James Herndon (1926–1990) was an American writer and educator. He is best known for two memoirs of teaching, ''The Way It Spozed To Be'' and ''How To Survive In Your Native Land.'' He is considered one of the influential 1970s writers on education, among the ranks of John Holt,

George Dennison George Dennison (1925–1987) was an American novelist and short-story author best known for ''The Lives of Children'', his account of the First Street School. He also wrote fiction, plays, and critical essays, most notably his novel ''Luisa Domic' ...

Jonathan Kozol Jonathan Kozol (born September 5, 1936) is an American writer, progressive activist, and educator, best known for his books on public education in the United States. Education and experience Born to Harry Kozol and Ruth (Massell) Kozol, Jon ...

Paul Goodman Paul Goodman (1911–1972) was an American writer and public intellectual best known for his 1960s works of social criticism. Goodman was prolific across numerous literary genres and non-fiction topics, including the arts, civil rights, decen ...

, and Herbert Kohl.(No author.
"Books: Notable" (review of ''How to Survive in Your Native Land'')
''Time'', May 31, 1971. Subscription needed to access full article text. Retrieved 15 July 2013.William van Til
"Crucial Issues in Secondary Education,"
''Theory into Practice'' 15:3, The High School / Promises to Keep (June 1976), pp. 183-190. Link shows only first page to nonsubscribers; however, the reference to Herndon appears in that preview. Retrieved 15 July 2013.Claudia Mitchell
Review of ''Feminist Engagements: Reading, Resisting, and Revisioning Male Theorists in Education and Cultural Studies''
(Kathleen Wiler, Ed.; New York: Routledge, 2001), ''McGill Journal of Education'' 38:1 (Winter 2003), p. 187.Doralice Lange de Souza. ''Holistic education: Learning from the experiences of three holistic teachers''. Unpublished dissertation. Harvard University.Theodor H. Nelson
"No More Teachers' Dirty Looks,"
''Computer Lib'' 1974, 308. Retrieved 15 July 2013.

Writing career

Herndon's first book, ''The Way It Spozed To Be'' (1968), chronicles his first year teaching, in a poor, segregated junior high school in urban California. This book describes his despair at the inadequacy of the school system and his innovative efforts to teach his students to read, which led to his being fired at the end of the year for poor classroom management. Edgar Z. Friedenberg
"The Way We Live Now"
''New York Review of Books'', 10:10, May 23, 1968. Herndon's second book ''How To Survive In Your Native Land'' (1971) centers on Herndon's subsequent decade teaching. Its humorous, Beat style led reviewers to compare Herndon to

Kurt Vonnegut Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American writer known for his satirical and darkly humorous novels. In a career spanning over 50 years, he published fourteen novels, three short-story collections, five plays, and ...

.Richard Locke
"Teaching Kids and Making Do,"
''New York Times'', April 10, 1971. In 1973, Herndon privately published ''Everything As Expected'', an account of his then-wife Fran Herndon's collage collaborations with poet

Jack Spicer Jack Spicer (January 30, 1925 – August 17, 1965) was an American poet often identified with the San Francisco Renaissance. In 2009, ''My Vocabulary Did This to Me: The Collected Poetry of Jack Spicer'' won the American Book Award for poetry. ...

. The Herndons were part of

's circle in San Francisco. ''Sorrowless Times'', James Herndon's memoir of his years as a merchant marine during World War II, was published in 1981. In 1985, Herndon published ''Notes From A Schoolteacher'', further musings on American education, including his reflections on his role as president of his local teachers' union.Joseph Featherstone
"When Douglas Broke The Water Fountain,"
''New York Times'', October 13, 1985.

Bibliography

* ''The Way It Spozed To Be.'' 1968. * ''How To Survive In Your Native Land''. 1971. New edition 1997. * ''Everything as Expected''. 1973. * ''Sorrowless Times''. 1981. * ''Notes From A Schoolteacher.'' 1985.

Notes

Additional references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Herndon, James 1926 births 1990 deaths 20th-century American educators People from the San Francisco Bay Area