Not Quite Burned Out, but Crispy Around the Edges: Inspiration, Laughter, and Encouragement for Teachers [Paperback]

Sharon M. Draper (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0325003653 | ISBN-13: 978-0325003658 | Publication Date: July 2, 2001

This book of inspirational stories and essays is designed for any teacher who has survived the first week of the first year of teaching. It offers memories of the joy of teaching, tells compelling tales of tragedy as well as survival, and provides opportunities for laughter, which is sometimes the only remedy for difficult situations.

Faced with low salaries, overcrowded classrooms, and dwindling public support, teachers are expected to improve student performance, answer public scrutiny, and solve society's problems - with just a stroke of chalk across a blackboard. It is easy to become discouraged, and many do. Not Quite Burned Out helps remind teachers of the reasons they entered the profession in the first place. Without disguising the heart-breaking realities, Draper nonetheless celebrates the joys and very real rewards of teaching. Her clear-eyed compassion and wry humor will offer inspiration to novice and longtime teachers alike.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Sharon M. Draper, the 1997 Teacher of the Year and author of Teaching from the Heart (Heinemann, 2000), is an educator, a young adult novelist, a motivational speaker, and a poet. A National Board Certified Teacher, Draper is actively involved in encouraging and motivating all teachers and their students as well. She can be reached at her website: www.sharondraper.com.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Heinemann (July 2, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0325003653
• ISBN-13: 978-0325003658
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #640,511 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Sharon Draper is a two-time Coretta Scott King Award-winning author, most recently for Copper Sun, and previously for Forged by Fire. She's also the recipient of the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Author Award for New Talent for Tears of a Tiger and the Coretta Scott King Author Honor for The Battle of Jericho and November Blues. Her other books include Romiette and Julio, Darkness Before Dawn, and Double Dutch. She lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she taught high school English for twenty-five years. She's a popular conference speaker, addressing educational and literary groups both nationally and internationally.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just Starting, August 13, 2002

By 

Craig Robinson (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Not Quite Burned Out, but Crispy Around the Edges: Inspiration, Laughter, and Encouragement for Teachers (Paperback)

I left teaching for a job in Biotech a few years ago. If I had read this book first, I might not have left. I might have found the courage to finish my student teaching. Now times have changed again, I find my self in the credential program to be a guidance counselor. One of my assignments was to review a book about Philosophy of teaching, it was by chance that I came across Mrs. Draper's book. I believe that any form of art that invokes an emotional response in me to be brillant. Mrs. Draper's experiences placed in print brought me to tears, made me smile and most of all challenged me to think. I just wish I had read it sooner.

4.0 out of 5 stars inspirational, January 24, 2010

By 

thedancenut (pasadena, ca) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Not Quite Burned Out, but Crispy Around the Edges: Inspiration, Laughter, and Encouragement for Teachers (Paperback)

This would be great for new and uninspired teachers. More inspirational than informative. I loved the title. I was looking for
a more scholarly read.

1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't Waste Your Time!!!, July 7, 2008

By 

J. Kochis (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Not Quite Burned Out, but Crispy Around the Edges: Inspiration, Laughter, and Encouragement for Teachers (Paperback)

Draper is incredibly egotistical and so blinded by her own accolades that she is incapable of empathizing with or truly capturing the experiences of anyone other than herself. She is ignorant of the potential of special education students promulgating that they will "never become doctors or lawyers"(p.96). She ended the book with an excerpt of another book she had previously written! Not enough people buying your books?! She trampled all over the experiences of others and stroked her ego until the very end. She is wordy and her writing is mediocre. Absolutely dreadful!!!