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The Emergency Teacher: The Inspirational Story of a New Teacher in an Inner-City School
Christina Asquith presents a moving first-hand account of her year teaching in one of Philadelphia's worst schools. Told with striking humor and honesty, her story begins when the School District of Philadelphia, in desperate need of 1,500 new teachers, instituted a policy of hiring "emergency certified" instructors. Asquith, then a 25-year-old reporter for the "...more
Hardcover, 210 pages
Published
November 13th 2007
by Skyhorse Publishing
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Tori
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2011- As someone who is a young educator, I can identify with many of the things Asquith mentions in her book: the triumphs, the troubles, and the hope for the future. However, Asquith nobly put herself in a extremely hard position: that of an emergency teacher in inner-city Philadelphia. From the very beginning, the odds are stacked against her. She has little educational training, next to no administration support, and students who come from some of the city's most desperate neighborhoods. But...more
Christina Asquith recounts her decision to leave her career path as a journalist at The Philadelphia Inquirer to "change a life" as an emergency certified (read: no training whatsoever) teacher in one of the lowest ranked middle schools in the country. What follows is part heart breaking clarity of what is truly wrong with the school systems and why there is a teacher shortage; and part bizarre homage to the teaching guru Harry Wong and various writers from the Inquirer. Her references...more
I enjoyed this book, though obviously it could have had a little more depth by presenting more sides on issues or broadening its scope. However, I don't think that was the point, and I read it as personal account of the writer's experience and not 'this is how the world is and this is how the world should be'. As such, I thought it did well. Throughout, I stayed interested in the writer's experiences and her opinions of them.
If only I were shocked by most of the stories she tells about working in an inner-city Philly school, but after having worked in New Orleans public schools for just a couple months, I'm really not.
The author hits the nail on the head, if you ask me. She was in exactly the position I am now, young and idealistic and suckered in to taking on an extraordinarily difficult teaching position, suckered in by believing she could make a difference. Which you can, but it's easier said than d...more
The author hits the nail on the head, if you ask me. She was in exactly the position I am now, young and idealistic and suckered in to taking on an extraordinarily difficult teaching position, suckered in by believing she could make a difference. Which you can, but it's easier said than d...more
This real life story of a young journalist who changes her career for a short time to see how inner city school systems work and how they basically set up children for failure is an inspirational and realistic story of the struggles students and teachers face when they have no support from administration.
the "dialogue" in this book makes me so embarrassed for asquith
i was disgusted/appalled after reading it - NOT at the author, but at the School District of Philadelphia where she taught 6th grade at one of the worst inner city middle schools for a year because she wanted to make a difference. it was heartwarming to read about those students who had improved, but there was so much more that could've been done in the first place.
I think other UF Proteachers would be able to relate...
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