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taxiotis's review against another edition
4.0
I read this book for an education class and i will admit, I'm very happy i picked it out. You can read reviews on Amazon for a more comprehensive summary. I'm just going to tell you that, as an aspiring teacher, i hope i can be half as wonderful, inspiring and dedicated as Jessica Siegel. She was one person and truly made a difference in the lives of so many students. The background information on some of the students was truly an eye-opening experience. I went to high school in one of the most suburban cities in Michigan and to read what these students dealt with on a daily basis... it just blew my mind. I knew it was out there, but this book really opened my eyes. The book was very well written and i recommend it to current teachers, aspiring teachers or anyone else. The only thing that saddens me is this wonderful teacher left the profession after 7 years. What a loss.
trishabee2000's review against another edition
2.0
I have issues with books like this, while I enjoy reading stories about teachers in inner city schools (because I am one) I have a problem with all of "these" kinds of books. The hardworking, long suffering teacher teaches only for a few years, touches the lives of her students and causes a sea change in their lives, then she leaves teaching after like 3 years. Where's the stories about the people who have had the guts to stick it out for more than a few years? Where are their stories? Rant has ended!
markfeltskog's review against another edition
One of the more revealing looks inside the New York City School System.
rbkegley's review
4.0
Moving, if somewhat dated, story of Seward Park High School in the Lower East Side in Manhattan. While much of the book focuses on a single teacher, Jessica Siegel, and her attempts to reach a student population with widely differing ethnic, English-speaking, and interest in school in general backgrounds, we also get in-depth views of other teachers and administrators, and the struggles they face. Freedman captures their passion for education, and their near-total exhaustion as they pursue this profession, battling to provide a path for children out of the often-violent, mostly-uncaring world they inhabit. Throughout the book Freedman points out how these teachers make very difficult choices, not only about the students, but about their own lives.
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