Reviews

To Sir, With Love by E.R. Braithwaite

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aimee9277's review against another edition

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emotional informative reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

cynthiaelyseeh's review

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informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

Pros:
Interesting perspective as a Black man in the 50’s England, especially as he’s trying to get a job. I thought it was really interesting how he compared racism in the US to Britain.

Also, it gets more tolerable as he becomes more comfortable with teaching, though as a teacher, many of his revelations were kind of common-sense. Yes, of course teenagers appreciate being spoken to like an adult. Of course they’re going to benefit from experiential learning/field trips, especially when you study the subject matter beforehand. Of course they benefit from positive adult relationships.

Cons:
Simply put, this book didn’t age well.

The sexism is hard to ignore. Every woman is described either as a cow or a “superior, elegant bitch.” He refers to students as “sluts” several times! He describes literally every woman’s breasts he encounters, including his female students. Ew!

Also, his teaching choices are difficult to understand. His first experience in the classroom he employs public humiliation to “gauge their intelligence,” calls a student stupid, and then seems to pat himself on the back for being “stern” with these rambunctious kids. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes you need to be firm with misbehaving students, but that’s not really a teaching win 🙄.

Overall, not worth it. Surely there are better and more up-to-date inspirational teaching stories out there.