false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172321195m/163677.jpg 163677 7 Esmé Raji Codell has written a funny, hip diary filled with one-liners and unadorned thoughts that speak volumes about the raw, emotional life of a first-year teacher. Like Ally McBeal in the classroom, the miniskirted and idealistic Codell sometimes fantasizes her career is a musical. Her inner-city Chicago elementary school fades to black as the lunch lady strikes an arabesque or a struggling student performs the dance of the dying swan, all set to her interior soundtrack. (Tina Turner's "Funkier Than a Mosquita's Tweeter" echoes whenever her idea-stealing, dimwitted principal harangues her.) She's a rash, petite, white lady who roller-skates through the halls and insists that her fifth-graders call her "Madame Esmé." But it's not all fun and games: she introduces us to children who fling their desks and apologize in tears, and at one point, after reporting a disruptive student to her mother, who subsequently thrashes the young girl, she dry heaves into her classroom's trash can. <p> Codell's 24-year-old voice is loud and clear ("Serious gross out," she writes after the scorned principal hugs her), though, on the principle that kids say the darnedest things, she often simply repeats their comments for comic effect. She's got sass, maybe too much self-confidence at times, and though there's no deep introspection in <I>Educating Esmé</I>, you'll be convinced her 10-year-old charges emerge the better for knowing her. <I>--Jodi Mailander Farrell</I> 158009 1999 Educating Esme: Diary of a Teacher's First Year total:992|5:295|4:412|3:227|2:46|1:12| 992 3908 1306 188 3 4 false false Sat Jun 07 19:20:56 -0700 2008 Sat Aug 02 11:55:48 -0700 2008 you like to learn?" As a teacher, as much as ...more...]]> 3 2 false false Thu Nov 13 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Nov 14 07:08:37 -0800 2008 Fri Nov 14 07:18:38 -0800 2008
I read this book in one evening. It's a quick and moving read.

I've been running into this book for a while, seeing it listed on people's GoodReads shelves and getting requests for it from other libraries through interlibrary loan. Yesterday while I was pulling books, I sa...more...]]> 3 1 false false Mon Apr 14 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Apr 05 13:20:22 -0700 2008 Mon Apr 14 17:52:16 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 2 false false Mon Mar 10 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Mar 10 17:56:17 -0700 2008 Fri Mar 14 07:36:43 -0700 2008
I lov...more...]]> 3 1 false false Sat Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Nov 15 17:30:04 -0800 2008 Sat Dec 27 00:50:33 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Jan 03 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Jan 06 02:28:56 -0800 2009 Tue Jan 06 03:02:55 -0800 2009 more...]]> 2 2 false false Sun Aug 02 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 02 07:57:26 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 02 09:14:37 -0700 2009 It is, as it says, the "Diary of a Teacher's First Year", and it sounds like in her first year, Madame Esme (as she insists on being called, a source of endless and essentially pointless conflict with her principal), is a really fabulous teacher. She dr...more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Mar 03 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Jun 04 19:03:42 -0700 2009 Thu Jun 04 20:01:18 -0700 2009
At Swope Middle School, my junior high there was a teacher who dressed in period costumes and decked out his entire classroom. When they studi...more...]]> 4 1 false false Sun Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2000 Wed Nov 28 15:52:26 -0800 2007 Wed Nov 28 16:36:37 -0800 2007 more...]]> 2 2 false false Sun Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Apr 09 10:40:06 -0700 2007 Mon Apr 09 10:45:16 -0700 2007 more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 30 13:47:48 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 30 13:51:18 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Sep 24 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Sep 24 09:52:18 -0700 2009 Thu Sep 24 09:56:08 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Wed Jun 10 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 03 10:43:29 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 10 06:32:41 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Thu Apr 23 18:22:46 -0700 2009 Thu Apr 23 18:30:47 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Apr 01 13:59:33 -0700 2009 Sun Apr 12 09:29:04 -0700 2009
If anything, I think the important message here is about schools with stud...more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Aug 05 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 04 11:47:40 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 05 10:43:15 -0700 2009 1, but will read again Stories about making a difference zap us out of lethargy and into action - I loved Esme, her pluck and determination - as well as her very real mood swings and frustrations. This is a real story of a real person with real feelings. No denim jumpers or pencil/apple/ruler earrings allowed.
...more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1999 Mon Nov 26 21:02:29 -0800 2007 Mon Nov 26 21:02:58 -0800 2007 more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri Apr 13 16:19:46 -0700 2007 Fri Apr 13 16:19:57 -0700 2007 more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Oct 29 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Nov 02 18:04:04 -0800 2009 Mon Nov 02 18:11:08 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Dec 13 20:25:41 -0800 2008 Sat Dec 13 20:34:48 -0800 2008 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=163677