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Teacher
A powerful and moving memoir about how the current system is letting down children and parents, and breaking dedicated teachers. Devastating, heart-breaking, enraging.
'Gabbie's story needs to be shouted from the rooftops. She very eloquently shows us why and how education needs to change... Teacher made me laugh and cry. I loved it!' - Kathy Margolis, former teacher and activist.
Watching children learn is a beautiful and extraordinary experience. Their bodies transform, reflecting inner changes. Teeth fall out. Knees scab. Freckles multiply. Throughout the year they grow in endless ways and I can almost see their self-esteem rising, their confidence soaring, their small bodies now empowered. Given wings.
They fall in love with learning.
It is a kind of magic, a kind of loving, a kind of art.
It is teaching.
Just teaching.
Just what I do.
What I did.
Past tense.
In 2014, Gabrielle Stroud was a very dedicated teacher with over a decade of experience. Months later, she resigned in frustration and despair when she realised that the Naplan-test education model was stopping her from doing the very thing she was best teaching individual children according to their needs and talents. Her ground-breaking essay 'Teaching Australia' in the Feb 2016 Griffith Review outlined her experiences and provoked a huge response from former and current teachers around the world. That essay lifted the lid on a scandal that is yet to properly break - that our education system is unfair to our children and destroying their teachers.
In a powerful memoir inspired by her original essay, Gabrielle tells the full how she came to teaching, what makes a great teacher, what our kids need from their teachers, and what it was that finally broke her. A brilliant and heart-breaking memoir that cuts to the heart of a vital matter of national importance.
'Gabbie's story needs to be shouted from the rooftops. She very eloquently shows us why and how education needs to change... Teacher made me laugh and cry. I loved it!' - Kathy Margolis, former teacher and activist.
Watching children learn is a beautiful and extraordinary experience. Their bodies transform, reflecting inner changes. Teeth fall out. Knees scab. Freckles multiply. Throughout the year they grow in endless ways and I can almost see their self-esteem rising, their confidence soaring, their small bodies now empowered. Given wings.
They fall in love with learning.
It is a kind of magic, a kind of loving, a kind of art.
It is teaching.
Just teaching.
Just what I do.
What I did.
Past tense.
In 2014, Gabrielle Stroud was a very dedicated teacher with over a decade of experience. Months later, she resigned in frustration and despair when she realised that the Naplan-test education model was stopping her from doing the very thing she was best teaching individual children according to their needs and talents. Her ground-breaking essay 'Teaching Australia' in the Feb 2016 Griffith Review outlined her experiences and provoked a huge response from former and current teachers around the world. That essay lifted the lid on a scandal that is yet to properly break - that our education system is unfair to our children and destroying their teachers.
In a powerful memoir inspired by her original essay, Gabrielle tells the full how she came to teaching, what makes a great teacher, what our kids need from their teachers, and what it was that finally broke her. A brilliant and heart-breaking memoir that cuts to the heart of a vital matter of national importance.
290 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 27, 2018
133 people are currently reading
1945 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 370 reviews
September 11, 2018
Granted, I’m a teacher myself, but the reason why I give this book 5 stars is not because I can nod my head at everything Gabbie says. It’s because I think it gives a unique insight into what it really means to be a teacher, so that if you have any interest in knowing what this profession entails, this is the book for you.
Granted, this non-fictional account written from a former primary school teacher’s perspective is very much on the negative side, and while reading you feel like teaching must be like a dark hole that no-one with a good conscience can escape from. But I think that Gabbie Stroud also manages to emphasize what she used to love about teaching and which moments made her days at work special. Those moments were the ones that kept her going for years and years, because it’s those moments that make teaching worth a while.
Granted, I’m biased when I agree with Gabbie that teaching is HARD WORK. I’m not saying it’s harder than other professions, but I AM saying as Gabbie does: If you haven’t tried teaching yourself, you don’t know what it’s really like.
I thought this book was eye-opening and scary. Basically, the message is that politics and national standards have ruined this profession and turned it into a job about quantity over quality - at least when it comes to Australia. As I said, if you have any interest in knowing more about what this profession entails, or if you wonder why a lot of teachers are stressed out most of the schoolyear, then THIS is the book for you!
Granted, this non-fictional account written from a former primary school teacher’s perspective is very much on the negative side, and while reading you feel like teaching must be like a dark hole that no-one with a good conscience can escape from. But I think that Gabbie Stroud also manages to emphasize what she used to love about teaching and which moments made her days at work special. Those moments were the ones that kept her going for years and years, because it’s those moments that make teaching worth a while.
Granted, I’m biased when I agree with Gabbie that teaching is HARD WORK. I’m not saying it’s harder than other professions, but I AM saying as Gabbie does: If you haven’t tried teaching yourself, you don’t know what it’s really like.
I thought this book was eye-opening and scary. Basically, the message is that politics and national standards have ruined this profession and turned it into a job about quantity over quality - at least when it comes to Australia. As I said, if you have any interest in knowing more about what this profession entails, or if you wonder why a lot of teachers are stressed out most of the schoolyear, then THIS is the book for you!
June 20, 2018
Ricocheting from heart-warming to heart-breaking, Gabbie Stroud’s memoir speaks to the soul of every teacher.
Resigning from the profession in 2015, in ‘Teacher’ Gabbie weaves together the anecdotes of her life that sadly brought her to the point of leaving her career of 17 years. Memories from childhood, her studies through university, teaching experiences in the UK, Canada and New South Wales, together with delightful observations of the ‘teacher’ moments in her daughters’ lives are strung together like the overhead criss-cross display wires from her kindergarten classroom.
Familiarity with Gabbie’s experiences will strike a chord in the hearts of educators across Australia. Expect to reminisce about your childhood games of playing school, recall the influential teachers who inspired you to be the same and remember the feeling of being ill-prepared when graduating from teacher training.
Unfortunately, you will also understand the burden of trying to manage high-level student behaviours while keeping everyone else in your charge safe. You will relate to the anguish of knowing a child is in dire family circumstances, the helplessness of being able to do so little, and the frustration with authorities who should be able to do so much. Familiar too, will be the feeling of overwhelm from the mental, emotional and workload demands of the job.
This isn’t one woman’s story. Tragically, this is replicated in classrooms and the lives of teachers across our country.
It should be mandatory reading for every educator, teacher-in-training and the HR teams who support them.
Worthy of a five-star rating (gold in colour, lick-and-stick from the tin on the teacher’s desk) for shining a light on the current state of education in Australia.
**********
Being all too aware of the mental health status of many teachers, I believe it is essential to remind fellow educators if ‘Teacher’ raises issues for you, please speak to a counsellor through your Employee Assistance Program, call Lifeline or see your doctor.
Resigning from the profession in 2015, in ‘Teacher’ Gabbie weaves together the anecdotes of her life that sadly brought her to the point of leaving her career of 17 years. Memories from childhood, her studies through university, teaching experiences in the UK, Canada and New South Wales, together with delightful observations of the ‘teacher’ moments in her daughters’ lives are strung together like the overhead criss-cross display wires from her kindergarten classroom.
Familiarity with Gabbie’s experiences will strike a chord in the hearts of educators across Australia. Expect to reminisce about your childhood games of playing school, recall the influential teachers who inspired you to be the same and remember the feeling of being ill-prepared when graduating from teacher training.
Unfortunately, you will also understand the burden of trying to manage high-level student behaviours while keeping everyone else in your charge safe. You will relate to the anguish of knowing a child is in dire family circumstances, the helplessness of being able to do so little, and the frustration with authorities who should be able to do so much. Familiar too, will be the feeling of overwhelm from the mental, emotional and workload demands of the job.
This isn’t one woman’s story. Tragically, this is replicated in classrooms and the lives of teachers across our country.
It should be mandatory reading for every educator, teacher-in-training and the HR teams who support them.
Worthy of a five-star rating (gold in colour, lick-and-stick from the tin on the teacher’s desk) for shining a light on the current state of education in Australia.
**********
Being all too aware of the mental health status of many teachers, I believe it is essential to remind fellow educators if ‘Teacher’ raises issues for you, please speak to a counsellor through your Employee Assistance Program, call Lifeline or see your doctor.
August 3, 2018
If you are a teacher you will, at some point, recognise yourself in this book. I did and, while I am not a teacher, I work closely with students every day. If you are not a teacher, you will want to walk up to every teacher you know and THANK them for what they do every day. For how they care, for the time they sacrifice, for the absolute gut-wrenching crap they have to endure most of the time to make sure your children, OUR children, get the best education possible.
This is a harrowing read. No doubt. There are moments of emotional uplift, but mostly this is a very raw, very real account of how the joy of teaching, as a profession and a calling, is being constantly eroded and demeaned by powers who have no business dictating a letter, let alone dictating what the national curriculum should be. Gabbie Stroud's voice is loud and clear. Teacher is a highly readable and extremely well-written memoir, and a searing indictment on our education system and its "standards". Our education system is broken. This book won't fix that, but Gabbie's voice, the voice of so many educators out there, needs to be heard. By everyone. Read it, cry, then resolve to never let another child sit the NAPLAN and to tell your child's teacher they are valued, that they MATTER. A heartbreaking call to arms. A must read for EVERY parent of school-aged children, and everyone else too. Highly recommended.
This is a harrowing read. No doubt. There are moments of emotional uplift, but mostly this is a very raw, very real account of how the joy of teaching, as a profession and a calling, is being constantly eroded and demeaned by powers who have no business dictating a letter, let alone dictating what the national curriculum should be. Gabbie Stroud's voice is loud and clear. Teacher is a highly readable and extremely well-written memoir, and a searing indictment on our education system and its "standards". Our education system is broken. This book won't fix that, but Gabbie's voice, the voice of so many educators out there, needs to be heard. By everyone. Read it, cry, then resolve to never let another child sit the NAPLAN and to tell your child's teacher they are valued, that they MATTER. A heartbreaking call to arms. A must read for EVERY parent of school-aged children, and everyone else too. Highly recommended.
September 6, 2018
It’s simple. For thirty-five plus years I loved teaching. I loved teaching kids.
And then ’…, under the guise of equity and excellence standardised NAPLAN testing and the My School website infiltrated classrooms around Australia. Infiltrated the profession I loved. Infiltrated the classroom my baby would one day attend.’ So wrote Gabby Stroud. In my case, though, it’s my beloved granddaughters. I live in hope it will soon be consigned to the dustbin, along with the many other previously misguided notions inflicted on our nation’s kids by the ‘experts’ and the dullards in the higher, rarefied echelons of Education Departments all over Australia. I live in hope of that happening before its damage gets to be inflicted on those precious, unique and tender minds so close to my heart.
Now I could spend the rest of this review railing against other travesties such as National Curriculums, IWBs, A-E assessments, rubrics that came on-stream in the later years of my career, alongside my by now obvious abhorrence of NAPLAN. Instead, I’ll urge every interested parent and practitioner I can influence to simply read Ms Stroud’s ‘Teacher’. With a slow death NAPLAN killed off her career as far as a classroom teaching was concerned. Fortunately she has found success in other fields and has delivered this tome as a wake-up call. I suspect it will strike a chord with many front line educators in schools across our wide brown land. It’s well reported the frustration that exists with a system it has encouraged that focuses on student failure as opposed to strengths, on conformity rather than difference and which, in its wake, is destructive to the art of teaching.
After I finished the final page I reported to my beloved that I could write a book on Gabbie Stroud’s tale of her short-lived stint as a drillmaster when all she wanted to be was a teacher. My lovely lady’s response was ‘Why don’t you?’ Well, it would make me too angry to start with. And, besides, those who need to read her plea for common sense, those who put and keep NAPLAN in place, have not listened to date. We know those who impose their politically motivated, self-serving notions on the wonderful kids of our country will be deaf to any plea. That would take something they lack, something most out front of a classroom have in spades – empathy. As much as I look back with fondness I am far happier and less stressed as a retired person.
There are differences between the author and myself. An ocean cruise made me see the light. Apart from in my first year I never struggled as a teacher, but I largely operated in more benign times. I was, I realized on that Pacific sojourn, mentally on my way out and as the full negative impact of NAPLAN hadn’t really affected me, it was only a minor consideration in my decision. I really struggled after that cruise. I only lasted one more term. I didn’t want to be in the classroom anymore. It was time. I was done.
NAPLAN didn’t kill me off. There are other contrasts as well. I had no tickets on myself that I was inspirational in front of a cohort of students, but I was competent, in control and had a good knowledge base. I ran, generally speaking, a tight and comfortable ship. I lasted far longer than she did, although that’s in no way her fault – just luck and timing. Hers was an excruciating burn-out to resignation, the impositions from on high grinding her down. I did not have the significantly profound relationships with my students she claims she had, but the student/teacher relationship was at the core of my practice. Nothing, I would think, could be more central than that – but then, my confrontation with NAPLAN was not up close and personal. Like the best in her field Gabrielle Stroud possessed a soft soul encased by a brittle shell. And, as she states, to be a teacher who truly engages you need to possess a little crazy too. The best I worked with had that – or at least they put on a convincing act. They had the ability to keep the troops guessing, to produce the unexpected. The art of it should never be undersold as novices quickly discover. You either have it or you don’t.
‘Teacher’ is infused with the type of humanity so lacking in those pulling the strings in Canberra and to a lesser degree on this island. It makes me sad that it seems their view is that a teacher’s main role is to test and produce data on what they already are fully aware of. With NAPLAN in operation young esteem and self worth is crushed for many, with parent and teacher left to pick up the pieces. The role of a teacher as a nurturer is fundamentally impeded.
On a recent trip back to Burnie I had the need to visit a real estate office. At reception I vaguely recognised the beautiful face looking back at me as I requested time with the agent. She took me to his office and said to her boss, ‘I expect you to really look after this gentleman. He taught me. He was one of the good ones.’ Bugger profound relationships. ‘Good’ will do me just fine. If my career is defined by that, I’m chuffed.
Ms Stroud writes with heart about some of the students, colleagues, places and schools she worked with and in. Please read this book.
And then ’…, under the guise of equity and excellence standardised NAPLAN testing and the My School website infiltrated classrooms around Australia. Infiltrated the profession I loved. Infiltrated the classroom my baby would one day attend.’ So wrote Gabby Stroud. In my case, though, it’s my beloved granddaughters. I live in hope it will soon be consigned to the dustbin, along with the many other previously misguided notions inflicted on our nation’s kids by the ‘experts’ and the dullards in the higher, rarefied echelons of Education Departments all over Australia. I live in hope of that happening before its damage gets to be inflicted on those precious, unique and tender minds so close to my heart.
Now I could spend the rest of this review railing against other travesties such as National Curriculums, IWBs, A-E assessments, rubrics that came on-stream in the later years of my career, alongside my by now obvious abhorrence of NAPLAN. Instead, I’ll urge every interested parent and practitioner I can influence to simply read Ms Stroud’s ‘Teacher’. With a slow death NAPLAN killed off her career as far as a classroom teaching was concerned. Fortunately she has found success in other fields and has delivered this tome as a wake-up call. I suspect it will strike a chord with many front line educators in schools across our wide brown land. It’s well reported the frustration that exists with a system it has encouraged that focuses on student failure as opposed to strengths, on conformity rather than difference and which, in its wake, is destructive to the art of teaching.
After I finished the final page I reported to my beloved that I could write a book on Gabbie Stroud’s tale of her short-lived stint as a drillmaster when all she wanted to be was a teacher. My lovely lady’s response was ‘Why don’t you?’ Well, it would make me too angry to start with. And, besides, those who need to read her plea for common sense, those who put and keep NAPLAN in place, have not listened to date. We know those who impose their politically motivated, self-serving notions on the wonderful kids of our country will be deaf to any plea. That would take something they lack, something most out front of a classroom have in spades – empathy. As much as I look back with fondness I am far happier and less stressed as a retired person.
There are differences between the author and myself. An ocean cruise made me see the light. Apart from in my first year I never struggled as a teacher, but I largely operated in more benign times. I was, I realized on that Pacific sojourn, mentally on my way out and as the full negative impact of NAPLAN hadn’t really affected me, it was only a minor consideration in my decision. I really struggled after that cruise. I only lasted one more term. I didn’t want to be in the classroom anymore. It was time. I was done.
NAPLAN didn’t kill me off. There are other contrasts as well. I had no tickets on myself that I was inspirational in front of a cohort of students, but I was competent, in control and had a good knowledge base. I ran, generally speaking, a tight and comfortable ship. I lasted far longer than she did, although that’s in no way her fault – just luck and timing. Hers was an excruciating burn-out to resignation, the impositions from on high grinding her down. I did not have the significantly profound relationships with my students she claims she had, but the student/teacher relationship was at the core of my practice. Nothing, I would think, could be more central than that – but then, my confrontation with NAPLAN was not up close and personal. Like the best in her field Gabrielle Stroud possessed a soft soul encased by a brittle shell. And, as she states, to be a teacher who truly engages you need to possess a little crazy too. The best I worked with had that – or at least they put on a convincing act. They had the ability to keep the troops guessing, to produce the unexpected. The art of it should never be undersold as novices quickly discover. You either have it or you don’t.
‘Teacher’ is infused with the type of humanity so lacking in those pulling the strings in Canberra and to a lesser degree on this island. It makes me sad that it seems their view is that a teacher’s main role is to test and produce data on what they already are fully aware of. With NAPLAN in operation young esteem and self worth is crushed for many, with parent and teacher left to pick up the pieces. The role of a teacher as a nurturer is fundamentally impeded.
On a recent trip back to Burnie I had the need to visit a real estate office. At reception I vaguely recognised the beautiful face looking back at me as I requested time with the agent. She took me to his office and said to her boss, ‘I expect you to really look after this gentleman. He taught me. He was one of the good ones.’ Bugger profound relationships. ‘Good’ will do me just fine. If my career is defined by that, I’m chuffed.
Ms Stroud writes with heart about some of the students, colleagues, places and schools she worked with and in. Please read this book.
July 10, 2018
So ... I see many teachers reading this book and probably shedding some tears as they connect to all the not so shocking truths about the realm of education that exists today. It has not given me hope, only demonstrated that I am employed in a field of people being sucked dry living on hopes and dreams of maybe one day having some freedom and time to do the teaching they aspired to do when they first set foot on the path to teacherdom. I feel hopeless because I have a book that really needs to be in the hands all exec who have been out of the classroom longer than 5 years and all politicians (and aspiring politicians) who continue to drive the pressure that is destroying educators. .... But I only have one book and they are too many.
Thank you for writing this book Gabbie. My hope is that it reaches a large enough audience to make a difference. It definitely has the ‘evidence’ to highlight the need. Thank you Allen & Unwin for picking it up.
Thank you for writing this book Gabbie. My hope is that it reaches a large enough audience to make a difference. It definitely has the ‘evidence’ to highlight the need. Thank you Allen & Unwin for picking it up.
April 15, 2021
This is essentially a memoir representing the systems metaphorical rape of teachers. The context of the shifting educational landscape in Australia has to be considered though, as the introduction of commonplace things nowadays such as NAPLAN, the national curriculum and the Australian Teaching Standards, would have caused for an incredible amount of disruption to each teacher’s habitual state of being.
However, irony drips from the pages of this memoir. Literally. Stroud states that a revelation she had in year 10 was “I can choose my life” - “Nothing is an accident. With each decision you make, you are choosing the life that you want. You are choosing the kind of person you want to become.”
Yet the memoir quickly spirals into a tale of a teacher who does not exercise moderation between her profession and personal life, and places too much unnecessary stress on her working life. This inevitably leads to the breakdown of anybody if applied to any working context. Stroud does not deal with any of her problems and does not attempt to overcome the challenges she faces at the heart of it all.
Educators are not foster carers and family comes first. She always seems to forget this amongst the prescribed, and often self imposed workload.
Despite this though, there are some pockets of wisdom that she points out such as:
- “There’s no such thing as bad kids. There’s only bad behaviour.”
- “They’re (students) not empty vessels.”
- “It’s all about relationships.”
- “I teach children.” (Response to the question, what do you teach?)
Teaching is hard. Teaching is a fucking hard job, but you know what else is too? Laying bricks outside in a 40 degree day, sitting endlessly in the same office chair crunching numbers and attending endless meetings that amount to useless figures on a spreadsheet, driving a truck endlessly through piles of garbage in a tip and having the fumes forever festering in your skin, and working at a club and dealing with drunks until the early hours of the morning.
Life is hard. Deal with it.
However, irony drips from the pages of this memoir. Literally. Stroud states that a revelation she had in year 10 was “I can choose my life” - “Nothing is an accident. With each decision you make, you are choosing the life that you want. You are choosing the kind of person you want to become.”
Yet the memoir quickly spirals into a tale of a teacher who does not exercise moderation between her profession and personal life, and places too much unnecessary stress on her working life. This inevitably leads to the breakdown of anybody if applied to any working context. Stroud does not deal with any of her problems and does not attempt to overcome the challenges she faces at the heart of it all.
Educators are not foster carers and family comes first. She always seems to forget this amongst the prescribed, and often self imposed workload.
Despite this though, there are some pockets of wisdom that she points out such as:
- “There’s no such thing as bad kids. There’s only bad behaviour.”
- “They’re (students) not empty vessels.”
- “It’s all about relationships.”
- “I teach children.” (Response to the question, what do you teach?)
Teaching is hard. Teaching is a fucking hard job, but you know what else is too? Laying bricks outside in a 40 degree day, sitting endlessly in the same office chair crunching numbers and attending endless meetings that amount to useless figures on a spreadsheet, driving a truck endlessly through piles of garbage in a tip and having the fumes forever festering in your skin, and working at a club and dealing with drunks until the early hours of the morning.
Life is hard. Deal with it.
July 13, 2018
if you are a teacher or just want to know about teachers, read this!!
February 7, 2023
Eye-opening, perspective changing and heartbreaking in equal measure. A must read to get a glimpse into the world of teaching in New South Wales.
August 1, 2018
This is a brave book which exposes not only the devastating effect of mindless, onerous bureaucracy on the magic relationship of teacher-pupil in the process of learning, but also the author's personal struggles with her beloved profession.
My heart ached for Gabbie as she navigated the 'Utopian' world of education department demands while trying to maintain the vision of teaching that she cherished.
I say 'brave' because there will be a few readers, teachers and non-teachers, who will bring their own critical lenses to Gabbie's story. Some parents will still shout that they too work long long long hours and are frazzled and fragmented and worn down by the unending demands on their time - and that they don't get 8-12 weeks 'holiday'. Sure, they will say, teachers work long hours and take work home, but so do we.
Other teachers - we are not an amorphous bunch, are we? - will have their own responses and systems and attitudes to the countable-accountable world of education-by-standards-and-reporting, instead of the magic of learning.
It's definitely worth a read if you are interested in education - if you have children - if you are a teacher - if you are passionate about child welfare. That's all of us, right?
Put it on your TBR list.
My heart ached for Gabbie as she navigated the 'Utopian' world of education department demands while trying to maintain the vision of teaching that she cherished.
I say 'brave' because there will be a few readers, teachers and non-teachers, who will bring their own critical lenses to Gabbie's story. Some parents will still shout that they too work long long long hours and are frazzled and fragmented and worn down by the unending demands on their time - and that they don't get 8-12 weeks 'holiday'. Sure, they will say, teachers work long hours and take work home, but so do we.
Other teachers - we are not an amorphous bunch, are we? - will have their own responses and systems and attitudes to the countable-accountable world of education-by-standards-and-reporting, instead of the magic of learning.
It's definitely worth a read if you are interested in education - if you have children - if you are a teacher - if you are passionate about child welfare. That's all of us, right?
Put it on your TBR list.
September 18, 2025
An interesting read portraying the life of a primary teacher in NSW. This is an accurate account of many of the joys and issues facing our Teachers in NSW. It is written in an entertaining and engaging fashion. The key issues for Gabbie Stroud are the pressures facing teachers due to increased standardised testing, a changing curriculum and the complex requirements for accreditation. Would definitely recommend this book for people (in particular parents of primary aged children in public schools) to get an insight of the current teaching landscape in NSW.
July 21, 2018
Some chapters made me want to hand in my resignation immediately and others inspired me to keep going, reminding me of what’s really important about teaching.
October 8, 2018
Public Service Announcement.
Read. This. Book.
I received this book on Friday afternoon. I’m now finished. That’s with an 11 week old (I read when he sleeps).
I didn’t want to put this down. A memoir that was heartbreaking, relatable, inspiring and as I said to my husband last night, makes me want to get back into the classroom.
In so many stories I could see myself. It’s confronting and liberating to see it in black and white read back to you.
I laughed, I agreed, I disagreed, I took my own walk down memory lane, I tried not to cry in parts (could blame the hormones but I’m emotional at the best of times). I called mum to read her parts and I stopped my husband reading his book to read him parts.
If you are a teacher, if you want to be a teacher, if you know a teacher - please read this book.
I absolutely love my job. And although this woman did end up leaving teaching - it’s not about how her story ended that got to me. It’s about just how important this career is and I saw that in every page.
10/10
5 stars.
Buy it. Read it. Appreciate it.
Read. This. Book.
I received this book on Friday afternoon. I’m now finished. That’s with an 11 week old (I read when he sleeps).
I didn’t want to put this down. A memoir that was heartbreaking, relatable, inspiring and as I said to my husband last night, makes me want to get back into the classroom.
In so many stories I could see myself. It’s confronting and liberating to see it in black and white read back to you.
I laughed, I agreed, I disagreed, I took my own walk down memory lane, I tried not to cry in parts (could blame the hormones but I’m emotional at the best of times). I called mum to read her parts and I stopped my husband reading his book to read him parts.
If you are a teacher, if you want to be a teacher, if you know a teacher - please read this book.
I absolutely love my job. And although this woman did end up leaving teaching - it’s not about how her story ended that got to me. It’s about just how important this career is and I saw that in every page.
10/10
5 stars.
Buy it. Read it. Appreciate it.
January 21, 2020
Yes, this book gives you a relatively accurate snapshot of what it looks like to be a teacher in a broken system (whether that be Australia, US or UK). Yes, it tells some of the terrible challenges we face on a frequent basis. And yes, teaching is hard. It's hard in so many different ways and can take over your life.
However, when reading this, I couldn't help but feel so many of her struggles had to do with her attitude and not the job. I don't believe you have to be a 'special person' to be a successful teacher but I do believe you have to approach it with the right mindset and be ready to work hard on setting and keeping boundaries. You have to learn to leave the stressful bits at school (definitely not easy) and acknowledge that teaching will take up whatever time you give it, so you have to choose your threshold. I've taught for 15 years and have seen many teachers successfully do that and have seen many others suffer because they weren't able to.
However, when reading this, I couldn't help but feel so many of her struggles had to do with her attitude and not the job. I don't believe you have to be a 'special person' to be a successful teacher but I do believe you have to approach it with the right mindset and be ready to work hard on setting and keeping boundaries. You have to learn to leave the stressful bits at school (definitely not easy) and acknowledge that teaching will take up whatever time you give it, so you have to choose your threshold. I've taught for 15 years and have seen many teachers successfully do that and have seen many others suffer because they weren't able to.
October 14, 2018
Look, as a teacher I have no doubt that my review will be at least a little biased but I loved this book. It broke my heart to read about Stroud’s students, many of whom reminded me of little cherubs I have taught in the past. This book gave me a lot to think about and made me wonder about the future of education, but most importantly, it reminded me of the important work we do with, and for, young people every day.
February 27, 2020
This was a memoir that had a bit of everything. I would be interested to read anything she writes
With stories of her own family and personal issues interspersed by stories of the classroom, Gabbie gives a great insight into a day, a week and a year, of teaching. Sacrifice is the word that stayed with me, as I read her story.
It is disturbing how politics has wormed its way into how, where and when, a teacher can perform the very important tasks of their profession. Too much Red Tape and too many T's to cross and I's to dot, may unfortunately make it impossible for many teachers to have lengthy and fulfilling careers.
With stories of her own family and personal issues interspersed by stories of the classroom, Gabbie gives a great insight into a day, a week and a year, of teaching. Sacrifice is the word that stayed with me, as I read her story.
It is disturbing how politics has wormed its way into how, where and when, a teacher can perform the very important tasks of their profession. Too much Red Tape and too many T's to cross and I's to dot, may unfortunately make it impossible for many teachers to have lengthy and fulfilling careers.
May 6, 2024
A profoundly insightful and heartbreaking read about how the proliferation of data collection, standardisation and politics within the teaching profession has changed the education landscape forever. Told through the experience of a career teacher, who experienced burn out at the hands of this very system. A story of one teacher that unfortunately reflects what is widely regarded now as a collective experience. An amazing yet simultaneously devastating read.
February 7, 2024
Reading the line “We must start valuing our teachers” nearly made me cry as I’m sitting around 100+ worksheets at 10pm on a Wednesday night.
July 7, 2018
In just 1.5 years I’ve experienced a majority of the points raised in this primary teacher’s memoirs. In my (probably biased) opinion, everyone should read this to get a glimpse into the daily ins and outs of this profession and why educators are walking away. There is only so much we can do for ourselves and our work peers at a ground level. At the end of the day we do it for the kids, but if there’s nothing of ourselves left to give then we aren’t capable of fulfilling this role to our best potential. Things need to change in Australia.
Recommended to everyone - parents, teachers, leadership, politicians, everyday Aussie’s
Format: eBook
Rating: 5/5 Stars
2018: 28/40 books
Recommended to everyone - parents, teachers, leadership, politicians, everyday Aussie’s
Format: eBook
Rating: 5/5 Stars
2018: 28/40 books
November 13, 2025
5 STARS!!! RAW. HONEST. HEART BREAKING. UN-PUT-DOWNABLE!!!
I could not tear myself away.
And I am lost for words at how beautifully Ms Stroud has articulated everything I ever felt about the teaching profession in Australia andd its links to cummulative workplace trauma and burnout and the moral injury that follows when your values no longer align with role expectations.
This is a compelling critique of the school system and it's increasing shift from 'reaching' to 'assessing'. It is the heartbreaking story of how a passionate, exemplary teacher is ultimately pushed out of the system.
God bless you, Gabbie!
I could not tear myself away.
And I am lost for words at how beautifully Ms Stroud has articulated everything I ever felt about the teaching profession in Australia andd its links to cummulative workplace trauma and burnout and the moral injury that follows when your values no longer align with role expectations.
This is a compelling critique of the school system and it's increasing shift from 'reaching' to 'assessing'. It is the heartbreaking story of how a passionate, exemplary teacher is ultimately pushed out of the system.
God bless you, Gabbie!
January 27, 2019
A good read, and a good insight into the teaching profession. I was reluctant to read as I didn't want to be disheartened about the career I am entering into, which I think is also the reason it took me a bit longer to read it. Overall, I enjoyed the author's personal recounts about her childhood, family and her students, they were compelling.
I would encourage people who aren't as familiar with the teaching profession to give it a read to understand the many hats teachers have to wear every day and the hoops they are expected to jump through.
I would encourage people who aren't as familiar with the teaching profession to give it a read to understand the many hats teachers have to wear every day and the hoops they are expected to jump through.
March 20, 2019
Everyone should read this. Whether you are a teacher, related to a teacher or have kids in a classroom with a teacher. This book was so relatable and honestly made me question if I want to return to the classroom after maternity leave. Teaching is such a rewarding and fun job that is drowning in policies, admin and constant changes. The focus has shifted from giving students their greatest opportunity to learn to running a business . My favourite quote from the book is 'Education should be run by educators, not politicians'.
August 22, 2018
I’ll admit - I bought this book as a gift for a teacher friend of mine, but then couldn’t resist reading it before giving it away (I’m the worst, I know)...
I think this book is incredibly important. For teachers and non-teachers alike. Hell, maybe a politician could read it and even learn a thing or two. Quite honestly, I can’t wait to gift it because I am so so ready for the conversations it’s going to inspire.
I think this book is incredibly important. For teachers and non-teachers alike. Hell, maybe a politician could read it and even learn a thing or two. Quite honestly, I can’t wait to gift it because I am so so ready for the conversations it’s going to inspire.
December 4, 2018
Reading this book wasn’t good for my health. I felt my stress levels rising - in sympathy for Gabby and because it made me think of all the busy, pointless tasks I have to do. A scarily accurate account of the state of our schooling and teachers. Exhausted and stressed teachers. Stressed and anxious students. Bring back the fun in learning. Toss “standardised” testing.
June 6, 2025
A heart-rending account of a great teacher who found herself drowning in the requirements of the Australian educational system. This really resonated with me. I’ve taught difficult kids too and the thought of all that is demanded of teachers these days puts me off ever returning to the classroom. I don’t know if I have the stamina.
What’s sad about this tale is that it is that Mrs Stroud could have continued teaching with a better funded teacher support system that required far less paperwork and meetings.
What’s sad about this tale is that it is that Mrs Stroud could have continued teaching with a better funded teacher support system that required far less paperwork and meetings.
January 14, 2025
4.75/5 This is an eminently readable memoir. As a teacher at the tail-end of the holidays, some of Gabbie’s stories kindled anxieties and stresses for the new year; others excitement and joy. Teachers will find themselves in these pages, from admin and parent teacher interviews to student behavioural challenges and late night marking, the highs and lows of teaching are expressed personally and engagingly.
October 11, 2023
Couldn’t put it down. A must read for teachers and non teachers. What a ride.
September 2, 2018
One of the best books I have read.
July 22, 2018
Every education minister and parent with school-aged children should read this book. It is funny, sad and thought-provoking. A wonderful insight into the present state of education in Australia and the stress and frustration faced by our teachers. I'm torn between sending a copy to every education minister and confronting them and beating them over the head with it!! I wish every minister could spend a week in a classroom and face what our teachers and students do. I wish politicians had to face the same standardised testing and professional standards that they inflict on our schools. I wish politicians wouldn't compare us to other countries, we are unique. I wish that schools didn't have to fix everything that's wrong with society - people are overweight, schools need to teach kids what to eat; kids don't move enough, schools need a fitness program. I wish that politicians would give up their incredibly generous pensions so the money could be spent in schools. I wish ...
*I am not a teacher, I loved this book, I recommend it to everyone.
*I am not a teacher, I loved this book, I recommend it to everyone.
October 6, 2018
I think emotional labour doesn’t really describe the hard work required to do this job. I totally understand Stroud. Many won’t. Maybe some can handle the job and some can’t? I can’t. Read this book and marvel at the work that (mostly) women do.
November 10, 2018
If you want to get a glimpse at what teaching is like, read this book.
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