Educating Esme: Diary of a Teacher’s First Year by Esmé Raji Codell
Algonquin Books (June 1, 2001)
Cautions: None

Kiwi Magazine Review:
So that’s what it is really like to be a 5th grade in the city. I found that this book was really enlightening as a parent and I am giving copies of this book to every future teacher whom I know. I found the author’s viewpoint of her students to be so touching and honest, as well as her perspective on parents and school administration. Some of the book is so disturbing, such as the author witnessing parents hitting their kids at school (one can only imagine that, if a mother hits her child at school in front of his teacher, what home life must be like). This book is an eye-opening account of the life of a teacher in the city and a must-read.

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From the Inside Flap
Esme Raji Codell has come to teach. And she’s not going to let incompetent administrators, abusive parents, gang members, weary teachers, angry children, dim-witted principals, or her own insecurities get in the way of delivering the education her fifth-grade students deserve. Fresh mouthed and miniskirted, Esme can be both pig-headed and generous, churlish and charming. As she embarks on her first year teaching in an inner-city public school, she quickly becomes a thorn in her principal’s side. A twenty-four-year-old teacher with the enthusiasm of a ten year old, Esme too dedicated to give up - and too young to know better.

In Educating Esme, the uncensored diary of her first year, we find this irrepressible teacher wearing costumes in the classroom, dancing with the kids during rallies in the auditorium, roller-skating down the hallways, and putting on rousing performances with students in the library.

Not just for educators and parents, this poignant and often hilarious chronicle gives voice to anyone who has ever had an irritating boss, struggled to be an individual in a bureaucratic abyss, given 105 percent without getting thanked, and yet cared so much.

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