Letters to a Young Teacher (Hardcover)

by Jonathan Kozol (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Forty years ago, Death at an Early Age catapulted Kozol into national prominence as a compassionate yet clearheaded observer of the rotten state of American education. His latest book reviews many of the basic issues he has spent his life exploring through teaching and writing. Here, he cleverly weaves his observations—as well as a thinly disguised biographical memoir—into a series of 16 letters written to Francesca, a first-grade teacher at an inner-city public school in Boston. Overall, the book will delight and encourage first-year (or for that matter, 40th-year) teachers who need Kozol's reminders of the ways that their beautiful profession can bring joy and beauty, mystery and mischievous delight into the hearts of little people in their years of greatest curiosity. But his encouraging words rarely lapse into treacle. In fact, he offers tough observations on American education addressed to a larger audience. His forceful opinions are convincingly argued—most notably, that educational vouchers will deepen divisions between diverse groups in racially decided cities; that middle schools demoralize students and should be abolished entirely; and that the Gates Foundation made a damaging mistake in aggressively funding a small school craze that will reinforce the racial isolation of the students they enroll. (Sept.)
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From Booklist
Acclaimed author Kozol began a correspondence with Francesca, a young first-year teacher at an inner-city school in Boston. His letters offer a revealing, heartfelt look at the state of education and his own joy and agony in reporting on it. The letters provoke recollections of his early days as a teacher and, as a reporter, the humbling experience of visiting classes and maintaining relationships with the people on the frontlines of teaching, while he observes and writes. Kozol offers encouragement, advice, reflection, and admiration for all the teachers like Francesca, who pour their souls into their jobs. The letters explore the challenges of teaching in the inner cities: bureaucracies and standardized tests that take the creativity out of teaching; distrustful, defiant children who take away time and attention from those who want to learn; the heartbreaking irony of teaching diversity in schools that are clearly racially segregated. A beautiful book that offers an intimate look at the challenges and joys of teaching and one that will inspire and inform teachers and all those interested in public education. Bush, Vanessa

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Crown (August 21, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307393712
• ISBN-13: 978-0307393715
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #315,771 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Thought-provoking in places, April 25, 2008

By	Canadian Reader "Canadian Reader" (Canada) - See all my reviews

This is a worthwhile read. There are ideas, which, while not exactly new, are refreshing--for example: the assertion that teaching is an art, not a science and that the creativity and personality of the teacher matter (allowing a sort of alchemy to take place). Kozol's comments on teachers' enslavement to standardized tests and to teaching standards in general certainly resonated for me. Having said that, I found the tone of the book occasionally pretentious and the format--only Kozol's letters to the teacher and not the teacher's missives to him---rather forced and artificial. This is not Rilke's Letters to a Young Poet, on which, I suspect, Kozol's text is modeled. I think collection of personal essays would have been a more natural fit.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A thoughtful gift for a new teacher, September 7, 2008

By	S. Kay Murphy "Heretic" (Mt. Baldy, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Letters to a Young Teacher (Paperback)

At this writing, this book is averaging four stars in terms of reviews, and I think that's about right. As a high school English teacher, I found some sections--especially those regarding standardized testing and how public education does not address the needs of poor children--quite compelling and validating. However, as another reviewer mentioned, I had difficulty with Kozol's tone at times, which seems just a bit condescending and does not match the acceptance and warmth he alleges to share with children. Well, I suppose there are those of us who get on much better with young people than we do adults. I do appreciate Kozol's wisdom and especially his willingness to toss aside what administrators dictate and teach in a manner that is in the best interest of the children. That is perhaps the most abiding lesson in this book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tells it like it is, June 27, 2008

By	L. Jones "arts advocate" (Nashville) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As one who works with teachers and visits inner city school classrooms on a regular basis, I can say that Jonathan Kozol accurately describes the problems in our schools today. He convincingly demonstrates that "No Child Left Behind" not only fails to promote real, sustainable school reform, but actually supports the forces driving schools (and society) back to segregation and inequality not so different from the time before Brown vs. the Board of Education. At the same time, his letters celebrate the many ways that innovative teachers instill hope and a love of learning in their young charges, despite these conditions. Every teacher would find some value in this book, because practices like the ones Kozol describes are not taught in many schools of education today.