What do you think?
Rate this book
As Bad as They Say?: Three Decades of Teaching in the Bronx
An inspired account of one teacher working beyond the boundaries of her classroom
Rundown, vermin-infested buildings. Rigid, slow-to-react bureaucratic systems. Children from broken homes and declining communities. How can a teacher succeed? How does a student not only survive but also come to thrive? It can happen, and As Bad as They Say? tells the heroic stories of Janet Mayer’s students during her 33-year tenure as a Bronx high school teacher.
In 1995, Janet Mayer’s students began a pen-pal exchange with South African teenagers who, under apartheid, had been denied an education; almost uniformly, the South Africans asked, “Is the Bronx as bad as they say?” This dedicated teacher promised those students and all future ones that she would write a book to help change the stereotypical image of Bronx students and show that, in spite of overwhelming obstacles, they are outstanding young people, capable of the highest achievements.
She walks the reader through the decrepit school building, describing in graphic detail the deplorable physical conditions that students and faculty navigate daily. Then, in eight chapters we meet eight amazing young people, a small sample of the more than 14,000 students the writer has felt honored to teach.
She describes her own Bronx roots and the powerful influences that made her such a determined teacher. Finally, the veteran teacher sounds the alarm to stop the corruption and degradation of public education in the guise of what are euphemistically labeled “reforms” (No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top). She also expresses optimism that public education and our democracy can still be saved, urgently calling on all to become involved and help save our schools.
Rundown, vermin-infested buildings. Rigid, slow-to-react bureaucratic systems. Children from broken homes and declining communities. How can a teacher succeed? How does a student not only survive but also come to thrive? It can happen, and As Bad as They Say? tells the heroic stories of Janet Mayer’s students during her 33-year tenure as a Bronx high school teacher.
In 1995, Janet Mayer’s students began a pen-pal exchange with South African teenagers who, under apartheid, had been denied an education; almost uniformly, the South Africans asked, “Is the Bronx as bad as they say?” This dedicated teacher promised those students and all future ones that she would write a book to help change the stereotypical image of Bronx students and show that, in spite of overwhelming obstacles, they are outstanding young people, capable of the highest achievements.
She walks the reader through the decrepit school building, describing in graphic detail the deplorable physical conditions that students and faculty navigate daily. Then, in eight chapters we meet eight amazing young people, a small sample of the more than 14,000 students the writer has felt honored to teach.
She describes her own Bronx roots and the powerful influences that made her such a determined teacher. Finally, the veteran teacher sounds the alarm to stop the corruption and degradation of public education in the guise of what are euphemistically labeled “reforms” (No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top). She also expresses optimism that public education and our democracy can still be saved, urgently calling on all to become involved and help save our schools.
- GenresEducation
194 pages, Paperback
First published May 15, 2011
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 23, 2022
It takes an unprecedented level of naiveté for this author to catalogue all the degrading conditions affecting public schools in the Bronx while comparing these conditions to those prevalent in suburban schools and then never making the connection that these are systemic issues. The system has been created to insure that an underclass will always be available to perform menial tasks, to lessen competition for top spots at universities, government jobs, and consulting posts and to funnel failing students into the correctional pens when all else fails in their lives. Her litany of woes will never be addressed until the issues of oppression are dealt with first.
May 31, 2014
As Bad As They Say
by Janet Grossbach Mayer
If you are thinking about a career in teaching, if you have toyed with the idea of "making a difference" with your life, or if you have any interest whatsoever in social justice, "As Bad As They Say" by Janet Grossach Mayer is a must read. If on the other hand you believe that rating students and teachers should be done solely on the basis of standardized tests, and if you are tempted to believe in the teacher bashing currently popular,this book will open your eyes and your heart. After more than thirty years of teaching in the Bronx, Janet Grossbach Mayer shares her wisdom about urban teachers, urban schools, and most of all urban students. Walk a mile in her shoes, meet her students, and learn. This well written and poignant call to arms earned favorable comments from such luminaries as Diane Ravitch. In "The New York Review of Books" Ravitch praises Grossbach Mayer as "the kind of person who is on the other side of the class war." High marks to Fordham University for publishing this truly enlightening book, and full marks to Janet Grossbach Mayer for this report from the trenches.
by Janet Grossbach Mayer
If you are thinking about a career in teaching, if you have toyed with the idea of "making a difference" with your life, or if you have any interest whatsoever in social justice, "As Bad As They Say" by Janet Grossach Mayer is a must read. If on the other hand you believe that rating students and teachers should be done solely on the basis of standardized tests, and if you are tempted to believe in the teacher bashing currently popular,this book will open your eyes and your heart. After more than thirty years of teaching in the Bronx, Janet Grossbach Mayer shares her wisdom about urban teachers, urban schools, and most of all urban students. Walk a mile in her shoes, meet her students, and learn. This well written and poignant call to arms earned favorable comments from such luminaries as Diane Ravitch. In "The New York Review of Books" Ravitch praises Grossbach Mayer as "the kind of person who is on the other side of the class war." High marks to Fordham University for publishing this truly enlightening book, and full marks to Janet Grossbach Mayer for this report from the trenches.
February 7, 2018
The author uses examples of individual students to illustrate the massive problems facing public schools, especially those in impoverished areas. Her defense of her students shows her dedication, and her anger is justified.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews