The Teachers
A Year Inside America's Most Vulnerable, Important Profession
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Prime members: New to Audible?Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
The Teachers
Buy for $20.25
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Alexandra Robbins
About this listen
***A National Bestseller***
A riveting, must-listen, year-in-the-life account of three teachers, combined with reporting that reveals what’s really going on behind school doors, by New York Times bestselling author and education expert Alexandra Robbins.
Alexandra Robbins goes behind the scenes to tell the true, sometimes shocking, always inspirational stories of three teachers as they navigate a year in the classroom. She follows Penny, a southern middle school math teacher who grappled with a toxic staff clique at the big school in a small town; Miguel, a special ed teacher in the western United States who fought for his students both as an educator and as an activist; and Rebecca, an East Coast elementary school teacher who struggled to schedule and define a life outside of school. Robbins also interviewed hundreds of other teachers nationwide who share their secrets, dramas, and joys.
Interspersed among the teachers’ stories—a seeming scandal, a fourth-grade whodunit, and teacher confessions—are hard-hitting essays featuring cutting-edge reporting on the biggest issues facing teachers today, such as school violence; outrageous parent behavior; inadequate support, staffing, and resources coupled with unrealistic mounting demands; the “myth” of teacher burnout; the COVID-19 pandemic; and ways all of us can help the professionals who are central both to the lives of our children and the heart of our communities.
©2023 Alexandra Robbins (P)2023 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...
-
The Teacher Wars
- A History of America's Most Embattled Profession
- By: Dana Goldstein
- Narrated by: Erin Bennett
- Length: 11 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 18
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 16
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 16
In The Teacher Wars, a rich, lively, and unprecedented history of public school teaching, Dana Goldstein reveals that teachers have been embattled for nearly two centuries. She uncovers the surprising roots of hot button issues, from teacher tenure to charter schools, and finds that recent popular ideas to improve schools—instituting merit pay, evaluating teachers by student test scores, ranking and firing veteran teachers, and recruiting “elite” graduates to teach—are all approaches that have been tried in the past without producing widespread change.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Must Read for Teachers in the USA
- By elyse arrington on 07-08-24
By: Dana Goldstein
-
Poverty, by America
- By: Matthew Desmond
- Narrated by: Dion Graham
- Length: 5 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 856
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 755
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 754
The United States, the richest country on earth, has more poverty than any other advanced democracy. Why? Why does this land of plenty allow one in every eight of its children to go without basic necessities, permit scores of its citizens to live and die on the streets, and authorize its corporations to pay poverty wages?
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A testimonial based on facts and witness
- By Alonzo Nightjar on 03-27-23
By: Matthew Desmond
-
Hidden Potential
- The Science of Achieving Greater Things
- By: Adam Grant
- Narrated by: Adam Grant, Maurice Ashley, R. A. Dickey, and others
- Length: 7 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,372
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,218
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,215
We live in a world that’s obsessed with talent. We celebrate gifted students in school, natural athletes in sports, and child prodigies in music. But admiring people who start out with innate advantages leads us to overlook the distance we ourselves can travel. We underestimate the range of skills that we can learn and how good we can become. We can all improve at improving. And when opportunity doesn’t knock, there are ways to build a door.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Nope
- By Anna OConnor-McClure on 10-27-23
By: Adam Grant
-
Killers of the Flower Moon
- The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI
- By: David Grann
- Narrated by: Will Patton, Ann Marie Lee, Danny Campbell
- Length: 9 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 22,553
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 19,768
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 19,723
In the 1920s, the richest people per capita in the world were members of the Osage Nation in Oklahoma. After oil was discovered beneath their land, the Osage rode in chauffeured automobiles, built mansions, and sent their children to study in Europe.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
An outstanding story, highly recommended
- By S. Blakely on 06-22-17
By: David Grann
-
The Nurses
- A Year of Secrets, Drama, and Miracles with the Heroes of the Hospital
- By: Alexandra Robbins
- Narrated by: Alexandra Robbins
- Length: 10 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 321
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 282
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 282
In The Nurses, New York Times best-selling author and award-winning journalist Alexandra Robbins peers behind the staff-only door to write a lively, fast-paced story and a riveting work of investigative journalism. Robbins followed real-life nurses in four hospitals and interviewed hundreds of others in a captivating audiobook filled with joy and violence, miracles and heartbreak, dark humor and narrow victories, gripping drama and unsung heroism.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Mostly on Point
- By Michael on 03-29-17
-
A Fever in the Heartland
- The Ku Klux Klan's Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them
- By: Timothy Egan
- Narrated by: Timothy Egan
- Length: 10 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 1,148
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,032
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 1,031
The Roaring Twenties—the Jazz Age—has been characterized as a time of Gatsby frivolity. But it was also the height of the uniquely American hate group, the Ku Klux Klan. Their domain was not the old Confederacy, but the Heartland and the West. They hated Blacks, Jews, Catholics and immigrants in equal measure, and took radical steps to keep these people from the American promise. And the man who set in motion their takeover of great swaths of America was a charismatic charlatan named D.C. Stephenson.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
This is a must read!
- By V. Richmond on 04-14-23
By: Timothy Egan
-
The Teacher Wars
- A History of America's Most Embattled Profession
- By: Dana Goldstein
- Narrated by: Erin Bennett
- Length: 11 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 18
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 16
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 16
In The Teacher Wars, a rich, lively, and unprecedented history of public school teaching, Dana Goldstein reveals that teachers have been embattled for nearly two centuries. She uncovers the surprising roots of hot button issues, from teacher tenure to charter schools, and finds that recent popular ideas to improve schools—instituting merit pay, evaluating teachers by student test scores, ranking and firing veteran teachers, and recruiting “elite” graduates to teach—are all approaches that have been tried in the past without producing widespread change.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Must Read for Teachers in the USA
- By elyse arrington on 07-08-24
By: Dana Goldstein
-
Poverty, by America
- By: Matthew Desmond
- Narrated by: Dion Graham
- Length: 5 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 856
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 755
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 754
The United States, the richest country on earth, has more poverty than any other advanced democracy. Why? Why does this land of plenty allow one in every eight of its children to go without basic necessities, permit scores of its citizens to live and die on the streets, and authorize its corporations to pay poverty wages?
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A testimonial based on facts and witness
- By Alonzo Nightjar on 03-27-23
By: Matthew Desmond
-
Hidden Potential
- The Science of Achieving Greater Things
- By: Adam Grant
- Narrated by: Adam Grant, Maurice Ashley, R. A. Dickey, and others
- Length: 7 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,372
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,218
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,215
We live in a world that’s obsessed with talent. We celebrate gifted students in school, natural athletes in sports, and child prodigies in music. But admiring people who start out with innate advantages leads us to overlook the distance we ourselves can travel. We underestimate the range of skills that we can learn and how good we can become. We can all improve at improving. And when opportunity doesn’t knock, there are ways to build a door.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Nope
- By Anna OConnor-McClure on 10-27-23
By: Adam Grant
-
Killers of the Flower Moon
- The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI
- By: David Grann
- Narrated by: Will Patton, Ann Marie Lee, Danny Campbell
- Length: 9 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 22,553
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 19,768
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 19,723
In the 1920s, the richest people per capita in the world were members of the Osage Nation in Oklahoma. After oil was discovered beneath their land, the Osage rode in chauffeured automobiles, built mansions, and sent their children to study in Europe.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
An outstanding story, highly recommended
- By S. Blakely on 06-22-17
By: David Grann
-
The Nurses
- A Year of Secrets, Drama, and Miracles with the Heroes of the Hospital
- By: Alexandra Robbins
- Narrated by: Alexandra Robbins
- Length: 10 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 321
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 282
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 282
In The Nurses, New York Times best-selling author and award-winning journalist Alexandra Robbins peers behind the staff-only door to write a lively, fast-paced story and a riveting work of investigative journalism. Robbins followed real-life nurses in four hospitals and interviewed hundreds of others in a captivating audiobook filled with joy and violence, miracles and heartbreak, dark humor and narrow victories, gripping drama and unsung heroism.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Mostly on Point
- By Michael on 03-29-17
-
A Fever in the Heartland
- The Ku Klux Klan's Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them
- By: Timothy Egan
- Narrated by: Timothy Egan
- Length: 10 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 1,148
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,032
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 1,031
The Roaring Twenties—the Jazz Age—has been characterized as a time of Gatsby frivolity. But it was also the height of the uniquely American hate group, the Ku Klux Klan. Their domain was not the old Confederacy, but the Heartland and the West. They hated Blacks, Jews, Catholics and immigrants in equal measure, and took radical steps to keep these people from the American promise. And the man who set in motion their takeover of great swaths of America was a charismatic charlatan named D.C. Stephenson.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
This is a must read!
- By V. Richmond on 04-14-23
By: Timothy Egan
-
We Were Once a Family
- A Story of Love, Death, and Child Removal in America
- By: Roxanna Asgarian
- Narrated by: Suehyla El-Attar
- Length: 7 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 119
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 107
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 107
On March 26, 2018, rescue workers discovered a crumpled SUV and the bodies of two women and several children at the bottom of a cliff beside the Pacific Coast Highway. Investigators soon concluded that the crash was a murder-suicide, but there was more to the story: Jennifer and Sarah Hart, it turned out, were a white married couple who had adopted the six Black children from two different Texas families in 2006 and 2008. Behind the family's loving facade, however, was a pattern of abuse and neglect that went ignored.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Biased
- By Amazon Customer on 10-05-23
By: Roxanna Asgarian
-
Lessons in Chemistry
- A Novel
- By: Bonnie Garmus
- Narrated by: Miranda Raison, Bonnie Garmus, Pandora Sykes
- Length: 11 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 35,521
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 31,093
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 31,018
Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing as an average woman. But it’s the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute takes a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans; the lonely, brilliant, Nobel–prize nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with—of all things—her mind. True chemistry results.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Making my 3 adult daughters read this
- By Teresa H. on 04-07-22
By: Bonnie Garmus
-
How to Love Teaching Again
- Work Smarter, Beat Burnout, and Watch Your Students Thrive
- By: Jamie Sears
- Narrated by: Jamie Sears
- Length: 6 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 31
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 29
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 29
Our education environment is often stacked against teachers—from insufficient funding and mandatory meetings to red tape and standardized testing. Drawing on real-life struggles from the teachers who have used Sears' strategies to overcome burnout and make the most of their time, How To Love Teaching Again will give you specific steps to stop drowning in to-dos and do the work that inspires you.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Fine for elementary
- By Jill M. Baes on 10-23-23
By: Jamie Sears
-
The Knowledge Gap
- The Hidden Cause of America's Broken Education System--and How to Fix it
- By: Natalie Wexler
- Narrated by: Natalie Wexler
- Length: 9 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 677
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 568
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 555
In the tradition of Dale Russakoff's The Prize and Dana Goldstein's The Teacher Wars, Wexler brings together history, research, and compelling characters to pull back the curtain on this fundamental flaw in our education system - one that fellow reformers, journalists, and policymakers have long overlooked, and of which the general public, including many parents, remains unaware.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Thoughts on The Knowledge Gap
- By cchamberalain on 02-28-20
By: Natalie Wexler
-
The Wager
- A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder
- By: David Grann
- Narrated by: Dion Graham, David Grann
- Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5,095
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,505
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,503
On January 28, 1742, a ramshackle vessel of patched-together wood and cloth washed up on the coast of Brazil. Inside were thirty emaciated men, barely alive, and they had an extraordinary tale to tell. They were survivors of His Majesty’s Ship the Wager, a British vessel that had left England in 1740 on a secret mission during an imperial war with Spain. While the Wager had been chasing a Spanish treasure-filled galleon known as “the prize of all the oceans,” it had wrecked on a desolate island off the coast of Patagonia.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Gasping for Air
- By Jean Engle on 04-19-23
By: David Grann
-
King: A Life
- By: Jonathan Eig
- Narrated by: Dion Graham
- Length: 20 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 643
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 550
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 549
Vividly written and exhaustively researched, Jonathan Eig’s King: A Life is the first major biography in decades of the civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr.—and the first to include recently declassified FBI files. In this revelatory new portrait of the preacher and activist who shook the world, the bestselling biographer gives us an intimate view of the courageous and often emotionally troubled human being who demanded peaceful protest for his movement but was rarely at peace with himself.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
My Time
- By Susan on 06-18-23
By: Jonathan Eig
-
How the Other Half Learns
- Equality, Excellence, and the Battle Over School Choice
- By: Robert Pondiscio
- Narrated by: Robert Pondiscio
- Length: 11 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 132
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 118
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 115
The promise of public education is excellence for all. But that promise has seldom been kept for low-income children of color in America. In How the Other Half Learns, teacher and education journalist Robert Pondiscio focuses on Success Academy, the network of controversial charter schools in New York City founded by Eva Moskowitz, who has created something unprecedented in American education: a way for large numbers of engaged and ambitious low-income families of color to get an education for their children that equals and even exceeds what wealthy families take for granted.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Interesting story about a Bronx charter school
- By Marie on 09-13-19
By: Robert Pondiscio
-
The Happy Teacher Habits
- 11 Habits of the Happiest, Most Effective Teachers on Earth
- By: Michael Linsin
- Narrated by: Mike Norgaard
- Length: 4 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 267
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 220
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 217
What do daffodils, baseball announcing, and Tina Fey have to do with teaching? As it turns out, a lot. In The Happy Teacher Habits, Michael Linsin guides you through 11 little-known habits of the happiest, most effective teachers on Earth.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Skills to benefit you the rest of your life!
- By tarafarah7: Tara Brown on 08-06-17
By: Michael Linsin
-
The Smartest Kids in the World
- And How They Got That Way
- By: Amanda Ripley
- Narrated by: Kate Reading
- Length: 7 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,467
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,244
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,241
How do other countries create "smarter" kids? In a handful of nations, virtually all children are learning to make complex arguments and solve problems they've never seen before. They are learning to think, in other words, and to thrive in the modern economy.What is it like to be a child in the world's new education superpowers? In a global quest to find answers for our own children, author and Time magazine journalist Amanda Ripley follows three Americans embedded in these countries for one year.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
a Wanna-be fiction writer avoids the subject
- By Niall on 11-23-13
By: Amanda Ripley
-
How to Raise an Adult
- Break Free of the Overparenting Trap and Prepare Your Kid for Success
- By: Julie Lythcott-Haims
- Narrated by: Julie Lythcott-Haims
- Length: 12 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,200
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,853
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,836
In How to Raise an Adult, Julie Lythcott-Haims draws on research; on conversations with admissions officers, educators, and employers; and on her own insights as a mother and as a student dean to highlight the ways in which overparenting harms children, their stressed-out parents, and society at large.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Target Audience- Upper-Middle Class
- By Savy shopper on 06-02-16
-
Lost at School
- Why Our Kids with Behavioral Challenges are Falling Through the Cracks and How We Can Help Them
- By: Ross W. Greene PhD
- Narrated by: Nick Podehl
- Length: 10 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 758
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 649
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 650
School discipline is broken. Too often, the kids who need our help the most are viewed as disrespectful, out of control, and beyond help, and are often the recipients of our most ineffective, most punitive interventions. These students - and their parents, teachers, and administrators - are frustrated and desperate for answers. Dr. Ross W. Greene, author of the acclaimed book The Explosive Child, offers educators and parents a different framework for understanding challenging behavior.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Interesting insights
- By AGrady on 07-11-16
-
Permission to Feel
- Unlocking the Power of Emotions to Help Our Kids, Ourselves, and Our Society Thrive
- By: Marc Brackett
- Narrated by: Marc Brackett
- Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,398
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,178
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,160
This program is read by the author.
Marc Brackett is a professor in Yale University’s Child Study Center and founding director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. In his 25 years as an “emotion scientist”, he has developed a remarkably effective plan to improve the lives of children and adults - a blueprint for understanding our emotions and using them wisely so that they help, rather than hinder, our success and well-being. The core of his approach is a legacy from his childhood, from an astute uncle who gave him permission to feel.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Learn to Read
- By Stonerchick on 04-19-20
By: Marc Brackett
Critic reviews
A New York Times Spring Nonfiction Pick
A USA Today "Hottest New Book Release"
A Next Big Idea Club 2023 Must Read
A Kirkus “Most Buzzworthy Book Right Now”
An Oprah Magazine "Best Conversation-Starting Book of the Year"
"Never before have I read any work that so clearly depicts the current realities of teaching in America’s public schools…for those who seek a fuller understanding of what educators are coping with these days, it should prove invaluable. And for those who most need to read it — those in a position to effect change in the lives of conscientious and talented teachers who are considering abandoning the profession — one can only hope that its message will be heeded before it is too late.” —Washington Post
“The Teachers is engaging and impeccably researched.... [It] accomplishes many things — bringing readers into classrooms, showing how politics affect teachers, exposing how awful things like book banning have gotten — but two of its biggest triumphs are eviscerating popular misconceptions about the profession and showing the colossal passion that keeps teachers going…The Teachers is an exposé, sure, but it's also a call to action, and our collective future is at stake.” —NPR
“[A] compelling and highly important book… an engaging, well-researched exposé and call to action that delves deeply into the full lives and experiences of American teachers. For those who teach, this book will ring true on just about every page; for those who don’t, this book is essential reading.” —New York Journal of Books
What listeners say about The Teachers
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance2 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Jhenny
- 09-19-23
Insightful
I think this book is a good window to how and what is going on in the classroom- it helps to humanize the teachers and to see the struggles, I could have done well without the accents and extra of the narrator but overall the content of this book was pretty good, there are many parents and those who are not parents who don’t understand or see the struggles or teachers. The profession which should be prized above all else as that is the most important part of early formation of so many children, yet we neglect them. They are underpaid, not valued and dismissed by our society and we should do better.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars
-
Performance1 out of 5 stars
-
Story3 out of 5 stars
- Danielle Pennel
- 09-18-24
Good mixture of facts and true stories
The voices for some of the teachers were painful to listen to. This was distracting as the listener
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars
-
Performance1 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Living The Dream
- 04-15-23
Do NOT Buy the Audiobook
The absolute worst performance I have ever heard. The book is fine but read it, don’t listen.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- VAResident
- 05-21-23
Spot on…
As a teacher this book provides an accurate portrayal of teacher lives. I wish the epilogue was heard by all stakeholders - especially those who have never stepped foot into a school or classroom for length of time. You have no idea what it is like.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance1 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- SAO
- 07-19-23
Great insight into the teaching profession
I am a teacher and this is spot on. The audio version of this is a little harder to listen to. The accents the reader uses aren’t great. But overall great book!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance2 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Joanna Weaver
- 10-10-23
Stop it with the accents!
Your accent of Penny does not fit the authors description of her personality. It’s very distracting. And her accent changed half way through the first chapter story.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Steven L. Denlinger
- 03-21-23
How To Survive a Teaching Career
Alexandra Robbins delights in burrowing under the surface of things – she did it with nurses, sororities, overachieving students, and now she’s done it for teachers. If you are a beginning teacher, this book will help you figure out the secret rules of teaching that your education professors haven’t told you. It will help you survive as a teacher. I wish I had read this book before I began my teaching career – it would have helped me understand how to navigate the world of education outside the classroom.
I listened to the entire book on Audiobook over four days as I was driving to and from school, cleaning the house, and doing the weekend shopping. Alexandra Robbins catches what feels most true to me – the experience of real teachers trying to survive the system so they can do what they love most, which of course is to teach.
Perhaps its authentic nature comes from the fact that Robbins spent a year working as a long-term sub while researching and writing the book, using her early mornings to write and her late nights to create lesson plans (because she fell in love with her third-grade class). In taking the time to peer under the profession, she captured the emotional roller coaster teachers now face each day as they try to help their students recover from the Pandemic’s impacts.
I have taught in both independent and public schools for over 30 years, and I truly recognized the caring educators she describes – the good, the bad, the ugly, and the superb. She even takes the time to describe the teachers who bully their peers, an experience I’ve faced myself. She captures the parents who drive all of us crazy – who steamroll you and your non-teacher wife at a theater production with long conversations about how their child is so awesome, who treat you as a servant who should respond to an email command immediately, and who cannot seem to realize they are dealing with real human beings. The hard-hitting essays that come between the stories — my favorite fun fact was the massive impact a qualified librarian can have upon graduation rates within a school — are worth the price of the book alone.
I recommend this to teachers who wish to survive the industry, those who love teaching and wish to complete their careers but feel discouraged, even principals and superintendents and central office leaders who want a refresher course on what it’s like to see a class through a teacher’s eyes.
The book’s most profound insight emerges when Robbins shows through her stories what I think is the essential problem at the heart of education today — that because most teachers are nurturers by nature, and because too many administrators believe leading means demanding more from their subordinates, you end up with a pecking order in which teachers are essentially helpless and voiceless at the bottom of policy discussion, some even bullied within a toxic work environment by the building leaders who should be protecting them. Thus, because teachers are usually overwhelmed with work, they don’t have the emotional bandwidth to defend themselves strategically. Most respond by just trying to stay out of their admin’s way so they can do their job. In a marriage, you call that domestic abuse – in the teaching profession, it seems to be a best practice.
Finally, Robbins does an excellent job narrating her own work: her varied voices are excellent, and the sound editing is superb. If you are a teacher, parent, or educational leader who cares about education, you must read or listen to this book. In the current social media bubble – a place where teachers are disrespected and abused by conservative thought leaders – hers is a voice that needs to be heard and her solutions implemented.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Linda Dunn Eng
- 07-04-23
Read with an open mind
The book really does illustrate the highs and lows of education. I could listen to it in chunks, then ponder what the author was saying and move on. The voices didn’t bother me at all.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mr Chad Peterson
- 05-18-23
Insight into a very real struggle
As a spouse of a teacher and a parent of two school age children, the author delved into the lives and challenges of educators in a meaningful way. Many of us have no idea of the struggle our education system makes it for teachers to do their jobs.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Fernando
- 04-20-23
Essential book to understand the teaching profession
I found the book very informative and fair. It’s also quite frustrating to see how society treats teachers.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful