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Inside Mrs. B.'s Classroom

1st Edition
0071436278 · 9780071436274
A respected journalist turned-teacher reveals what's really happening in America's schoolsIn 1999, Chicago Sun-Times veteran Leslie Baldacci left her prestigious, twenty-five year career to teach at a public school in one of Chicago's roughest South … Read More
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ContentsChapter 1: The Mad Crapper………………………………..1Chapter 2: Welcome to the Neighborhood…………….7Chapter 3: “Bring Two No. 2 Pencils”……………………13Chapter 4: My Assignment………………………………….24Chapter 5: The Farewell Tour………………………………27Chapter 6: The Belly of the Beast………………………….33Chapter 7: Nesting………………………………………….37Chapter 8: The Seventh Graders Arrive………………50Chapter 9: Getting to Know Them………………………57Chapter 10: Al Gore Visits the Billy Goat………………..65Chapter 11: The Kids Are All Right, but the Teachers Are Wrecks……69Chapter 12: Violence………………………………………78Chapter 13: A Five-Week Reorganization………..88Chapter 14: Learning…………………………………..91Chapter 15: An Observation………………………….108Chapter 16: Crime and Punishment……………….111Chapter 17: Thanksgiving Break……………….118Chapter 18: An Intervention……………………….121Chapter 19: The Bathroom Incident…………….126Chapter 20: A Winning Streak……………………….133Chapter 21: So Far…….………………………..141Chapter 22: The Mid-Winter Lull…………..144Chapter 23: The Second Half……………..148Chapter 24: Hip Hop 101…………………….154Chapter 25: Bottoming Out………………….160Chapter 26: No Coincidences………………...169Chapter 27: Pierre……………………………172Chapter 28: Spring Planting……………….176Chapter 29: Bad Things Happen in Threes…180Chapter 30: “Remediation”……………………………187Chapter 31: Assumptions……………………….193Chapter 32: Livin’ on the Edge……..……198Chapter 33: The End of Seventh Grade…203Chapter 34: Fairyland……………………………209Chapter 35: The More Things Change……..223Chapter 36: Cult of Personality…………………232Chapter 37: Trouble……………………………236Chapter 38: Dance Africa…………………..…241Chapter 39: Loving Louis……………………….246Chapter 40: The Downside…………………………….252Chapter 41: Another Christmas……………….257Chapter 42: Cruel January………………………265Chapter 43: A Prayer in School……………….275Chapter 44: Recess!………………………………..279Chapter 45: The Teacher Certification Test…283Chapter 46: Midnight Catches a Snake…………287Chapter 47: Lost Parents………………………..291Chapter 48: Mother’s Day…………………………293Chapter 49: Guns of Summer…………………….297Chapter 50: Going From Here…………………………….300Chapter 51: Graduation……………………..……….305

A respected journalist turned-teacher reveals what's really happening in America's schools

In 1999, Chicago Sun-Times veteran Leslie Baldacci left her prestigious, twenty-five year career to teach at a public school in one of Chicago's roughest South Side neighborhoods.

As she later commented, "I thought I knew rough. I thought I had answers. I didn't know jack."

But Baldacci never looked back, and the result is Inside Mrs. B's Classroom, a compelling, first-hand narrative from the trenches of the inner-city school system that addresses one of society's most critical issues from gritty, daily personal experience.

An expert on Chicago's massive education reform efforts even before she turned in her press credentials, Baldacci adds an informed, intellectual layer to this insightful, engaging work. In an era in which many people talk about wanting to make a difference, Baldacci has done so. Here she shares the whole picture, from the unrealistic expectations to the surprises--good and bad--that make up education today. Above all, she shows how an individual can, did--and continues to--make a difference in the lives of American children.