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Schooled!: Based on one lawyer’s true-life successes, failures, frustrations, and heartbreaks while teaching in the New York City public school system.
A part of James Hartman fit perfectly into his career as an attorney at a law firm in New York City. He was good at what he did and enjoyed the perks of the professional career his privileged upbringing had reared him to strive for all his life. But another part of James believed his talents should be used for more than just personal gain - that he should be doing something with his life that would, in some small way, help change the world for the better. And James needed more time than his high-powered career allowed to save his deteriorating marriage and to live a more meaningful life outside of his profession. So James left the law to teach in an inner-city public high school as part of the New York City Teaching Fellows Program. His hope was to offer opportunity to his inner-city students and to help turn around a failing public high school. What he found during his three year odyssey teaching in the New York City public school system was a reality of dysfunction, violence, racism, and corruption far different and infinitely more tragic than he could have ever imagined.
234 pages, Paperback
Published January 24, 2018
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About the author
Matthew Rockwood
1 bookMatthew Rockwood is an attorney who left the law to become a teacher. He taught for three years in the New York City public school system as part of the New York City Teaching Fellows Program and continues to teach at the community college level. His teaching experiences inspired his first novel, SCHOOLED!
He is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University's Writing Seminars program and earned his JD at Boston University School of Law.
He lives in New York City with his wife and two children. He is an avid swimmer and a poker enthusiast.
He is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University's Writing Seminars program and earned his JD at Boston University School of Law.
He lives in New York City with his wife and two children. He is an avid swimmer and a poker enthusiast.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 8, 2018
"Schooled" is a fictionalized account of the author's real life experiences teaching in a New York City public school. Fictionalized because he could never, ever have published this with the real names of the characters! It allowed him to really tell his story, without the fear of reprisals. And it's so good!!!! I could not put it down.
Frustrated with his career as an attorney, and feeling he wasn't giving back to the general good of society, Rockwood decides to become an inner-city public school teacher. Because, how hard could it be, really? He knew he was smart, educated, and could offer these poor inner-city kids a new perspective on life. A chance to really improve themselves, so they could be like him. Do you get a sense of where this is going?
To say Rockwood underestimated his challenge would be putting it mildly. Soon he began to witness, and slowly understand, the complexities inner-city children face. Race, absentee parents, gangs, fights, he would see it all firsthand. And as tough as those problems were, they were nothing compared to the bureaucratic nightmares he experienced through the school administration. An absolute driving pressure to graduate every student, no matter how they did, if they could read or write at all, was prevalent. After all, if you failed a student, it meant the school failed, and that would mean the administration would find themselves out of a job. Not going to happen!
The author introduces many memorable students, and teachers, and administrators. And discusses the toll it takes on all of them, including the author's personal, emotional, and physical health. His descriptions are excellent, you can close your eyes and visualize each of the characters he brings forth.
The ending shocked me! That's a real surprise, because as many books as I read, that doesn't happen often. I really hope the author finds someone to make this book into a movie, or a series, because it would be excellent!
Frustrated with his career as an attorney, and feeling he wasn't giving back to the general good of society, Rockwood decides to become an inner-city public school teacher. Because, how hard could it be, really? He knew he was smart, educated, and could offer these poor inner-city kids a new perspective on life. A chance to really improve themselves, so they could be like him. Do you get a sense of where this is going?
To say Rockwood underestimated his challenge would be putting it mildly. Soon he began to witness, and slowly understand, the complexities inner-city children face. Race, absentee parents, gangs, fights, he would see it all firsthand. And as tough as those problems were, they were nothing compared to the bureaucratic nightmares he experienced through the school administration. An absolute driving pressure to graduate every student, no matter how they did, if they could read or write at all, was prevalent. After all, if you failed a student, it meant the school failed, and that would mean the administration would find themselves out of a job. Not going to happen!
The author introduces many memorable students, and teachers, and administrators. And discusses the toll it takes on all of them, including the author's personal, emotional, and physical health. His descriptions are excellent, you can close your eyes and visualize each of the characters he brings forth.
The ending shocked me! That's a real surprise, because as many books as I read, that doesn't happen often. I really hope the author finds someone to make this book into a movie, or a series, because it would be excellent!
October 25, 2018
James Hartman leaves his fledgling career in law for a foray into New Yorks failing public school system, rife with systemic problems: the vast differences in the quality of public schools from state to state and from neighborhood to neighborhood, teacher burn-out, barriers to energetic new teachers of color, institutional poverty and racism and disinterest, et al. While Rockwood doesn't provide us with solutions per se, he does point out plenty of issues and failings with the school system, teaching credentials, uninspired parenting, and grade inflation exacerbated by subjective testing.
While I felt his characters might've used some more dimension, I could see them being intended as allegorical. I do absolutely love that Rockwood ties in the demise of popular culture with that of education, "Hollywood standards for screenplays had gone decidedly downhill - perhaps along with general literacy - audiences not seeming to take much notice of gaping plot holes, bad dialogue, one-dimensional characters, or sappy happy endings."
While I felt his characters might've used some more dimension, I could see them being intended as allegorical. I do absolutely love that Rockwood ties in the demise of popular culture with that of education, "Hollywood standards for screenplays had gone decidedly downhill - perhaps along with general literacy - audiences not seeming to take much notice of gaping plot holes, bad dialogue, one-dimensional characters, or sappy happy endings."
March 15, 2018
I received a kindle edition of Schooled by Matthew Rockwood from #Net Gallery in exchange for my thoughts on this book in this review. Mr. Rockwood is an Attorney who decides he would rather teach school in New York City (Attorney or Teacher what's worse)? This book surprised me, it is a page turner and I found myself glued to it until I finished. These kids today though what is wrong with them? You truly have to be out of your mind to be a teacher today. There's so many different things to deal with now a days. Guns, Knifes, attitudes, metal detectors. This has to be a frustrating job and it doesn't pay well at all. This is a great book and I recommend reading this but don't be appalled because you will be. It must have been difficult for Mr. Rockwood to want to do good for himself and for these children only to be shocked at not only the children but by the system that seems to fail all around. God Bless you Mr. Rockwood for taking all this on.
Thank you Net Gallery for letting me not only read this book but allowing me to review it. Above is my honest opinion.
Cherie'
Thank you Net Gallery for letting me not only read this book but allowing me to review it. Above is my honest opinion.
Cherie'
February 6, 2018
Based on the author’s experience in the NYC public schools, this novel adeptly presents the struggles, challenges, and frustrations that face so many trying to work and learn in the city’s public schools.
Matthew Rockwood takes the reader from the enthusiastic start of James’ teaching career, a shift from the legal world, as James decides he wants to do something more with while than practicing law in a large corporate firm. His enthusiasm and resolve are tested as he comes up against the realities of public school education in a large urban system.
Eye-opening and heart wrenching, this novel provides a glimpse into the world of a failing NYC school and the lives of the people doing what they do to get by and, sometimes, to do their best in a seemingly hopeless and frustrating situation.
Matthew Rockwood takes the reader from the enthusiastic start of James’ teaching career, a shift from the legal world, as James decides he wants to do something more with while than practicing law in a large corporate firm. His enthusiasm and resolve are tested as he comes up against the realities of public school education in a large urban system.
Eye-opening and heart wrenching, this novel provides a glimpse into the world of a failing NYC school and the lives of the people doing what they do to get by and, sometimes, to do their best in a seemingly hopeless and frustrating situation.
February 19, 2018
Reading this book right after I'd read A Perilous Path: Talking, Race, Inequality and the Law by Sherrylin Iffil, Loretta Lynch, Bryan Stevenson, Anthony C. Thompson brought to light the struggles of teachers, pupils and the education system of America.
It broke my heart but it also inspired me to give back and the author, must have had quite the experience that I am certain not all of it could fit into this book. I hope everyone gets to read this and in doing so, they'll love a little more, give a little more, care a little more and most of all, they'll not give up on people. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC and to Mr. Rockwood, well, the box of tissues and notepad was definitely worth it.
It broke my heart but it also inspired me to give back and the author, must have had quite the experience that I am certain not all of it could fit into this book. I hope everyone gets to read this and in doing so, they'll love a little more, give a little more, care a little more and most of all, they'll not give up on people. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC and to Mr. Rockwood, well, the box of tissues and notepad was definitely worth it.
March 11, 2018
I think this book is better to be wrote as a non fiction. As a fiction this book is struggling with its character development, unresolved conflict and a somewhat boring plot. However this book offer us a glimpse at the US public school system and portray a quarter life crisis.
We look into life of James Hartman, whose tired of being an attorney and registered to be at a Teaching Program, what he expect to be fun, loaded with great mission in education, and greater sense of self fullfillment turn out to be challenging and many dissappointments.
Thank you netgalley for providing the arc.
We look into life of James Hartman, whose tired of being an attorney and registered to be at a Teaching Program, what he expect to be fun, loaded with great mission in education, and greater sense of self fullfillment turn out to be challenging and many dissappointments.
Thank you netgalley for providing the arc.
June 28, 2018
Tragic and heartbreaking. I've witnessed much the same in my line of work. Sad story. I've known so many teachers in urban schools and I have heard so many sad tales from them about their children. My daughter and ,I and many of her friends, do all we can to aid our poor beleaguered teacher friends who work with inner city children in schools. Not sure what can be done to "fix" all the issues the poor kids face. But I have a very healthy respect for their teachers going into the classrooms everyday.
I received a Kindle ARC in exchange for a fair review.
I received a Kindle ARC in exchange for a fair review.
July 12, 2018
WOW!!! What a read. This book was very good. Why would an attorney want to give up that profession to teach? Read this book and find out. His goal is to make a difference in the NY school system. We embark on the journey with him as he sets out to do this. This book held my attention and would not let go. Very well written. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC of this book in return for my honest review.
February 17, 2018
While this is a fictionalized account, the devastating realities of the obstacles facing our public schools become all too real.
The author makes you feel compassion for every student, as the bleakness of their situation becomes clear, and empathy for the teachers, whose efforts to make change, and reach students are unwelcome, and stifled.
The author makes you feel compassion for every student, as the bleakness of their situation becomes clear, and empathy for the teachers, whose efforts to make change, and reach students are unwelcome, and stifled.
March 19, 2018
So an attorney from from a privileged background decides he wishes to give a little more back to his community and to study to become a teacher in a failing inner-city Manhatten school of predonantly Black children.
This story is about the loss of dreams and idealism in the face of a system that is clearly designed to fail other human beings. James Hartman, the main narrator of this account, initially welcomes the opportunity to spend more time with his wife, but the shape of what is to come already makes itself felt while he is still a student. He sees the most gifted of his colleagues fail because he cannot deal with a stupid bureacratic assessment test.
At school he is to discover that he is expected to work with enthusiastic new teaching methods and ideologies that don't basically work, that the most talented of his students drop out as often as the biggest misfits. Meanwhile over-sized classes mean that he is never able to give each child the attention they deserve. He is punished rather than praised for celebrating the birthday of one of his most deprived students. Within a sink school of dysfunctional rules and regulations, he discovers that the teacher is always the fall guy of whatever goes wrong. All of this means that the vicious circle of inequality within the system either entraps or spits out all caught within its wheels.
Defeated by all this, Hartman bows out after two years to return to law, broken now and and an incipient alcoholic.
A sad, sad story indeed and while it is easy to understand how these things happen well enough (I teach part-time in a non-academic school myself that is in some cases one step beyond just being a special school or sink school), I did simply find myself ultimately irritated by what seemed to be Hartman's cop-out in all of this. He is depicted as much as a timid burnt-out lawyer as he is a teacher at the end!
The points he made are of course valid and I can imagine many teachers wryly empathising with what he has to say. The inequality within the education system is pernicious indeed and probably helps break the spirit not just of idealists but of the young people it should help. Being frisked at the entrance, sharing classrooms with mice and flying cockroaches just for starters. This, incidentally, was written before more recent austerity programmes came into being.......
Real-life dystopia in the classroom.
This story is about the loss of dreams and idealism in the face of a system that is clearly designed to fail other human beings. James Hartman, the main narrator of this account, initially welcomes the opportunity to spend more time with his wife, but the shape of what is to come already makes itself felt while he is still a student. He sees the most gifted of his colleagues fail because he cannot deal with a stupid bureacratic assessment test.
At school he is to discover that he is expected to work with enthusiastic new teaching methods and ideologies that don't basically work, that the most talented of his students drop out as often as the biggest misfits. Meanwhile over-sized classes mean that he is never able to give each child the attention they deserve. He is punished rather than praised for celebrating the birthday of one of his most deprived students. Within a sink school of dysfunctional rules and regulations, he discovers that the teacher is always the fall guy of whatever goes wrong. All of this means that the vicious circle of inequality within the system either entraps or spits out all caught within its wheels.
Defeated by all this, Hartman bows out after two years to return to law, broken now and and an incipient alcoholic.
A sad, sad story indeed and while it is easy to understand how these things happen well enough (I teach part-time in a non-academic school myself that is in some cases one step beyond just being a special school or sink school), I did simply find myself ultimately irritated by what seemed to be Hartman's cop-out in all of this. He is depicted as much as a timid burnt-out lawyer as he is a teacher at the end!
The points he made are of course valid and I can imagine many teachers wryly empathising with what he has to say. The inequality within the education system is pernicious indeed and probably helps break the spirit not just of idealists but of the young people it should help. Being frisked at the entrance, sharing classrooms with mice and flying cockroaches just for starters. This, incidentally, was written before more recent austerity programmes came into being.......
Real-life dystopia in the classroom.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews