Letters to a Young Teacher,   ISBN:B002QGSW06

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I'm a teacher, among other things, and always looking to do better in that part of my career. And, although I've been teaching for a number of years, I consider myself inexperienced and eager to learn from others' experience. Reading this book brought at least three surprises: the first, something of a disappointment; the second, an overwhelming sense of admiration; the third, a furious outrage.

I teach at the college level - mostly grad students, so far, but an undergrad class this term. My disappointment lay in finding that this describes the experiences of an early-primary teacher. Her 'leaky little people,' the six year olds in her classes, have little in common with my students. I already know I lack the patience to work well with a room full of small children, so I almost put the book down when I found out how it was oriented. It just doesn't say a lot to my experience or aspirations. Still, I persevered.

That led to the second and most rewarding of the surprises I found in this book. I genuinely admire anyone with talents I lack, the knack for effectiveness with children being just one. Still, reading this gave me a new a more profound respect for those thousands of women and men who, outside of family, are the most important people in our children's lives. I know that people find themselves drawn to teaching young children. I didn't understand just how deep within a person lies the source of that urge. Kozol's letters to a real but pseudonymous Francesca show that in two ways. First, the passion to teach, to be part of children's lives, is as omnipresent in their worlds as air and gravity are in mine - and as essential to their lives. The calling to teach (Kozol's word, not mine) underlies all other thoughts and choices in their lives as much as religious calling underlies a monastic life. Second, this passion remains even in the most horrific conditions, and despite policies seemingly designed to crush out whatever spirit moves successful teachers and students forward together.

That, in turn, opened the third of this book's surprises, the one that left me horrified and furious. Kozol describes his own experience of a school physically falling down around the students - and, if not for Kozol's fast reflexes, onto at least one. It's not just that inner-city schools have walls and windows that would never pass an ordinary building inspection, or that their texts are yellowed with decades of age. The outrage comes from the systematic racism that Kozol depicts, infused with bizarre and blatant social falsehoods best described as Orwellian double-think. Kozol gives the example of a school named for Justice Thurgood Marshall, the African-American lawyer who plead the Supreme Court case in which "separate but equal" was struck down as inherently flawed. That school serves community of almost entirely black children, separate from and hardly equal to better-funded schools serving wealthier communities with racial imbalance tilted the other way. And, incidentally, the principal of the Thurgood Marshall school systematically strips it classrooms and libraries of anything that would hint at Marshall's career fighting against social injustice. The gravity of the harm being done to those children makes it almost impossible to unsnarl the interlocked ironies of that situation in a school by that name. But, despite poverty and tyrannical school hierarchy controlling every thing and every moment in those classrooms, the teachers (some, at least) somehow sustain their dedication and affection for the small people trusted to their care. I can only marvel at that level of spiritual endurance - it's so far beyond anything I see in myself that I expect never to understand it.

Like the teachers he describes, Kozol remains dedicated to children's education despite his daily confrontations with lawmakers, politicians, and even educators who push these inequities forward. His dedication seems to strengthen as the conditions and social policies around him worsen - and the book offers lots worse than what I've relayed here. If you have children of your own being educated in public schools, you owe it to yourself and to them to read this book. Behind those facts and figures, however, you will get some sense of the strong and devoted people who not only fight in the trenches against that outrage, but do so with the cheer and gentleness needed to sustain the spirits of the children they care for.

-- wiredweird

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"Letters To A Young Teacher" by Jonathan Kozol, its title a reference to a work by Rilke, is a collection of letters that Kozol wrote to a first-year teacher in an inner-city Boston school. It is familiar stomping ground for Kozol, having begun his teaching career in the same setting, and having devoted his life afterwards to spending time with children of poverty in inner-city slums, documenting their lives and the ways in which public education has failed them. Kozol's books are always an enlightening (and sometimes righteously infuriating) read, but "Letters To A Young Teacher" has almost too much repetition from previous works for those who have read other Kozol books.

Kozol's letters are written to a teacher named Francesca during her first year of teaching. In his letters he highlights conversations that they have had and shares his thoughts on visits to her classroom. He includes his own experiences in his responses (often drawing on material that has previously been published) and his thoughts about education reform. Kozol, whose experience ranges over 40 years, is an adept and intelligent advocate for public education reform, and I am grateful that he continues to push for policies that may never be enacted since all too often the people who make decisions regarding education do not have the slightest idea of what would best help the situation. Too many times the choices they do make and the policies they do put in place are much more damaging to young children than they are helpful.

"Letters To A Young Teacher", while a fast read filled with an intelligent and lucid cry for educational advocacy, seems to be missing something. Perhaps it is because we only see Kozol's letters and therefore really do not share in his experiences in Francesca's classroom. Maybe the book would have worked a bit better if it were written to a generic teacher as a book of advice (not that it cannot work this way as it is, since it certainly does). I particularly enjoyed the information highlighting Kozol's relationship with Fred Rogers (of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood) who was always an advocate of imagination and wonder, a "skill" that cannot be measured by a standardized test but is perhaps one of the most important elements of a child's development. Perhaps someday Kozol's legacy will not be solely limited to the books he wrote seeking educational reform; perhaps one day his words will be put into practice across this nation.

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Jonathan Kozol's "Letters to a Young Teacher" explores the most demanding issues that education faces today. Kozol uses a unique structure in his book, composing it entirely of letters he wrote to a first grade teacher. Francesca corresponded with Kozol during her first year of teaching at an Inner-City Elementary School in Boston. His letters to her include advice, warning, and inspiration necessary for a career in teaching. The personal language he uses allows the readers to place themselves in Francesca's shoes. When reading the pages, the audience is given a sense that Kozol is speaking directly to them.
Due to the education emphasized context, I would not recommend this book to just anyone. The issues discussed are most beneficial to someone who has a desire to be involved in the education system. Teachers, administrators, politicians, and prospective college students should read Kozol's words. Also, concerned parents can take away many lessons in the text about what is really going on in their child's education.
Being the daughter of two math teachers, I have been exposed to the world of education, beyond the eye of the student. Kozol's concerns about the system today were regular dinner debates in my household. Money, parents, students, difficult principals, and test scores, really are issues that teachers are challenged with daily. Kozol covers nearly every concern my parents and their colleagues have had over the last thirty years. Parents of students too often are not educated enough in the issues that seriously affect the quality of their child's education. Students everywhere are lucky to have such an eloquent speaker tackling these issues on their behalf. Kozol's passion for children is clearly evident in his words. He writes, "I'm often disappointed, when I visit some of the allegedly sophisticated schools of education, to recognize how very little of the magic and the incandescent chemistry that forms between a truly gifted teacher and her children is conveyed to those who are about to come into our classrooms"(Page 4). Kozol's ability to connect with the audience will further the cause of education in our country today.

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After reading through this book I feel Kozol did a great job shedding light on problems with our education system from the policy makers in Washington to the the teachers in the classroom. However, I feel the way he depicts every encounter with a child is a bit unreal. He goes on with each of his encounters and says how he overcame a problem and in the end learned something new from it. He writes in a very positive way, while this is good, I feel it may be a bit misguiding. He no doubt worked very hard for his successes ,but he fails to write about it enough I would say. The book was great in terms of issues he covers but many may find it a bit repetitive as he can sometimes be found ranting on about the same issues over and over again. Kozol doesn't necessarily bring up any new ideas but puts his spin on the issue. In his letters to this young teacher he writes mainly about his problems he has faced and in turn hopes it will inspire and help her. I kind of get the feeling that Kozol feels that all of his experiences have made him a highly qualified expert on teaching. This might be ,but everyone is different and it seems like he expects that if everyone follows his example things will work out. Letters to a Young Teacher was a rather decent book though. If you can get through Kozol's letters without being turned off there is actually a decent message behind his writing that I think many could gain from it, but it should be taken with a grain of salt.

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I am a college student majoring in Elementary Education and read this book as a requirement for an education course. In Letters to a Young Teacher, Kozol is writing letters of advice and encouragement to a woman who is a beginning teacher. Although the letters are to one woman, these letters are a compilation of questions he has received and answered and cover many of the complexities in today's education system. These issues include the voucher system and diversity and range from teaching styles to relationships with parents and faculty. He gives his own opinions and advice about teaching and highlights injustices in public education. This book may of interest to those looking into being involved in the teaching profession or in education in general. The book really covers everything in truthful detail. It can be depressing and discouraging at times because Kozol presents many injustices in the American school system, yet there are no signs of definite solutions or even belief that it can change, which left me feeling frustrated. However, the book is at times inspiring with stories of getting through to a student who seems to have no interest and standing for what is right. On a more personal note, I didn't find Kozol's stories about his students to be very interesting or heartfelt. I found them somewhat boring and was unable to connect or empathize with him while reading. While the book is eye-opening and informative about the issues in education, it is not as exciting as one might expect from the title.