Dear Teacher

Teacher #3

by Jack Sheffield

It's 1979: Dallas is enthralling the nation on TV, Mrs Thatcher has just become prime minister, Abba is top of the pops, and in the small Yorkshire village of Ragley-on-the-Forest,Jack Sheffield returns for his third year as headmaster of the village school.

Jack and his staff struggle to keep a semblance of normality throughout the turbulence of the school terms, as once again the official School Log fails to record what is really going on beneath the seemingly quiet routine. Ruby the caretaker discovers her Prince Charming; Vera the school secretary gets to meet her hero, Nicholas Parsons; and Jack, to his astonishment, finds himself having to stand in as a curiously skinny Father Christmas.

Jack also finds himself, at last, having to choose between the vivacious sisters Beth and Laura Henderson ...

Genres: Fiction, British Literature, School, Historical, Humor

351 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Jack Sheffield (born Jack Linley, 1945) is a British author who wrote a series of books of fiction about the headmaster of a village school in a fictional Yorkshire village. The stories are set from the late 1970s to the early 1980s and attempt to portray life in Yorkshire as it was at that time.

He was trained as a teacher at St John's College, York and later became head teacher of two schools in North Yorkshire and then senior lecturer in primary education at Bretton Hall.

He took up writing after retirement, and his first novel "Teacher, Teacher!" sold 100,000 copies

Reviews

[Steve lovell · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is twee. Being twee is not necessarily a negative. There is awesome twee – UK television has thrived on it for aeons, and of course the printed word either inspired these excellent twee shows, or spun off them. The book under review is from a sub-genre, village twee. Let’s think about some classic Brit shows, based on village life, and the iconic characters that are indelibly linked to these timeless series. We’ve had village vet (‘All Creatures Great and Small’), village priest (‘Ballykissangel’), village plod (‘Heartbeat’, ‘Hamish Macbeth’), and village doctor (‘Dr Findlay’s Casebook’, ‘Doc Martin’). We’ll never forget Heartbeat’s Greengrass, nor BallyK’s Assumpta. Weren’t we shocked when she died? Thinking back on her gave me a case of the ‘whatever happened tos’ so, checking on Wikipedia, Dervla Kirwan is still around and in work, currently starring in ‘Blackout’ on SBS. It seemed back when BallyK was on air that, like the priest, every red blooded non-bogan Aussie male, including this one, had the hots for Assunmpta. Of course, a show’s tweeness is ratcheted up if a very cute doggie appears – cite Hamish’s Scottie, and we should ponder where would Sunday nights on the ABC be without the twee genre?
To the best of my knowledge no English show of classic village twee has centred around a teacher. Jack Sheffield obviously felt there was an opening in the market and in he strode, pen in hand.
I’d vaguely heard of his series of tomes focused on the principal of a small north of England hamlet school, so when one came up cheap on eBay, I went for it.
Now there is twee and then there is twee, and this book more than borders on the latter. I thought that it would appeal to me more than it did being as Jack, the main character, and I were similar vocationally – but its bad tweeness made it a struggle. The only reason I persevered was to discover which of the two deliciously delectable sisters, Beth or Laura, our hero would end up with. Reaching the end, had I not been a mile high above Bass Strait, I would have chucked the book across a room in disgust. Of course it ended in a cliffhanger, didn’t it, for our author had a sequel (‘Village Teacher’) to sell, didn’t he? I won’t be hunting it down. Oh deary me, in the novel the Yorkshire stereotypes were out in full force, mangling the language to the point of utter exhaustion as Sheffield ramped up his charm assault. Likewise, the expected student howlers were so predictable and forced it drove me to distraction – but I gritted my teeth and plodded on. And what a ‘puddin’ Jack was – totally gormless when it came to his two lovelies. Made you feel why would they bother, unless he was exceptional in areas the book didn’t go into.
Of course Australia has not been without its own example of village twee, the standout being, without doubt, the glorious ‘Sea Change’. In this we had David Wenham’s Diver Dan and William McInnes’ Max Conners, as love interests for Sigrid Thornton’s Laura, and gormless men they weren’t. They were manly men to induce lust, but of course with a sensitive side that needed mothering as well. Half the thinking female population of Oz fell in love with Diver, the other half Max. Some of them even took off from city life to find their own Pearl Bay manly man, along the East Coast, while such places still existed, and thus created a social phenomenon – such is the potential power of village twee.
Done well, good village twee is priceless, but this hackneyed effort, with its constant cultural referencing, just gave this reader the irrits.
And as for village twee made in heaven, how about we get Diver Dan and Assumpta together? Now wouldn’t that be something!

[Ruci Tukana · Rating 4 out of 5]

While a good number of reviewers may rate this novel from 1 to 3 stars, as a teacher I placed my 4 stars liking because I can identify with alot of issues in the story.

This is the first of Jack Sheffield's novels I ever read and since the events narrated here took place in 1979 and 1980 ( when I was 4 and 5 years old), a lot of experiences and teaching strategies still occurring and existing nowadays.
That aside, the story is indeed heart - warming as stated in the cover.
..' Wry observation and heart warming humour in equal measure '.

The story opens with an extract from the School Log Book. Registration, memorandum and school visits are all part and parcel of running a school.

There is only one thing that I delight in this story and that when Jack finally chooses Berth as his ' missing rib'.
..' I took a step forward and held her hand. Then I took a deep breath. ' Berth will you marry me ?'.
............'And in a heartbeat I knew what her answer would be.'( pp 363 - 364)

[Elvis Gregory-sayce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved It

[Roy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read,i can relate to so much in these books,ime about to start the number 4 in the series

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the series to read when the world divides itself madly over vaccination and public health in a global pandemic. The series is about a headteacher in a village school in the late 1970s. It is warm, safe and comforting, and full of eccentric British village stereotypes; funny things children say; references to popular culture. There's a lot of these books in the series, and I'll read them in between books that are a bit meatier. Or when I need to escape from the modern day drama unfolding.

[Juliana Graham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another instalment from Jack Sheffield, with familiar characters and the 'cosy' welcoming village atmosphere. I do like the sense of community in these books, though they are very light and rarely touch on any big issues. This does not mean that they are not enjoyable - they're almost like a soap opera set in and around a school in the 80s.

More familiar historical references took me back to my childhood, though I did notice a couple of writing 'errors' that niggled slightly. Other people have mentioned this with the previous books but I've overlooked it so far - however, the line 'I didn't notice the look that passed between character X and Y' just doesn't make sense! If you didn't notice it you couldn't comment, surely?

Still ending on a bit of cliffhanger (well, gentle-descent-down-a-grassy-hill-hanger actually) and I'm very keen to read the next instalment. A bit of research reveals that these books are not as Autobiographical as I had first thought, which for some reason I find slightly disappointing though does explain some of the more obviously humorous anecdotes that seem unlikely to have happened in reality.

[June · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading this book, I want to be a teacher living in an idyllic village in Yorkshire!!

It's written in the style of a teacher relating his memoires of being a Head of a village primary school in Yorkshire in 1979. It's possibly *too* idyllic, *too* perfect and maybe a bit twee for some people but hey, it's escapism, and in our modern world of financial crises and political unrest, don't we all need an escapist world to go to?

I remember reading the Miss Read books when I was at school, and Jack Sheffield's novels are just like them. He is, effectively, Mr Read. I was at primary school in the late 1970s, so I appreciated the mentions of the "fads" in pop songs and TV shows that Sheffield puts into his stories. In fact, I enjoyed "Dear Teacher" so much, I have downloaded some more of his books onto my Kindle, and am looking forward to his newest offering "Educating Jack".

In a nutshell, I loved it!

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just like the last one, another nostalgic look back at 1979 where Jack Sheffield is a teacher at the fictional Ragley Village school, although the book is based on his real experiences and stories as a teacher in a similar place in Yorkshire. Again some funny references that are added to because we are looking back knowing what happened next - some particularly funny references to Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles and the fact he is heart broken because she has just got married.

Well worth a read - I think we all know people who resemble some of the characters. Jack has to choose between two sisters in this one so there is some romance with a proposal at the end of the book - but to whom?

[Paula P · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have had this book on my shelf for eons but just hadn't picked it up for some reason, I decided I needed some 'light' reading for my holiday so took it with me. I haven't heard or read anything by Jack Sheffield before so wasn't sure what to expect.

It's written from the point of view of a teacher relaying his account of being a Head of a village primary school in Yorkshire in 1979. There were some funny parts and it brought back some memories for me of my childhood. The characters were all likeable and I enjoyed the way it was written, I found very easy to read.

It ended on a morsel of cliffhanger although I'm in no rush to read the next instalment

[Soph · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read his first book and loved it! This book was just as good but I got confused at how it was his diary but he knew what was going on in other peoples houses when he wasn't there. Still a good read though

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read some gentle books in my time but none quite so gentle as 'Dear Teacher'.
Nothing mind-blowing here, but this series is best enjoyed tucked up in bed with a hot chocolate, or get the audiobook & let it accompany you on a walk through the countryside.

[Mike Singer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Real feel-good slices of real life, triumphs and small disasters in the life of a village school head.

[June · Rating 4 out of 5]

the more you read the series the more you care about the teachers and villagers enjoyable read

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fantastic book in this series. I love all the characters and the day to day lives of everyone. I love watching people grow and change! But that cliff hanger ending, OH MY GOD!

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing as always, love it

[Helen Costello · Rating 2 out of 5]

I actually started this quite a few years ago and somehow it got abandoned. As part of the Dusty Bookshelf project I’m trying to tackle my TBR pile and this book was the first I ever added back in 2011.

This was a quick book as I expected, I just didn’t love it and feel the heartwarming feel I expected to. I get the impression that Mr Sheffield is a truly nice man - unfortunately the other characters didn’t seem to shine through in this book. I did enjoy the ‘Will they/won’t they’ romance throughout the book though - it was that that made me continue.

I’m wondering if maybe the book has aged or maybe I have and I just want more from the humour. I felt some of the linguistic comedy moments were a little forced and unnatural.

I’m sure it’s me and not the book!

[Su Woulahan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another cheerful and thoughtful stroll down memory lane for those of us old enough to remember the era. Life in a good old fashioned country village provides a good counterpoint to the uncertainty and hardships of national concern. Made me laugh out loud a number of times,smile with fond remembrance of the prices at others and chuckle at how wrong we regularly are at predicting the future such as how likely a piece of tech is to take off 🤣.

[Evelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Like ah said, Mr Sheffield, tradition… y’can’t beat tradition.” (Page 108)

Told by the Headmaster of a Yorkshire village primary at the dawn of the eighties, this light hearted look at school life is sheer nostalgia - chalkboards, conkers, spam fritters, assemblies, dinner money and a large dose of community spirit.

Those were t’days!!

[Adele · Rating 3 out of 5]

A series read intermittently between books from grittier genres these are something of a guilty pleasure. As the timeline has now moved into the 80s I am especially enjoying all the flashbacks the political, social and music references invoke.

[Janey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Usual day to day life of a headmaster in a Yorkshire school. Not very interesting after the first book, but some funny moments.

[Sharon Bidwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another good instalment, although the to and fro romance element started to annoy me a little, which the cliffhanger helped to make up for. I'll keep reading.

[SALLY Hutchinson]

Good

[Miki Jacobs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very entertaining. Lovely characters.

[Maureen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wannabe James Herriot, but without the storytelling talent. Heavy handed, with a large ego dominating what little structure there is. I won't be bothering with any of the others in the series.

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love Jack Sheffield's descriptive writing.
Brings the season s to life.

[Pauline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Undemanding and enjoyable

[Kabrada · Rating 3 out of 5]

I mourn the forgotten art of proofreading. This book is supposedly set in 1979/80. It has lovely nostalgia-inducing references to the pop culture of the time. But then, there is this paragraph:

A distant memory of sitting next to Beth Henderson in the Odeon cinema in York, watching Star Wars IV, A New Hope, flickered across my mind. I recalled that Beth had asked me why the film had begun at episode IV but all I could think about was how lucky I was to be sitting next to such a beautiful woman.

This is so wrong it hurts.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some hilarious and priceless sayings in this book which is a sequel - I might have to read the first one - mostly from the children of course, but a few good ones from the parents and staff.

Lovely counterpoint with the ongoing love triangle that was Jack and 2 sisters...

I think he meant to reveal what happened at the end, but somehow there was room for my doubt - maybe I'll need to read the third book, too, if there is one!

Reading this as I'm a consultant/lecturer so teacher fits with one of the challenges...

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just started reading this book and it is getting better and better the more I read it! Very funny book about a primary school in a rural village as told by the headteacher! This could be based on your typical primary school where ever you live! Very funny! I can identify with each of the characters as there are each of these at every school!
Finished this book in record breaking time! Makes you want to read other books in the series! Writer Jack Sheffield used to be a real teacher and his books are based on the schools he taught at!

Great read! Bought for my friend for Christmas!

[Mac.Hawk · Rating 2 out of 5]

Three Strikes and you're out!

The 3rd offering of junior school life in Tweedale, North Yorkshire at the end of the 1970's has infused in me all the fantasy tweeness I can possibly stand.

Plus the increasing historical and geographical errors that I initially could live with have begun to annoy me (e.g. nobody watched Emmerdale (a TV soap opera) in 1979, at that time it was still Emmerdale Farm plus why would you travel from north of York to Skipton to get to Wharfedale?).

I'm gone!