What do you think?
Rate this book
What I Didn't Know: True Stories of Becoming a Teacher
Teachers delve into the most difficult, rewarding, and transformative moments of their careers, as they discover that succeeding at teaching is a test not just of training or of subject matter, but of resolve, dedication, faith, and character. Whether in a New England prep school or a public school in South Central LA, a preschool in Malawi or a high school in China, the fundamental challenges of becoming a teacher are the same: finding authority, forging an authentic connection with students, and making a space where learning can occur. In these twenty personal narratives, teachers provide us with a fascinating insight into a profession that touches us all.
- GenresNonfictionEducation
288 pages, Paperback
Published October 11, 2016
9 people are currently reading
344 people want to read
About the author
Lee Gutkind
105 books99 followersLee Gutkind has been recognized by Vanity Fair as “the godfather behind creative nonfiction.” A prolific writer, he has authored and edited over twenty-five books, and is the founder and editor of Creative Nonfiction, the first and largest literary magazine to publish only narrative nonfiction. Gutkind has received grants, honors, and awards from numerous organizations including the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Science Foundation. A man of many talents, Gutkind has been a motorcyclist, medical insider, sports expert, sailor, and college professor. He is currently distinguished writer in residence in the Consortium for Science, Policy, and Outcomes at Arizona State University and a professor in the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
August 29, 2016
Honest but a little frightening ... you gotta love teachers.
August 6, 2017
Focused too heavily on Secondary and on English Teaching. Some of the teachers were simply not good educators, however, some stories were amazing. Would have liked to see more diversity.
May 1, 2017
I'm a sucker for any teaching-related memoir so this library find was quickly whisked off the shelf and into my hot, little hands. Twenty teachers tell their stories and the lessons they learned. These tales encompass a vast array of "classrooms." From Inupiaq and Yupik boys in Nome, Alaska, to inner-city Los Angeles to a nursery school in Malawi to an International School in China to pregnant Mormon teens in Ogden, Utah. Some of the writers have always wanted to teach, some fell into the profession after other failed careers, some dreaded going to work each day, some wax nostalgic. All of them felt, at times, that they were failing their students, all felt inadequate, all grew through their experiences. This quick-read reignited my passion for teaching, for those brief, yet oh-so rewarding moments when connections are made and lives are changed, albeit incrementally.
Recommended reading for anyone considering pursuing a career in teaching, for those who are currently discouraged in the profession, and for parents who are disheartened with the educational system. Despite its many flaws, most educators I know are doing their best to improve the lives of their students.
Recommended reading for anyone considering pursuing a career in teaching, for those who are currently discouraged in the profession, and for parents who are disheartened with the educational system. Despite its many flaws, most educators I know are doing their best to improve the lives of their students.
January 13, 2017
As a high school and later college professor, I thoroughly enjoyed this group of true accounts of teachers' experiences in their first years in the field. This collection includes a variety of schools, student populations, and experiences, shot through with continuing concerns over teacher efficacy, pedagogy, the necessity to bring together students and school reform, diversity and inclusions. It is highly readable and will be useful to first year teachers as well as resonant with long time teachers like me.
May 12, 2019
This book made me feel sick. No diversity. It’s peppered with too many stories about teaching coming from the white lens and point of view. But this book is required for an upcoming class I am about to take this summer.
July 10, 2022
Every story in here has value. The first talks about state requirements and NCLB with the idea that we are missing the culturally relevant and maybe choose not to teach to the test. I thoroughly enjoyed each story, but those where teachers resided in public schools resonated the most. Sure, I get being a teacher in a summer camp or a Peace Corp volunteer as a form of teaching, but the sheer balancing act of students' needs, parents' demands, and admin/state's requirements "you need to provide social emotional learning, but you will be judged out assessment outcomes" makes the craft of teaching an act of love, service, with a dash of frustration and tedium. Highly recommend to teachers of any experience level.
April 12, 2018
Wishing for way more diverse contributors
A little too much “nice white lady/man” story after story. I got a bit out of it but I was hoping for more lessons about teaching itself from professionals in the field. This had so many first time teacher stories, it would have been nice to get some urban mid level stories too.
A little too much “nice white lady/man” story after story. I got a bit out of it but I was hoping for more lessons about teaching itself from professionals in the field. This had so many first time teacher stories, it would have been nice to get some urban mid level stories too.
November 22, 2021
I wish I'd read this book five years after I started my teaching career. (Except it hadn't been published then.) In these first-person accounts, teachers from very different school circumstances share their joys, frustrations, successes and growth as public and private educators.
What is the key to the crazy, roller coaster profession of teaching? In some way, shape or form, each author answers with the same one: Connection. Connection. Connection. The only way to win students' trust is by being vulnerable, listening closely and empathically, getting to know them and using creative lessons that meet students where they are while pushi8ng them to strive for more.
Karen Kelley Perkins describes the isolation of the profession in "On My Own." as she goes through the list of legislative bills introduced and passed between 2001 and 2010, starting with No Child Left Behind (NCLB) up to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) that put a strangle-hold on the profession.
"My fellow teachers and I leapt from one 'best way to teach' stepping stone to the next over the course of our careers. The trail twisted in all direction and invariably returned to its source.'
We shifted from individualized learning to group learning. Then we annihilated phonics ad praised brand-new programs like Accelerated Reader. It wasn't long before the decision makers scoffed at programs like Accelerated Reader, and the East Coast joined California in its newfound solution for poor readers and spellers, christened 'literature-based reading instruction.' NCLB joined the parade and packed more file folder, paperwork, and accountability on teachers' backs as they struggled to keep track of their ever-changing curriculum requirements.'
Technology entered the picture and officialdom rattled its scepter and directed us to focus on problem-based learning, the creative and interactive use of SMART Boards, laptops, Classroom Response Systems, and the creation of instructional videos: 'Get those kids' hands on things; they learn better that way.'"
Most programs are moving targets, coming and going with the newest leadership in school districts, the loudest rallying cry from state senators or boards of education, educational policy leaders, hot-topic books, or irate parents. But good teaching never grows from purchased programs. It is nurtured and developed in individual classrooms with love, connection, empathy, and creative lesson plans.
In the essay, "Sealed Forever: On Becoming a Teacher," readers learn what happened to author Cynthia Miller Coffel in her Ogden, City program for pregnant Mormon teens when she openly shared she was accosted walking home one night. After her reveal, the students warm to her unexpectedly, are beyond what she believed was possible.
Two essays are titled after troublesome students who forced two teachers to grow and change beyond their imagination. They are"Joe" and "Jiao Wo (Teach Me)."
In "Unsaid," teacher/author Shannon LeBlanc takes a position as a middle school English teacher in a private Islamic school in Louisville, Kentucky, where about 85% of the student body is below the poverty line. She compassionately guides her students to write letters to the family members of three victims killed by Craig Stephen Hicks, on February 10, 2015, in a Chapel Hill condominium. She implores her students to understand the depth of community and to let others in their community know they are not alone. It is the first assignment she gives that all students complete diligently -- without complaint. Not one of her student mentions the killer's name or focuses their response on blame. They reach out with compassion and love to embrace their fellow citizens.
In "Ancient Beef Made Me a Teacher" author Lori D. Ungeman overcomes the bloodiest fight she's ever witnessed in her Bushwick classroom in Brooklyn. Afterwords, she learns the fight had nothing to do with her classroom, and everything to do with the anger and rivalry that exists outside school. She cries in front of her students after the fight is settled, and the next day her students tease her. She transforms the moment into a teachable lesson by sharing she cried all night. Next, she admits she's only been in one fight, an ugly one with her younger sister, and they are astonished. From them, she learns that guns in the streets are expected, but guns and fights in the school are not. They need their educational environment to be a safe place free from the trauma of the gang life lived on their home blocks.
In "Nothing Gold Can Stay," A.V. Klotz uses theater tricks, such as trust falls, and memorization games where a ball is thrown back and forth as each student recites one line from a Shakespeare sonnet until the entire class has it committed to memory. She also saves a young student, a young girl wanted neither by her father living in Alaska, or her mother who is her legal guardian. Klotz promises she will not give up on her. The young girl learns how to channel her grief into a role she's assigned to play in 'Lorca.'
There are more essays in this book with equally meaningful messages.
Find a copy and read them. They're very inspiring.
What is the key to the crazy, roller coaster profession of teaching? In some way, shape or form, each author answers with the same one: Connection. Connection. Connection. The only way to win students' trust is by being vulnerable, listening closely and empathically, getting to know them and using creative lessons that meet students where they are while pushi8ng them to strive for more.
Karen Kelley Perkins describes the isolation of the profession in "On My Own." as she goes through the list of legislative bills introduced and passed between 2001 and 2010, starting with No Child Left Behind (NCLB) up to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) that put a strangle-hold on the profession.
"My fellow teachers and I leapt from one 'best way to teach' stepping stone to the next over the course of our careers. The trail twisted in all direction and invariably returned to its source.'
We shifted from individualized learning to group learning. Then we annihilated phonics ad praised brand-new programs like Accelerated Reader. It wasn't long before the decision makers scoffed at programs like Accelerated Reader, and the East Coast joined California in its newfound solution for poor readers and spellers, christened 'literature-based reading instruction.' NCLB joined the parade and packed more file folder, paperwork, and accountability on teachers' backs as they struggled to keep track of their ever-changing curriculum requirements.'
Technology entered the picture and officialdom rattled its scepter and directed us to focus on problem-based learning, the creative and interactive use of SMART Boards, laptops, Classroom Response Systems, and the creation of instructional videos: 'Get those kids' hands on things; they learn better that way.'"
Most programs are moving targets, coming and going with the newest leadership in school districts, the loudest rallying cry from state senators or boards of education, educational policy leaders, hot-topic books, or irate parents. But good teaching never grows from purchased programs. It is nurtured and developed in individual classrooms with love, connection, empathy, and creative lesson plans.
In the essay, "Sealed Forever: On Becoming a Teacher," readers learn what happened to author Cynthia Miller Coffel in her Ogden, City program for pregnant Mormon teens when she openly shared she was accosted walking home one night. After her reveal, the students warm to her unexpectedly, are beyond what she believed was possible.
Two essays are titled after troublesome students who forced two teachers to grow and change beyond their imagination. They are"Joe" and "Jiao Wo (Teach Me)."
In "Unsaid," teacher/author Shannon LeBlanc takes a position as a middle school English teacher in a private Islamic school in Louisville, Kentucky, where about 85% of the student body is below the poverty line. She compassionately guides her students to write letters to the family members of three victims killed by Craig Stephen Hicks, on February 10, 2015, in a Chapel Hill condominium. She implores her students to understand the depth of community and to let others in their community know they are not alone. It is the first assignment she gives that all students complete diligently -- without complaint. Not one of her student mentions the killer's name or focuses their response on blame. They reach out with compassion and love to embrace their fellow citizens.
In "Ancient Beef Made Me a Teacher" author Lori D. Ungeman overcomes the bloodiest fight she's ever witnessed in her Bushwick classroom in Brooklyn. Afterwords, she learns the fight had nothing to do with her classroom, and everything to do with the anger and rivalry that exists outside school. She cries in front of her students after the fight is settled, and the next day her students tease her. She transforms the moment into a teachable lesson by sharing she cried all night. Next, she admits she's only been in one fight, an ugly one with her younger sister, and they are astonished. From them, she learns that guns in the streets are expected, but guns and fights in the school are not. They need their educational environment to be a safe place free from the trauma of the gang life lived on their home blocks.
In "Nothing Gold Can Stay," A.V. Klotz uses theater tricks, such as trust falls, and memorization games where a ball is thrown back and forth as each student recites one line from a Shakespeare sonnet until the entire class has it committed to memory. She also saves a young student, a young girl wanted neither by her father living in Alaska, or her mother who is her legal guardian. Klotz promises she will not give up on her. The young girl learns how to channel her grief into a role she's assigned to play in 'Lorca.'
There are more essays in this book with equally meaningful messages.
Find a copy and read them. They're very inspiring.
January 21, 2019
Very inspiring stories, overpopulated by English teacher's accounts of teaching.
November 22, 2020
Some of the stories were uplifting while some of them were very depressing. Definitely relatable in every aspect though!
August 8, 2019
My favorite genre (creative non fiction essays) on one of my favorite topics (teaching)!
February 18, 2017
What an enjoyable and interesting read, each writer/teacher's viewpoint is so different and the whole gives a divers snapshot of what teaching in the U.S. is like.
January 31, 2021
I read this book as part of my research for an essay I planned to write. Alienated, bullied, disempowered, traumatised and disrespected by my school teachers, I found this book difficult to read, let alone review. Indeed, years after leaving primary and secondary schools, my emotional scars still throb. It didn’t help that only 20% of the essays in this anthology touched and inspired me, whilst the rest brought back painful memories of how my friends and I were psychologically and physically abused by our teachers. Nevertheless, I feel hopeful, and I believe that having finished this book, I am now one step closer towards healing and forgiving authority figures who have betrayed my trust.
December 27, 2016
Being retired from our school district, I found the stories in this book familiar and nostalgic. I sincerely enjoyed it and will pass it on.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews