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The Emergency Teacher by Christina Asquith
I finished this book on September 22, 2011
Before I get all detaily let me just say this book...a non-fiction book about teaching made me cry! OMG
Recently, I have been thinking about a career change by moving into education. When I was in college I had a concentration in education but decided then that I would not be in a traditional classroom due to the bureaucracy issue in the local school district and the plight that most of the children in it faced. However, as of late, I though---hey maybe I had it all wrong. That's why I picked up this book to read as a non fiction book special interest/no self help book. Boy was it a right choice.
The book follows a young journalist turned teacher. The journalist was able to sign up and become a teacher with no training and without taking an official exam. This title is called "emergency teacher" and it's a solution that many large school districts embrace to address the crisis of high teacher drop out rates and schools who do not have enough teachers to teach all classes. Important to add: Ms. Asquith (journalist) ended up working at one of the worst schools in one of the worst neighborhoods in the district. This school had a bilingual program that attracted her. With no experience she dove(if you prefer dived. Lo siento
) head first into a class room with children plagued by poverty, violence, drugs, poor education, behavioral and mh problems, terrible attitudes and most importantly a school system that swept things under the rug by passing illiterate children along.
This school seemed more like an older child day care than an education system. Ms. Aquith despite thinking she would fail, losing a long term relationship with a man who was supporting her through all of this and feeling like she did not make a difference...Ms. Aquith made it through a school year. After that she left, but continued to follow some of students a few years after.
SO why did I cry? Because AF was near? LOL I doubt it. It's because I had been through similar things as this woman except in a social service agency dealing with the exact population. One thing she learned that I also learned after a while was that she could not save these kids. It's a tough lesson to stumble across when you are fresh or not so far out of undergrad raging with post adolescent idealism. Eventually reality sets in and you have to make your choices and make them wisely.
I give this book 5 stars poignant, relevant and hopeful despite the topic Christina Asquith is a vivid writer who knows how to dig into the core of the matter not sparing even the tiniest of details. I would recommend this to anyone who decides to teach whether first year right out of school or especially those deciding to do so as a career change.
I myself have decided I made the right choice in the first place, but I haven't given up on the education field just yet.
The Emergency Teacher by Christina Asquith
I finished this book on September 22, 2011
Before I get all detaily let me just say this book...a non-fiction book about teaching made me cry! OMG
Recently, I have been thinking about a career change by moving into education. When I was in college I had a concentration in education but decided then that I would not be in a traditional classroom due to the bureaucracy issue in the local school district and the plight that most of the children in it faced. However, as of late, I though---hey maybe I had it all wrong. That's why I picked up this book to read as a non fiction book special interest/no self help book. Boy was it a right choice.
The book follows a young journalist turned teacher. The journalist was able to sign up and become a teacher with no training and without taking an official exam. This title is called "emergency teacher" and it's a solution that many large school districts embrace to address the crisis of high teacher drop out rates and schools who do not have enough teachers to teach all classes. Important to add: Ms. Asquith (journalist) ended up working at one of the worst schools in one of the worst neighborhoods in the district. This school had a bilingual program that attracted her. With no experience she dove(if you prefer dived. Lo siento
) head first into a class room with children plagued by poverty, violence, drugs, poor education, behavioral and mh problems, terrible attitudes and most importantly a school system that swept things under the rug by passing illiterate children along.This school seemed more like an older child day care than an education system. Ms. Aquith despite thinking she would fail, losing a long term relationship with a man who was supporting her through all of this and feeling like she did not make a difference...Ms. Aquith made it through a school year. After that she left, but continued to follow some of students a few years after.
SO why did I cry? Because AF was near? LOL I doubt it. It's because I had been through similar things as this woman except in a social service agency dealing with the exact population. One thing she learned that I also learned after a while was that she could not save these kids. It's a tough lesson to stumble across when you are fresh or not so far out of undergrad raging with post adolescent idealism. Eventually reality sets in and you have to make your choices and make them wisely.
I give this book 5 stars poignant, relevant and hopeful despite the topic Christina Asquith is a vivid writer who knows how to dig into the core of the matter not sparing even the tiniest of details. I would recommend this to anyone who decides to teach whether first year right out of school or especially those deciding to do so as a career change.
I myself have decided I made the right choice in the first place, but I haven't given up on the education field just yet.
