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A review by appropriate_glassware
Don't Sniff the Glue: A Teacher's Misadventures in Education Reform by Dawn Casey-Rowe, Jodi Swanson, Kathleen Jasper, Erin Tyler
5.0
Full disclosure: I went to college with Casey. We remain friends. A year or two younger, she is, and so as these things go, I will be harder on her than I am on your average author. So let's get that rating thing out of the way right now: 4.5 stars.
Don't Sniff the Glue isn't about addiction, or recovery ... or is it? I admit I (used to) belong to the "what the hell are you doing teaching, Casey?" camp, an outsider looking into the bureaucratic, political horror show that "Education" as a Topic of Concern has become. Casey brings us into that show, with patience, whimsy, and (because us Gen Xers exist on the Cynical plane) optimistic cynicism (yes that's a thing). Sure there is plenty to get angry - some might say righteous - about, if you choose to. Casey chooses not to, instead demonstrating a passion for her vocation that we have forgotten can exist, that we fervently hope exists, in our genericized, cocktail party version of Education.
This isn't a book for teachers. Or, rather, ONLY for teachers. Sure, it will resonate with them, but they already live the craziness inside the system. This book is for the rest of us, to remind us not just about the importance of the customers of Education (the kids), but also about passion, how it drives us to succeed in the face of absurdity, apathy, and obstacles that can make the less-driven find a quiet corner to weep in. It reminds us how we can change the world.
Don't Sniff the Glue isn't about addiction, or recovery ... or is it? I admit I (used to) belong to the "what the hell are you doing teaching, Casey?" camp, an outsider looking into the bureaucratic, political horror show that "Education" as a Topic of Concern has become. Casey brings us into that show, with patience, whimsy, and (because us Gen Xers exist on the Cynical plane) optimistic cynicism (yes that's a thing). Sure there is plenty to get angry - some might say righteous - about, if you choose to. Casey chooses not to, instead demonstrating a passion for her vocation that we have forgotten can exist, that we fervently hope exists, in our genericized, cocktail party version of Education.
This isn't a book for teachers. Or, rather, ONLY for teachers. Sure, it will resonate with them, but they already live the craziness inside the system. This book is for the rest of us, to remind us not just about the importance of the customers of Education (the kids), but also about passion, how it drives us to succeed in the face of absurdity, apathy, and obstacles that can make the less-driven find a quiet corner to weep in. It reminds us how we can change the world.