They Never Taught Us That: Educator Andrea's Guide to Teaching, Managing the Chaos, and Keeping Your Sanity

by Andrea Forcum

240 pages, Paperback

Published May 5, 2026

Reviews

[Aimee Buttweiler · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book should be required reading for all new and soon-to-be teachers. It doesn’t go into the nitty gritty details of every aspect of teaching, but instead gives advice live a teacher bestie is wrapping you in a warm hug. It makes you feel like you are not alone. Plus each chapter is super short and easy to handle, you can read one chapter a night for a month to get that extra encouragement you need… or you can be like me and binge read it in two days.
Even as a veteran teacher of over ten years, I will be taking some new ideas about student behavior logs and parent communication into this school year that I gained from this book. Easy to read with great advice. Glad I read it.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. The first half of the book was stuff they really should have taught you (basic classroom management and lesson planning), but the second half could be very helpful to a first year teacher with real scenarios you might not have realized you’d encounter and advice your mentor might not think to share. Andrea’s style is amusing and easy to read. Overall, this is a nice addition to any beginning teacher’s library.

There were a surprising number of typos and grammar mistakes that should have been caught by a copy editor. It didn’t take away from the content of the book, so I still recommend it, but it’s not exactly a good look for someone who comes from an English teacher background and likely has a big following of English teachers.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have followed Andrea Forcum on social media for years. She was also the keynote speaker for our state teachers union conference a few years ago. I already knew lots about her life and classroom experiences from her social media posts and podcast, but seeing them applied to actual advice for teachers made them new again. This book is one of the realest teaching books I've read. It wasn't boring explanations of pedagogy, judgement towards those teachers who are new to the profession, or advice from those who believe they have all of the answers to what ails our current public education system. It was simply stories, lessons learned from her own mistakes, and encouragement. Every new teacher should have this book!

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have mixed views on They Never Taught Us That. She drew me in and I read it all. However, there are several proofreading errors that drove me batty: extra words, omitted words, typos, wrong usage there/their. Her inclusion of profanity was not a fave, but probably her everyday language. She covers a lot of stuff teacher prep courses don't cover and it was interesting. In one place she covers trauma well and offers resources. In another, she is sarcastic and it feels off. If not for these issues. I would rate it at a 5. (I pre-ordered the book on Amazon and received it early.)

[Jessica Simek · Rating 2 out of 5]

Had some good advice and ideas I might want to try. Probably would’ve been more helpful if I was a first year teacher and not finishing my fifth year. There were a surprising number of typos and grammatical errors and I could’ve done without the cuss words.

[Michael Berquist · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great resource for not only new teachers but 8th year ones like me. I created a new mantra for my classroom this year from the book and found awesome new organization strategies. A teacher book for everyone!