Schooled

I found a few reviews for Schooled at several different blogs. I always love to read books about teaching and teachers, so this book sounded right up my alley. It was a pleasant read and I give it a B.

From Amazon:
All she wants to do is teach. For Anna Taggert, an earnest Ivy League graduate, pursuing her passion as a teacher means engaging young hearts and minds. She longs to be in a place where she can be her best self, and give that best to her students.
Turns out it isn't that easy.
Landing a job at an elite private school in Manhattan, Anna finds her dreams of chalk boards and lesson plans replaced with board families, learning specialists, and benefit-planning mothers. Not to mention the grim realities of her small paycheck.
And then comes the realization that the papers she grades are not the work of her students, but of their high-priced, college-educated tutors. After uncovering this underground economy where a teacher can make the same hourly rate as a Manhattan attorney, Anna herself is seduced by lucrative offers--one after another. Teacher by day, tutor by night, she starts to sample the good life her students enjoy: binges at Barneys, dinners at the Waverly Inn, and a new address on Madison Avenue.
Until, that is, the truth sets in.

You could tell that this book was written by a former teacher. The same excitement that Anna talks about while planning her year and these big lessons that the students are just going to love are so familar to me. I know even now with my after school class I teach I try to do some really cool and fun activities and the students just don't appreciate it or make mean comments about it. Anna also talks about her feelings and how hard it is to deal with students like this. The author does a wonderful job going in to the dirty side of cheating and teaching and discussing how some parents act and beahve. The ending was left a little bit unfinished in my opinion which lowered th rating. Overall though, a good book.

I am not sure what I am going to read next. I know I have a book on hold that the library just called me for (Tomato Girl) and I will probably go pick it up but I may not read it right away. I think I am in a mood for a good thriller, but we'll see. Happy Reading and make sure you go and make an informed decision on voting!