Status
Call number
Publication
Pages
Description
Biography & Autobiography. Education. Sociology. Nonfiction. HTML: The Emergency Teacher is Christina Asquith's moving firsthand account of her year spent teaching in one of Philadelphia's worst schools. Told with striking humor and honesty, her story begins when the School District of Philadelphia, faced with 1,500 teacherless classrooms, instituted a policy of hiring �??emergency certified" teachers to fill the void. Asquith, a twenty-five-year-old reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer, joined their untrained ranks. Assigned to a classroom known as �??the Badlands," she was told to �??sink or swim." More challenging than the classroom are the trials she faces outside it, including the antics of an overwhelmed first-year principal, the politics that prevent a million-dollar grant from reaching her students, and the administration's shocking insistence that teachers maintain the appearance of success in the face of utter defeat, even if it means falsifying test scores. Asquith tells a classic story of succeeding against insurmountable odds. With a foreword by bestselling author Mark Bowden and an introduction by award-winning educator Dr. Harry K. Wong, The Emergency Teacher will inspire every teacher�??be they first-timers or experienced professionals�??to make a d… (more)
Collection
Language
Original language
Physical description
ISBN
User reviews
Quote: “What happened to the teacher who taught here last year?” “He left. He refused to ask for help. He thought he was Jaime Escalante or something.”
This is an excellent work, although I don’t know if it would have the same appeal for a non-teacher. Asquith’s year has its ups and downs, successes and failures, which makes “The Emergency Teacher” a well-balanced work. It is neither a rainbows and sunshine story, nor a doom and gloom story, but one that seems typical of a new teacher. It also makes some important political points about the use of teachers without the appropriate certification- Asquith makes the point that while these individuals are important to school systems that are in need of help, it is also important for the school and the school system to support these individuals with some training, development, et cetera, instead of just throwing the people into the fire and walking away.
Memoir
Chapter Book
This is an autobiographical memoir about a journalist who decides to become an inner-city teacher at the worst school in the state. Ms. Asquith must overcome disorganized administration, double class size, ELLs and students of varying English proficiencies and