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A review by zerobot
Tales from the Teachers' Lounge: What I Learned in School the Second Time Around-One Man's Irreverent Look at Being a Teacher Today by Robert Wilder
1.0
Avoid this book.
There is nothing so unpleasant as to feel you are being lied to by a writer, and this book oozes with self-satisfied deception. It's one thing to take advantage of literary license, it's quite another to make up stories whole cloth in what is ostensibly non-fiction, especially when there seems to be no purpose to the stories.
What are we to learn here? That teaching is difficult? No, perhaps, teaching is crazy? That Robert Wilder has some insight into teaching our children? No, more that he is clever enough to pull at random from his grab bag of often misleading pop culture references, many of which he assumes his readers are too stupid (or out of touch) to understand without explanation. Mr. Wilder, a simile is not clever or useful if you also describe both objects you are comparing.
Overall, like being at a bar with a waste of time, half-involved teacher trying to string together a series of lies without any structure or through-line, interrupted on occasion by diversions into 'look how stupid my students are, they hate Shakespeare and recognize actors from Harry Potter movies' but overall having the almost express goal of impressing the reader with his own cleverness, accented by half-assed self-depreciation. The only moments of warmth are towards his daughter and son.
And, Mr. Wilder, while Augustus Gloop was fat, Veruca Salt was just a spoiled little brat, a state you have something in common with. Where are editors when you need them?
There is nothing so unpleasant as to feel you are being lied to by a writer, and this book oozes with self-satisfied deception. It's one thing to take advantage of literary license, it's quite another to make up stories whole cloth in what is ostensibly non-fiction, especially when there seems to be no purpose to the stories.
What are we to learn here? That teaching is difficult? No, perhaps, teaching is crazy? That Robert Wilder has some insight into teaching our children? No, more that he is clever enough to pull at random from his grab bag of often misleading pop culture references, many of which he assumes his readers are too stupid (or out of touch) to understand without explanation. Mr. Wilder, a simile is not clever or useful if you also describe both objects you are comparing.
Overall, like being at a bar with a waste of time, half-involved teacher trying to string together a series of lies without any structure or through-line, interrupted on occasion by diversions into 'look how stupid my students are, they hate Shakespeare and recognize actors from Harry Potter movies' but overall having the almost express goal of impressing the reader with his own cleverness, accented by half-assed self-depreciation. The only moments of warmth are towards his daughter and son.
And, Mr. Wilder, while Augustus Gloop was fat, Veruca Salt was just a spoiled little brat, a state you have something in common with. Where are editors when you need them?