Why are so many teachers leaving the profession? They're burned out;
they feel disrespected, and unsupported. After teaching remotely during
a pandemic, they're returning to classrooms with under-socialized and
sometimes out-of-control kids. What to do?
Teaching by Heart chronicles the journey of a
journalist-turned-teacher determined to make teaching work--despite its
difficulties. Peek into Madame Nelson's classroom to see her trying to
reach teens who dance, cry, and hit each other in French class;
administrators who laud the latest pedagogical trends and testing
regime; and parents who sometimes support--and sometimes interfere
with--their children's education. Meet colleagues who save her from
quitting, and her children who provide advice. Along the journey, she
evolves from an aloof elitist into an empathetic listener to all sorts
of teens.
Isn't it time we create schools in which teachers want to stay and new
ones enter? Without committed teachers, how can we prepare students to
run our world? Teaching by Heart illuminates why it's so hard to hold
on to classroom teachers these days--and what can be done to better the
situation.
