Ric Klass' varied career ultimately led him to become an urban high school math teacher. His book, Man Overboard, chronicles the sad, comical, frustrating and occasionally frightening daily routine endured by a change-of-career do-gooder. Klass's portrayal of his "Crash and Burn" attempts to help underprivileged inner city kids is inspiring. Despite the tortuous obstacles inflicted by school administrators, the little darlings themselves, and his own uncontrolled anger--Klass eventually finds salvation for himself and some of his students. A candid tale, Man Overboard, will take you on an eye-opening ride into our misguided public educational system. You'll find out why our schools don't succeed and why only teachers who are a little overboard themselves jump into the fray.
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About the Author
Ric Klass has had a diverse career as an aerospace engineer, market researcher, economic consultant, entrepreneur, university lecturer, filmmaker, and investment banker before becoming a math teacher in public high schools in the Bronx. Klass lives in Westchester County, New York, with his wife, son, daughter, and golden retriever, Hunter.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Man Overboard" reads like a war correspondent's journal,
By noel49 (Original, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Man Overboard: Confessions of a Novice Math Teacher in the Bronx (Paperback)
Ever have a little voice in your head saying, "maybe I could dump my successful career and go into teaching to help some underprivileged kids?" Before you do, read "Man Overboard" by Ric Klass. Ric Klass' heart was in the right place, but there was no place for anyone with a heart in the Bronx.
There may well be worse school systems in the country (such as East L.A.) but there may be none, if any, that need the help of someone so capable and so willing as badly. The south Bronx is a ghetto, and a ghetto is both a neighborhood and a jail sentence. Any and all who live there have to contend with surviving life at the bottom while trying to raise themselves up. And anyone who attempts to teach there has to contend with what that life is like there, not just getting something as crucial and challenging as math across to high school students who could never pass a state test in the subject - at any level. In "Man Overboard," Ric Klass very humorously chronicles his attempts to actually achieve math instruction by improving both the kids' understanding, as well as his ability to actually function in that kind of environment. The bureaucracy that fights him at every step sounds like something out of a Monty Python movie - with only four minutes between classes, teachers are nonetheless given room assignments all over the enormous school buildings, barely leaving them WC time. Each time Klass tries to change things for the better he is like a salmon swimming upstream. It's heart-wrenching to learn first-hand that so many kids barely have a chance, not just because of their home-life, but also because of their school system. And their chances are in no way improved when someone so willing to sacrifice themselves to their cause is treated like a line-cutter in the cafeteria. In reading the book we learn that Klass didn't just say, "I'd like to teach." He had to work for the credentials, despite having three masters degrees. So he resolutely put in the time to earn his place in front of a blackboard. And then he learned how dangerous it can be for teachers to turn their backs on the class in the south Bronx. Klass is just as hard on himself as he is on his subjects - his students, his administration, his colleagues - he isn't at all happy that it's close to impossible for a "normal" person to successfully submerge themselves in that abnormal world. "Man Overboard" reads like a war correspondent's journal. Klass has made it funny - very funny - while illuminating the tragedy of inner city schools.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
NYC Public School teacher telling it like it is,
By
This review is from: Man Overboard: Confessions of a Novice Math Teacher in the Bronx (Paperback)
This author speaks for all of us teachers who are struggling every day in dealing with hoardes of unruly students. After only reading a few pages, I felt like I could have written the same book. The fact that it is in diary form makes it all the more real and frightening. Reading it is definitely helping me get through the end of this horrific school year. I have highly recommended it to my colleagues.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Well Written Autobiography,
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This review is from: Man Overboard: Confessions of a Novice Math Teacher in the Bronx (Paperback)
Man Overboard is a very witty and poignant autobiography about the experiences of a new second-career math teacher (actually ninth-career in his case) spending his first year teaching high school in the Bronx. On one level, it explores in an absorbing and meaningful way the various problems in the world of Bronx high school culture. On another level, Mr. Klass is also writing about his career aspirations, and how it feels to have frustrations meeting his goals of helping some people who need it. The book connects with the reader very well on both levels. I particularly liked how the drumbeat of daily problems is punctuated periodically with reflective essays, cast in italics, which are full of common sense and practical, logical analysis and suggestions. It is a very well written and enjoyable book, and I would highly recommend it to all.
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