
Summary: Novel? Not when I read it, it wasn't!
Review: The Water Is Wide is a terrific book, but I'm confused by the many comments that praise it as a "novel." This wasn't written as a novel. Pat Conroy lived the story, and this is the story of his experiences as a teacher on a sea island off South Carolina. He changed some names (of both people and sites) in the book, but fiction this ain't. The book does, however, draw on his wonderful talents, just as his novels do.
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