Educating Esm: Diary of a Teacher's First Year

(Paperback)

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Description

At once "a pop culture phenomenon" (Publishers Weekly) and "screamingly funny" (Booklist), Educating Esme "should be read by anyone who's interested in the future of public education" (Boston Phoenix Literary Section). A must-read for parents, new teachers, and classroom veterans, Educating Esme is the exuberant diary of Esme Raji Codell s first year teaching in a Chicago public school. Fresh-mouthed and free-spirited, the irrepressible Madame Esme as she prefers to be called does the cha-cha during multiplication tables, roller-skates down the hallways, and puts on rousing performances with at-risk students in the library. Her diary opens a window into a real-life classroom from a teacher s perspective. While battling bureaucrats, gang members, abusive parents, and her own insecurities, this gifted young woman reveals what it takes to be an exceptional teacher. Heroine to thousands of parents and educators, Esme now shares more of her ingenious and yet down-to-earth approaches to the classroom in a supplementary guide to help new teachers hit the ground running. As relevant and iconoclastic as when it was first published, Educating Esme is a classic, as is Madame Esme herself.

Reviews

"Educating Esme is that exceptional education book about an even more exceptional teacher." Kirkus Reviews"

Author Bio

A nationally renowned advocate for literacy and literature-based instruction, Esme Raji Codell is today "one of the nation's most sought-after voices for empowering teachers" (People) and a "Superstar of Education" (Scolastic Instructor). Esme has been interviewed on CBS This Morning, CNN, C-SPAN s Book Talk, and NPR. The author of How to Get Your Child to Love Reading as well as award-winning books for children, Esme lives with her husband and son in Chicago, where she spent many years as an educator in Chicago public schools and now runs the popular children's literature Web site PlanetEsme.com and the unique literary salon, the PlanetEsme Bookroom.