At once "a pop culture phenomenon" (Publishers Weekly) and "screamingly funny" (Booklist), Educating Esmé "should be read by anyone who's interested in the future of public education" (Boston Phoenix Literary Section). A must-read for parents, new teachers, and classroom veterans, Educating Esmé is the exuberant diary of Esmé Raji Codell’s first year teaching in a Chicago public school. Fresh-mouthed and free-spirited, the irrepressible Madame Esmé—as she prefers to be called—does the cha-cha during multiplication tables, roller-skates down the hallways, and puts on rousing performances with at-risk students in the library. Her diary opens a window into a real-life classroom from a teacher’s perspective. While battling bureaucrats, gang members, abusive parents, and her own insecurities, this gifted young woman reveals what it takes to be an exceptional teacher. Heroine to thousands of parents and educators, Esmé now shares more of her ingenious and yet down-to-earth approaches to the classroom in a supplementary guide to help new teachers hit the ground running. As relevant and iconoclastic as when it was first published, Educating Esmé is a classic, as is Madame Esmé herself.

Sahara is thrilled to be moving out of the special education class and into repeat fifth grade - at last she is 'normal dumb' and not 'special dumb'. Then her new teacher arrives and, with the aid of some unusual teaching methods, shows Sahara just how clever she actually is.

Offers advice and guidelines on how to expand a child's world through books and reading, introducing three thousand teacher-recommended book titles, craft ideas, projects, recipes, and reading club tips.

In his first nine years as a teacher, Brendan Halpin goes from wide-eyed idealist to cynical, heartbroken idealist. Unique among teaching memoirs, Losing My Faculties is not the story of a heroic teacher who transforms the lives of his hardbitten students; rather, it’s the inspirational and often unpretty truth about people who choose to get up ridiculously early day after day and year after year to go stand in front of teenagers. It’s also a rarely-seen, all-access view of both suburban and urban education, including the ugly truth behind the mythology at a much-hyped charter school.

Best-selling author Esme Raji Codell takes readers through a very different verison of some beloved fairy-tales in Fairly Fairy Tales.

Paris has come for piano lessons, not chopped-liver sandwiches or French lessons or free advice. But when old Mrs. Rosen gives her a little bit more than she can handle, it might be just what Paris needs to understand the bully in her brother’s life…and the bullies of the world. This companion novel to the award-winning Sahara Special is an affecting look at what it means to be your brother’s keeper, and how we hold onto hope when the world seems dark. (Rose-colored glasses optional.)

Learn why today’s best teachers are leaving—from the teachers themselves. Low pay, increased responsibilities, and high-stakes standardized testing—these are just some of the reasons why more talented teachers are leaving the profession than ever before. Drawing on in-depth interviews with teachers all over the country, Katy Farber presents an in-the-trenches view of the classroom exodus and uncovers ways that schools can turn the tide. Farber's findings, which have been featured on Education Talk Radio, Vermont Public Radio, and in the Huffington Post, paint a sometimes shocking picture of life in today's schools, taking a frank look at • Challenges to teacher endurance, including tight budgets, difficult parents, standardized testing, unsafe schools, inadequate pay, and lack of respect • Strategies veteran teachers use to make sure the joys of teaching outweigh the frustrations • Success stories from individual schools and districts that have found solutions to these challenges • Recommendations for creating a school environment that fosters teacher retention Featuring clear analysis and concrete suggestions for administrators and policy makers, Why Great Teachers Quit takes you to the front lines of the fight to keep great teachers where they belong: in the classroom.

"A critical anthology that examines the nature and purpose of the teaching profession in the United States" "" Drawing on first-person accounts and sociological, historical, and literary sources, The Teacher in American Society: A Critical Anthology examines the nature of the teaching profession in the United States and the purpose behind the work of K 12 teachers. In addition to selections from novels and first-person accounts, editor Eugene F. Provenzo draws from a wide range of popular culture sources, including films, cartoons, and YouTube videos to convey not only the work and experience of teachers, but also how teachers are perceived in our society. Features ""Popular and classic selections demonstrate that learning to teach well is a deeply reflective act.Critical questions at the beginning of each reading encourage students to think about teaching in the context of a wide range of cultures, traditions, and teaching [b1] experiences."Further Readings" and "Linking to Popular Culture" sections in each Part opener lead students to a range of resources beyond the text."

This anthology of critical readings (for students about to enter the teaching profession and for those interested in carefully examining schools and schooling) features provocative, engaging authors whose views are politicized, but whose writing and opinions matte - not because they are gadflies, but because their ideas work and their achievements as teachers, principals, and policy shapers are so notable. Educational Foundations: An Anthology of Critical Readings is organized around the following questions: Why teach? Who are today′s students? What makes a good teacher? How should we assess student learning? What does a good school look like? How does one develop a critical voice (in the face of state mandates, administrative edicts, and the continuous cycle of reform and retrenchment)? Alan S Canestrari and Bruce A Marlowe′s answers are bold and refreshing. They eschew the unquestioning compliance so characteristic of new teachers. Also, by taking a hard look at traditional educational practice, they serve as models for the kind of reflective practitioners we hope pre-service students will become when they enter the field. The key feature of this anthology are the readings by authors who have discovered their own critical voices so that new teachers can begin to develop their own. These readings offer a platform for discussion and debate that may be used by instructors to increase student knowledge of pedagogy and to provide authentic opportunities for potential teachers to think critically about teaching and learning.