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Lower Education
Phin Patterson is an educational consultant dissatisfied with his job and his life. On a mission to complete one last assignment before escaping his unfulfilling career and figure out what he wants, he accepts a commission from Donald Murdock at the New York State Education Department. Suddenly, he finds himself on his way to evaluate a tiny school in New York's Southern Tier, not far from the town where he grew up. Now his only goal is to get in, do his job, and get out before anyone from his past remembers him. That turns out to be easier said than done. Dani Sloane, the sharp-witted administrative assistant to the principal, learns the truth about why Phin is really there. With the help of her friends, she sets out to unmask him and force the local board of education to stop the plans that could ruin their school. Discovering that her sometime-lover is an old business associate of Phin's only complicates both the situation and their relationship. Meanwhile, Phin, who has committed himself to keeping his emotional distance, can't resist the charm of the town and its residents-especially the school psychologist, who turns out to be an old friend he hasn't seen in over twenty years. While Dani works to take him down and save her school, Phin wrestles with learning how to do the right thing, including telling the truth to the man with whom he's already falling in love.
- GenresM M Romance
272 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2014
3 people are currently reading
77 people want to read
About the author
A.M. Leibowitz
40 books64 followersAuthor. Editor. Spouse, parent, queer, feminist, reader, and writer falling somewhere on the Geek-Nerd Spectrum. Agnostic Christian offering commentary on faith, culture, and writing. Read more: http://amleibowitz.com/about-me/
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 21, 2017
Lower Education is a novel that will ring true for many who've worked in the state education system during the past decade or more - regardless of which side of the Atlantic we're on.
From 2000-2014, I was a teacher - and later, also a union rep - in a UK state high school. During that time, I saw (and represented my fellow union members during) the transition from local authority school to academy: back-door, government-driven privatisation that placed full responsibility for running the school (and its finances) in the hands of the governing body. It doesn't have to be a corrupt system, but where there is money and power at stake, well, we know the rest, don't we?
Reading Lower Education brought it all back. Talk about a lucky escape.
In this horrifyingly (for me) realistic novel, A.M. Leibowitz takes us to a tiny, rural school in New York state. The school hasn't met The Standards for a couple of years and its future is in jeopardy. There's Gary the principal, collapsing under the weight of a responsibility he never wanted, teachers working their socks off to give their classes the best possible education they can, administrators holding it all together even though it's like juggling a dozen porcupines (thank all that is for administrators - the most undervalued yet crucial members of a school's staff team)...
All while The Standards and the future of their little school - and the well-being of its pupils and staff - hang over them.
This is what our education systems have become. It doesn't matter how hard the teachers work, how much the kids know or enjoy learning. Kids are tested to death - literally, in some cases (there have been a number of suicides attributed to the pressure of passing state tests / SATs (the UK equivalent)). Teachers are stressed, behaviour is poor, the curriculum is boring as hell, but none of that matters in the pursuit of meeting those mandatory standards. Even when we do, somehow (miracles and blood-letting, praying, alcohol, insomnia, etc.), manage to meet them, the powers-that-be conclude it's a sign that standards are slipping and move the goal posts. In all, it's a horrendous system that's failing children - no, more than that, it's harming children, and their parents, and causing a mass exodus of teachers either scapegoated or too ill to take any more abuse at the hands of heartless educational consultants.
Yes, Phin Patterson, I'm talking about you and your kind. You are an arse of the highest order, which is likely in the person specification for 'independent education advisor'.
Phin is a superbly antagonistic character, although I must say, at times, almost all the characters in Lower Education did things that made me want to go in there and give them a talking-to. But desperate times require desperate measures, and in the full context of the story, the actions of Dani, Vic, Alex and Phin (amongst others) are completely understandable. Working in the education sector is unbelievably tough, and trying to keep a 'failing' school afloat and live some kind of life outside of work is nigh on impossible.
I should mention the romance, I guess. There are a few different 'romances' going on in this novel (various gender pairings). There's also a lot of family stuff, friendship and life in general. I loved following the different characters and the connections between them - their histories (shared or otherwise) and the development/rekindling of relationships of all kinds. It's a diverse cast, both LGBT+ and not, and it's all so very real.
I won't spoil the ending - not even by hinting whether it's a happy one or not. It might be a bit close to the bone for those still working in state education, but if you're an escapee, like me, you'll especially enjoy this glimpse at what you're, erm, missing.
From 2000-2014, I was a teacher - and later, also a union rep - in a UK state high school. During that time, I saw (and represented my fellow union members during) the transition from local authority school to academy: back-door, government-driven privatisation that placed full responsibility for running the school (and its finances) in the hands of the governing body. It doesn't have to be a corrupt system, but where there is money and power at stake, well, we know the rest, don't we?
Reading Lower Education brought it all back. Talk about a lucky escape.
In this horrifyingly (for me) realistic novel, A.M. Leibowitz takes us to a tiny, rural school in New York state. The school hasn't met The Standards for a couple of years and its future is in jeopardy. There's Gary the principal, collapsing under the weight of a responsibility he never wanted, teachers working their socks off to give their classes the best possible education they can, administrators holding it all together even though it's like juggling a dozen porcupines (thank all that is for administrators - the most undervalued yet crucial members of a school's staff team)...
All while The Standards and the future of their little school - and the well-being of its pupils and staff - hang over them.
This is what our education systems have become. It doesn't matter how hard the teachers work, how much the kids know or enjoy learning. Kids are tested to death - literally, in some cases (there have been a number of suicides attributed to the pressure of passing state tests / SATs (the UK equivalent)). Teachers are stressed, behaviour is poor, the curriculum is boring as hell, but none of that matters in the pursuit of meeting those mandatory standards. Even when we do, somehow (miracles and blood-letting, praying, alcohol, insomnia, etc.), manage to meet them, the powers-that-be conclude it's a sign that standards are slipping and move the goal posts. In all, it's a horrendous system that's failing children - no, more than that, it's harming children, and their parents, and causing a mass exodus of teachers either scapegoated or too ill to take any more abuse at the hands of heartless educational consultants.
Yes, Phin Patterson, I'm talking about you and your kind. You are an arse of the highest order, which is likely in the person specification for 'independent education advisor'.
Phin is a superbly antagonistic character, although I must say, at times, almost all the characters in Lower Education did things that made me want to go in there and give them a talking-to. But desperate times require desperate measures, and in the full context of the story, the actions of Dani, Vic, Alex and Phin (amongst others) are completely understandable. Working in the education sector is unbelievably tough, and trying to keep a 'failing' school afloat and live some kind of life outside of work is nigh on impossible.
I should mention the romance, I guess. There are a few different 'romances' going on in this novel (various gender pairings). There's also a lot of family stuff, friendship and life in general. I loved following the different characters and the connections between them - their histories (shared or otherwise) and the development/rekindling of relationships of all kinds. It's a diverse cast, both LGBT+ and not, and it's all so very real.
I won't spoil the ending - not even by hinting whether it's a happy one or not. It might be a bit close to the bone for those still working in state education, but if you're an escapee, like me, you'll especially enjoy this glimpse at what you're, erm, missing.
February 28, 2017
Hard-nosed educational consultant Phin Patterson is used to breezing into town, analyzing troubled schools and taking off before his superiors bring the hatchet down, disrupting the status quo. When he takes a job in small town New York, though, he figures he'll do what he's always done and be finished in no time. No harm, no foul. This town is different, though. For one thing, it doesn't take administrative assistant Dani long to figure out that Phin's hiding something. And then there's deliciously attractive school psychologist Alex, who's someone he has a significant past with. It seems, though, that Phin's past is now wrapped up with his present and it's proving harder than he thought to keep the two separate.
Lower Education is a slow build kind of story, one which relies on multi-faceted characterization and strong dialogue to guide the reader through the tale. What it lacks in narrative tension it makes up for in a real world premise, a well-rounded setting, and characters who juggle work and home. I particularly liked how refreshingly open they were about their sexuality. The heart of the story lies in the relationships, like it does for any satisfying romance. Most satisfying is the front row seat to savor the fissures that appear in bad boy Phin's carefully constructed emotional walls when he slowly lets love in
Lower Education is a slow build kind of story, one which relies on multi-faceted characterization and strong dialogue to guide the reader through the tale. What it lacks in narrative tension it makes up for in a real world premise, a well-rounded setting, and characters who juggle work and home. I particularly liked how refreshingly open they were about their sexuality. The heart of the story lies in the relationships, like it does for any satisfying romance. Most satisfying is the front row seat to savor the fissures that appear in bad boy Phin's carefully constructed emotional walls when he slowly lets love in
November 1, 2014
**I received this book free with Inked Rainbow Reads in exchange for an honest review**
This book rocked! Wonderful story about thinking you can just do your job, but ending up doing more, by being involved with the people and falling in love with the town, and trying to do what’s right instead of just getting by. There were many main characters that kept your interest in the story. It wasn’t just a happily ever after right from the beginning, the characters struggled with pressures of losing their control over the town school. The author did very well covering all the struggles.
I couldn’t put it down once I started reading it, I needed to know where the plot was leading too.
The interest level just kept you coming back to the book to know if Phin, the main character,
was going to do what’s right.
Highly recommend this book, I will read more by this author.
Sherry
This book rocked! Wonderful story about thinking you can just do your job, but ending up doing more, by being involved with the people and falling in love with the town, and trying to do what’s right instead of just getting by. There were many main characters that kept your interest in the story. It wasn’t just a happily ever after right from the beginning, the characters struggled with pressures of losing their control over the town school. The author did very well covering all the struggles.
I couldn’t put it down once I started reading it, I needed to know where the plot was leading too.
The interest level just kept you coming back to the book to know if Phin, the main character,
was going to do what’s right.
Highly recommend this book, I will read more by this author.
Sherry
April 6, 2016
A wonderful example of how one's sexuality can be portrayed without being the sole focus of the story. And a timely look at how our educational system is failing.
August 21, 2015
This book is excellent all around. The main plot has Phin, a consultant for NYSED, go to a town where a school is failing to meet the standards set by the state, and plans are to convert it to a charter school. But there is so much more to this story. The backstory, the relationships between the characters, the town as a whole - it all comes together very well in this book. It is well-written and interesting from beginning to end. Highly recommend it!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews