Schooled: A Love Letter to the Exhausting, Infuriating, Occasionally Excruciating Yet Somehow Completely Wonderful Profession of Teaching

by Stephanie Jankowski

In this snarky essay collection, former high school English instructor and author Stephanie Jankowski reveals everything your education degree doesn’t prepare you for about being a teacher. New and experienced educators alike will laugh and commiserate with Jankowski's blunt, no-holds-barred commentary, which covers topics such nailing down that first teaching position (“Here’s My Degree Now Where’s My Job?”); working with challenging students (“Ya Done Messed Up A-A-ron”); avoiding that annoying coworker (“Just Stay Out of the Teacher’s Lounge”); balancing teaching and parenthood (“Where My Working Mamas At?”); dealing with administrative issues and bureaucracy in education (“School Boards: Those Who Can’t Teach…”); and teaching outside the traditional classroom (“Goodbye Classroom, Hello Computer”).

Jankowski's shared experiences are sure to amuse and more importantly, to show educators that they aren’t alone. Her relatable struggles are required reading for ed-majors, new hires, teaching veterans, school administrators, and everyone else interested in our country’s education system and the dedicated professionals who make it all possible.

Genres: Education, Teaching, Nonfiction, Essays

224 pages, Paperback

Published October 29, 2019

About the author

Stephanie loves words, hates numbers, and has a penchant for making people uncomfortable with her honesty. An English teacher by trade and a smack-talker by nature, Stephanie’s family often tires of listening to her speak. Fortunately, her blog, WhenCrazyMeetsExhaustion, affords an acceptable medium for her verbal diarrhea.

Schooled, out December '19, is her first book! A compilation of essays and "teacher truths," Schooled documents the real and often hilarious profession of teaching.

Reviews

[Stephanie Jankowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wrote it and I'm proud of it...does that count as a review? :-)

[Cheeseboy · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Schooled" combines the harsh realities of teaching with a comedic flavor. Teachers will immediately bond and relate to this material. As a former teacher and current administrator, I laughed with glee at the perceptible and relatable experiences. I loved every page and may have each of my teachers read the book over the summer.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must-read for educators

[Jan Hoculock · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful read, written by an extremely talented writer! Perfectly describes the highs and lows of teaching.

[Odessa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Jankowski has her own witty writing voice and made me laugh out loud reading some of her stories. She definitely captures some of the classic teacher tales, but she also perpetuates two big problems in education:
(1) white saviorism (also perpetuating racist ideas like underresourced families don’t care about their kids education while trying to lay claim to not being a racist because she was given her “Black card” for advising a step team)
(2) Asking teachers to just keep giving to unsustainable systems, (which ignores teacher demoralization & the systematic failings-rather than it being just about a teacher ‘having things go their way’)
I absolutely love my fellow educators and wanted to love this book-the title pulled at my heart and made me feel like it was speaking right to me-but there were some triggering aspects of this book that left me frustrated with the same old problematic teaching stories that are unaware of the harm they can cause.

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A former teacher pens essays about teaching. It's vaguely humorous, but you might have to be a teacher to really get it. It's a bit of a pity party. Teaching is a tough job, and our education system makes it even tougher.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is described as a collection of essays about teaching, but I think the title itself is more accurate; it's a love letter. But it's not a love letter written by someone completely infatuated with someone new, full of stars in their eyes and overlooking the person's faults. It's a love letter to a spouse. I love and cherish my husband, and I have plenty of romantic feelings for him that I'm willing to gush about; however, he also leaves his socks balled up in the laundry basket (if they end up there at all) and somehow fails to notice that the toilet needs to be cleaned. This book is *that* kind of love letter.
The author clearly loves the profession of teaching, yet she doesn't deny the difficulties inherent to the job. Instead of throwing a pity party, though, or taking on the "woe to all of us who are stuck in this job" approach, she finds the humor in the hard parts.
You don't need to be a teacher to read this book, though to be honest, it probably helps. As a former teacher myself, I definitely found myself nodding along and reminiscing about my own experiences as I read.
The book is a pretty quick read, and since it's a collection of essays, it can be read in short bursts (if that's your kind of thing). Check it out!

[Angie Hummel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I seriously devoured this book ! It is a rare occurrence for me to literally laugh out loud while reading a book, and Stephanie was able to do that multiple times through this book. I am not a teacher, but i still found so much humor in her stories and how they were told. Her true personality really came out in this book and I loved every page of it. Not only was it hilarious, but she shared many of her inspiring improvements and changes she has made in the best interest of our children. Stephanie truly cares and wants our kids to succeed. I am so proud of my classmate for all she has accomplished 😊 I can only hope that my own children will encounter a loving educator like her.

[Bri · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a little embarrassed to say I finished this in one sitting. I laughed out loud at parts (Looking at you, "Eli") and teared up at others, and my biggest gripe with this book is that Jankowski thinks her best audience would be teachers, and as a non-educator myself, I completely disagree and I think the applicable audience is anyone who teaches, anyone who knows a teacher, or anyone who has ever been enrolled in primary, middle,, or high school. Thank you for a truly enjoyable read, and for your excellemt (and ever applicable) work-from-home tips!

[Tricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book all educators can relate to with a combination of funny stories from the front lines of public education to helpful tips for keeping your sanity as a teacher. Steph's witty personality and love for her career and students come through in every word. Teachers will feel a sense of solidarity while reading, but parents of students could learn A TON about themselves (and hopefully learn how to not be total jerks to their kids' teachers).

[Elizabeth Hubler · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must read for those who work in the school setting, who want to work in schools, or who are interested in what it’s really like being a teacher. Stephanie artfully writes laugh out loud essays about being a teacher. But, they aren’t just funny, they teach us to be better teachers, parents, etc. to look beyond what we have always done.

[Michael Barone · Rating 5 out of 5]

My sister wrote this book! She is incredibly talented and exceptional at what she does. She gets her humor from me. I am so proud of her and while not everyone needs to love what she wrote, those of you who criticized her beyond belief, send over the book that you wrote so we can all take a gander at it. Don’t worry I’ll wait.

[Emilie Weasley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun and funny and well written...

Also, Stephanie wrote this book thinking it would only be teachers who would read this book. Well I'm a student. I read this book to know if I wanted to become a teacher... It helped a bit to know the behind the scenes stuff, so thank you!!

[Jewel Nunez One Funny Mummy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved reading this book! Jankowski is delightfully funny and tells it like it is in the exhausting but wonderful world of teaching. Full of hilarious teacher truths and helpful tips at the beginning of each chapter, Schooled is a must-read if you want to know what being an educator is really like!

[Krista Williamson · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you ever wondered what it might be like in today’s classroom, Stephanie flung the door wide open and let you in. Her humor is unlike any other and her ability to transport you into a high school classroom is insane. First book that I have actually finished in 7 years (because of kids 😅).

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

You have to be a teacher to read this one. Written by a high school English teacher, but lots of things carry over for elementary teachers. Stephanie, thanks for putting into words what we think, feel, and experience. I hope you have a wonderful school year!

[Alyssa Griggs · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are a teacher, this book is for you! Laugh out loud funny and insightful, I highly recommend it!

[Ash E❤️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I laughed. A lot. Because a lot everything in this book made me pause and think of the crazy life of a teacher, and how blessed I am to be apart of it.

[Sarah Gracey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious and definitely worth the read! The fact that it’s a collection of essays makes it a great book for teachers and parents who have little down time.
Wonderful! Delightful! Insightful!

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Please see my review on Amazon.com under C.Wong. Thank you.

[Niamh Dolan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well written, thought provoking, while humourous assessment of what teachers and people have to deal with in the classroom on a daily basis. Found myself nodding a lot with the gems she shared.