What do you think?
Rate this book
The geranium on the window sill just died, but teacher you went right on
Hardback with illustrators from ages 8 to 63 book having 64 pages
60 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1971
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
January 18, 2021
"DEDICATED TO ALL OF THOSE GROWNUPS WHO, AS CHILDREN, DIED IN THE ARMS OF COMPULSORY EDUCATION."
Books like this are the reason I call my Little Free Library the Little Freaky Library. It just brims with weirdness.
March 23, 2019
A book every teacher of children and youth should be gifted. Everything is from the student's point of view and shows how much power teachers have over their students.
February 13, 2024
This isn't a story -- not exactly. It's more of an extended poem. It starts with how a student feels on the first day of school and the describes different feelings of inferiority, desire, aloneness, guilt, identity crisis, confusion, disgust, rejection, shame, bitterness, and sarcasm experienced by students & directed toward their teachers. The book ends with an invitation from student to teacher to learn how to be a child again.
This book is also a compilation of pictures by no less that 29 illustrators fitted with words recalling horrible memories of school. It's almost like a bunch of adults sat down and brainstormed all the bad things that happened in school, and made them into a book pigeonholing teachers and schools.
While this book certainly does make a valid point (students should be subjects, not objects), it is seriously lacking in many other important ways. The books makes its point to the extent that it excludes all else. There is not even a remnant -- a reminder of what good teachers can do.
I think this book does not have a place in the hands of most early elementary schoolers. In many classrooms, the problems in this book are not even issues. I can't see that anything worthwhile would be accomplished by typical kids in healthy classrooms reading this book.
Perhaps one valid use would be in the hands of a sympathetic adult who can discern abuse in a child's school situation. It could be a helpful tool to open up discussion. But even then, I would be wary. Pictures such as one of a girl giving her teacher "the finger" and one of two boys going to the bathroom are big turn-offs.
--Jen
This book is also a compilation of pictures by no less that 29 illustrators fitted with words recalling horrible memories of school. It's almost like a bunch of adults sat down and brainstormed all the bad things that happened in school, and made them into a book pigeonholing teachers and schools.
While this book certainly does make a valid point (students should be subjects, not objects), it is seriously lacking in many other important ways. The books makes its point to the extent that it excludes all else. There is not even a remnant -- a reminder of what good teachers can do.
I think this book does not have a place in the hands of most early elementary schoolers. In many classrooms, the problems in this book are not even issues. I can't see that anything worthwhile would be accomplished by typical kids in healthy classrooms reading this book.
Perhaps one valid use would be in the hands of a sympathetic adult who can discern abuse in a child's school situation. It could be a helpful tool to open up discussion. But even then, I would be wary. Pictures such as one of a girl giving her teacher "the finger" and one of two boys going to the bathroom are big turn-offs.
--Jen
August 30, 2012
This is NOT the book I remember...the copyright date says 1971, but I absolutely remember getting this the first or second year I taught, which would have been 68 or 69. I remember getting a copy for my dad..
This is a new, revised edition. I'll have to find the original, because this one is not the same. The title poem isn't even there.
This book takes a look at a typical school year through the eyes of the students who are trapped in our classrooms. We can be the agent for good or for evil in their lives. And I firmly believe evil triumphs if we as educators aren't fierce in our attention to every student.
The poem that still resonates with me involves the child who sees his teacher outside the school walls. They child says, "Teacher, does this mean that I'm going to be promoted?" What frightening power teachers hold in our hands...saying hello to a child gives him hope -- or ignoring him dashes that hope.
We are reminded, in these pages, how very hard it is to be a student, to have your life at the mercy of a teacher...It reminds us all to be kind and gentle and respectful. I love that Daddy and I each had our own copies of this book. He is the reason I'm a teacher. This book helps me focus on what's important.
This is a new, revised edition. I'll have to find the original, because this one is not the same. The title poem isn't even there.
This book takes a look at a typical school year through the eyes of the students who are trapped in our classrooms. We can be the agent for good or for evil in their lives. And I firmly believe evil triumphs if we as educators aren't fierce in our attention to every student.
The poem that still resonates with me involves the child who sees his teacher outside the school walls. They child says, "Teacher, does this mean that I'm going to be promoted?" What frightening power teachers hold in our hands...saying hello to a child gives him hope -- or ignoring him dashes that hope.
We are reminded, in these pages, how very hard it is to be a student, to have your life at the mercy of a teacher...It reminds us all to be kind and gentle and respectful. I love that Daddy and I each had our own copies of this book. He is the reason I'm a teacher. This book helps me focus on what's important.
June 30, 2021
This is probably the scariest book I've ever read. I read it when I was very young and it disturbed me for a long time. Probably still does. I remember asking my mom why anyone would make such a strange, nightmarish book and she explained that it's about the fear and even terror some kids feel regarding school and teachers and learning hard lessons. It's great. It's well done. But it's unsettling. DO NOT READ THIS BOOK ON LSD.
February 13, 2009
Life long learners can learn even more from kids!
January 22, 2017
It's strange, it's random (as is the 70s), and I found it at Goodwill. Buried treasure if there ever was.
February 27, 2025
Bizarre vignettes of school experiences from little kids. The illustrations are by various artists, some I like more than others but all seem to suit the book quite well.
I don't know how to feel about this. Yes it's weird but weird is good. The text however felt a little upsetting. I know this is an old book but the relationship these children had with their teacher seem quite concerning. It was almost unsettling to see how powerless they all felt and how normalised it apparently is.
I never had that sort of relationship with my teachers, thankfully.
PS: I live for those surprising find at my local bookbox.
I don't know how to feel about this. Yes it's weird but weird is good. The text however felt a little upsetting. I know this is an old book but the relationship these children had with their teacher seem quite concerning. It was almost unsettling to see how powerless they all felt and how normalised it apparently is.
I never had that sort of relationship with my teachers, thankfully.
PS: I live for those surprising find at my local bookbox.
November 2, 2022
This book is dedicated to "all of those grownups who, as children, died in the arms of compulsory education." The text is unappealingly didactic (one or two stars), but, oh! the illustrations are excellent. 29 different illustrators contributed to this picture book. I have a stack of favorites here, including Stanley Mack, also known as Stan Mack, illustrator and author of a stack of good picture books.
February 12, 2024
Maybe I'm a victim of some of those compulsory education teachers.
Or maybe I am looking through rose-colored glasses.
Or maybe I'm just too old to see the new world real problems.
Maybe I come from a protected, privileged home and background.
But this book was published back while I was still in the government schools.
And yet...
I loved school. I had some marvelous teachers, who instilled in me a love to learn. And I felt I was free to learn and explore and determine the direction of my education, to an extent. Of course, there was the occasional teacher who told us we had to draw some new age art work while I just wanted to color in the lines with realistic colors. Grass was green to me, but they praised the pink-grass artists.
I felt good enough about myself to follow my own path, like they used to say, follow my own drummer. And even with that, I'm a bit of a conformist. I always saw my teachers as having responsibility that not all enjoyed, but it was a job. That was okay, as long as I could learn in my way. I don't think I ever had a teacher I was afraid of. Not even my very stern nursing instructor who was riding the elevator with me one morning. She announced to me that I was late. I thought for just a moment, and then dared to remind her that she was too. Definitely reflected in the overall grade I received that semester, but didn't stop me from doing my best.
So back to the book. Do I recommend it? Well, I'm not a school teacher, which was what I always thought I'd be when I grew up. So my recommendation doesn't come from experience, but just from my own gut feelings. It's not a book I'm going to pass on to anyone.
Or maybe I am looking through rose-colored glasses.
Or maybe I'm just too old to see the new world real problems.
Maybe I come from a protected, privileged home and background.
But this book was published back while I was still in the government schools.
And yet...
I loved school. I had some marvelous teachers, who instilled in me a love to learn. And I felt I was free to learn and explore and determine the direction of my education, to an extent. Of course, there was the occasional teacher who told us we had to draw some new age art work while I just wanted to color in the lines with realistic colors. Grass was green to me, but they praised the pink-grass artists.
I felt good enough about myself to follow my own path, like they used to say, follow my own drummer. And even with that, I'm a bit of a conformist. I always saw my teachers as having responsibility that not all enjoyed, but it was a job. That was okay, as long as I could learn in my way. I don't think I ever had a teacher I was afraid of. Not even my very stern nursing instructor who was riding the elevator with me one morning. She announced to me that I was late. I thought for just a moment, and then dared to remind her that she was too. Definitely reflected in the overall grade I received that semester, but didn't stop me from doing my best.
So back to the book. Do I recommend it? Well, I'm not a school teacher, which was what I always thought I'd be when I grew up. So my recommendation doesn't come from experience, but just from my own gut feelings. It's not a book I'm going to pass on to anyone.
June 21, 2023
Educational theorist Maria Montessori posits that education isolated to the artificial conditions of the institution deforms the learner’s spirit, causing curvature of the soul. She employs the evolution of the school desk as a metaphor for the repressive yoke of institutional education divorced from a child’s natural development and ecological environment. “In such a school, the children, like butterflies mounted on pins, are fastened each to his place, the desk, spreading the useless wings of barren and meaningless knowledge which they have acquired."
After picking up this picture book recommended in the lates issue of NEAToday magazine, I was struck by the parallels! Albert Cullum's The Geranium on the Windowsill Just Died but Teacher You Went Right On paints Montessori's pedagogy in living color! A sobering and compelling must-read for educators of all garden variety!
After picking up this picture book recommended in the lates issue of NEAToday magazine, I was struck by the parallels! Albert Cullum's The Geranium on the Windowsill Just Died but Teacher You Went Right On paints Montessori's pedagogy in living color! A sobering and compelling must-read for educators of all garden variety!
February 3, 2024
Albert Cullum is one of my heroes and this book is one more reason to feel that way. I love these reminders of what it meant to be a child in a classroom with all of the complex emotions that being a schoolchild involves. I do think that all teachers should read this as the school year begins just as a reminder of how much a teacher's attitude towards a child can either enlighten or damage that child's sense of self. I love the idea of using a different illustrator for each page/poem. It made for a real journey through the book. I am so glad that I found this for a dollar on the shelf at a thrift store, I have wanted a copy for years.
August 2, 2017
This book is a delightful collection of poems with accompanying art. These poems highlight how children sometimes feel in school, especially if the teachers and staff don't strive to connect to them. I read this book as a hand-me-down during my first years teaching and it brought me to tears to think that children, my students, might feel so marginalized and unimportant. I keep it on my desk every year to remind myself of what unimaginable power I have in the lives of kids. I recommend every adult who works with kids to read this book and remember that they have real impact every day.
July 30, 2022
I was given this book as a gift when I was 10 years old, decades ago. It is one of only a few books from grade school childhood that still sit on on my bookshelf, and my bookshelf is much smaller now than back then. It is a treasure. The combination of the images and text got in deeply making an indelible, and positive, impact. Over the years, I have shared it with many people who have found it just as insightful and magical.
December 30, 2018
Cynthia found this odd little book while we shopped at Bookends in Kailua. She's excellent at finding rare things that intrigue me. This one is definitely a keeper for every teacher. Actually, it should be a must-read for every adult who needs to be reminded of the harsh realities of childhood.
April 11, 2023
I found this book in the little used bookstore that I frequent and for some reason, I couldn't leave it there. The heartache and the desperateness is palpable in such short poems by such young writers. I can't explain the premise better than the title itself does, so I won't try.
December 3, 2018
Seems like students might feel the same in every age. Interesting book from a seminar.
March 7, 2019
How hard it is for little children to go to school!
February 10, 2021
School is hell for many students. We need to change it.
January 13, 2022
This will remind the reader what it is like to be a child in a classroom.
February 2, 2026
Best book! I gave it to all new teachers - for remembering what's really important.
July 17, 2021
I’ve been pining over their book since I first heard of it and finally, finally, I found a copy in a thrift store.
I love this book because of how quirky and over-the-top it is. Teachers on the 70s were certainly much meaner. But I remember thinking things like this. I remember realizing that the kid world and adult world were very different and adults acted with confidence about my world even though they drastically misunderstood something. I try to remember this in my classroom — I may be missing something huge and cannot just assume I know better just because I’m an adult.
I also recall a time in high school — I don’t remember exactly what happened, but a teacher embarrassed me horrendously with just a word or two. I remember thinking about how teachers might not know how much power they have in the internal life of their students. I burned up with humiliation all day, almost crying, at what this teacher said. I don’t remember what it was, but I know it wasn’t intended to be cruel. It seemed done out of a lack of awareness — brushing me off I think, or acting bewildered or laughing at an answer I gave — something like that. But I hated myself in that moment and wondered if he knew just what his reaction had done to me. I recall one time in which I, as a teacher, misunderstood a child answering a question wrong — I thought he was fooling around and reacted as such only to realize he just didn’t know. He sat there looking uncomfortable while the rest of the kids went to play, and I approached him about it. He cried and cried while I comforted him and apologized. I felt awful in that moment, and of course, teachers are people too. But I don’t want to make that mistake and not even know I’ve made it. I hope that at least when I do screw up, I will notice and have the chance to offer an apology and compassion.
I do still see teachers treat children as sort of ... less than. I try to always remember that children are people, whole people already, and they have worlds that I can only see some of. This interesting little book is a reminder of the power adults have in children’s lives and reminds us to be cautious with it.
I love this book because of how quirky and over-the-top it is. Teachers on the 70s were certainly much meaner. But I remember thinking things like this. I remember realizing that the kid world and adult world were very different and adults acted with confidence about my world even though they drastically misunderstood something. I try to remember this in my classroom — I may be missing something huge and cannot just assume I know better just because I’m an adult.
I also recall a time in high school — I don’t remember exactly what happened, but a teacher embarrassed me horrendously with just a word or two. I remember thinking about how teachers might not know how much power they have in the internal life of their students. I burned up with humiliation all day, almost crying, at what this teacher said. I don’t remember what it was, but I know it wasn’t intended to be cruel. It seemed done out of a lack of awareness — brushing me off I think, or acting bewildered or laughing at an answer I gave — something like that. But I hated myself in that moment and wondered if he knew just what his reaction had done to me. I recall one time in which I, as a teacher, misunderstood a child answering a question wrong — I thought he was fooling around and reacted as such only to realize he just didn’t know. He sat there looking uncomfortable while the rest of the kids went to play, and I approached him about it. He cried and cried while I comforted him and apologized. I felt awful in that moment, and of course, teachers are people too. But I don’t want to make that mistake and not even know I’ve made it. I hope that at least when I do screw up, I will notice and have the chance to offer an apology and compassion.
I do still see teachers treat children as sort of ... less than. I try to always remember that children are people, whole people already, and they have worlds that I can only see some of. This interesting little book is a reminder of the power adults have in children’s lives and reminds us to be cautious with it.
January 29, 2022
An interesting book of how many kids feel left behind in school and even feel like they are a ghost in the classroom from the teacher's perspective. It makes you realize that many kids are left behind in school. Obviously, this is not all the teacher's fault for sure as our classroom sizes have become larger and it's also a two way street between student and teacher. And I'm sure most teacher's are aware of this and try lots of things to reach kids as obviously all kids are different.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews