Confessions of a Bad Teacher - John Owens on the demonization of teachers in NYC and elsewhere

I had read John Owen's piece at Slate and thought that for a guy with so little time in the system he seemed to get it. He contacted me asking for a blurb for his book and sent me a pdf. I haven't had time to read it all but read enough to be impressed. He was at the Skinny Awards dinner a few weeks ago where we met for the first time.

Leonie was also impressed with his book.

Everyone should pre-order this book, out August 6:

When John Owens left a lucrative publishing job to teach English at a public school in New York City's South Bronx, he thought he could do some good. Instead, he found an educational maelstrom that robs students of real learning to improve the school's statistics at any cost, even demonizing its own support system: the teachers.

Using first-hand accounts from teachers across the U.S., Confessions of a Bad Teacher is an eye-opening look at the dire state of American education and an essential blueprint for how to embrace our best educators and create positive change for our children's futures.

"A heartfelt call-to-action.... [Owens] offers a worthy perspective on the need to change the ways in which teachers are viewed and concludes with useful suggestions to get started." - Kirkus

http://www.amazon.com/Confessions-Bad-Teacher-Shocking-Education/dp/1402281005/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1372263931&sr=1-1&keywords=confessions+of+a+bad+teacher

or

www.thebadteacher.com