REVIEWS+

As Bad as They Say?

Three Decades of Teaching in the Bronx
by Janet Grossbach Mayer
As Bad as They Say?: Three Decades of Teaching in the Bronx. Empire State Editions: Fordham Univ., dist. by Oxford Univ. May 2011. c.150p. index. ISBN 9780823234165. $75; pap. ISBN 9780823234172. $16.95. ED
COPY ISBN
In an effort to take accusations of poor school performance off the backs of underprivileged youth, Mayer, who has taught English in public high schools in the Bronx for more than 30 years, introduces nine students who succeeded despite the odds. She begins her brief memoir with her own background and closes with a one-chapter screed against No Child Left Behind, charter schools, and New York's Mayor Michael Bloomberg's current small-school reforms. Generally eschewing concrete suggestions, she does present a good in-the-trenches view of the importance of unions and public schools and notes useful sources, from Neil Postman and Charles Weingartner's Teaching as a Subversive Activity to Diane Ravitch's The Death and Life of the Great American School System.
VERDICT Mayer often addresses readers directly (e.g., "Nothing is exaggerated—every teacher can corroborate what I am about to tell you—so be prepared! Come—walk with me") and repetitively ends each chapter calling her student "a fighter—a winner—and my hero." Her effort to profile exceptional students within devastating socioeconomic conditions is important, but readers who work with youth have experienced more moving portraits. Recommended only for aspiring educators.
Reviewed by Anna Katterjohn, Library Journal , Apr 01, 2011
Comment Policy:
  • Be respectful, and do not attack the author, people mentioned in the article, or other commenters. Take on the idea, not the messenger.
  • Don't use obscene, profane, or vulgar language.
  • Stay on point. Comments that stray from the topic at hand may be deleted.
  • Comments may be republished in print, online, or other forms of media.
  • If you see something objectionable, please let us know. Once a comment has been flagged, a staff member will investigate.

RELATED 

More
ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?

We are currently offering this content for free. Sign up now to activate your personal profile, where you can save articles for future viewing

ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?