“Book of the Week”
|
“Hottest New Book Release”
|
Spring Nonfiction Pick
|
||
“2023 Must Read”
|
“Most Buzzworthy Book Right Now”
|
National Bestseller
“Impossible to read about these students without being drawn in” – The Washington Post
A “Most Anticipated Book of 2023” – Yahoo!, The Week, Kirkus, Lithub, Zibby Books, Professional Book Nerds, NBIC, and more
A riveting year-in-the-life account of three teachers, combined with reporting that reveals what’s really going on behind school doors
Alexandra Robbins goes behind the scenes to tell the true, sometimes shocking, always inspirational stories of three teachers as they navigate a year in the classroom. She follows Penny, a southern middle school math teacher who grappled with a toxic staff clique at the big school in a small town; Miguel, a special ed teacher in the western United States who fought for his students both as an educator and as an activist; and Rebecca, an East Coast elementary school teacher who struggled to schedule and define a life outside of school. Robbins also interviewed hundreds of other teachers nationwide who share their secrets, dramas, and joys.
Interspersed among the teachers’ stories—a seeming scandal, a fourth-grade whodunit, and teacher confessions—are hard-hitting essays featuring cutting-edge reporting on the biggest issues facing teachers today, such as school violence; outrageous parent behavior; inadequate support, staffing, and resources coupled with unrealistic mounting demands; the “myth” of teacher burnout; the COVID-19 pandemic; and ways all of us can help the professionals who are central both to the lives of our children and the heart of our communities.
Reviews
“Page-turning.” — Library Journal
“One of the standout books of the year.” — Men’s Health
“An important and eye-opening book that all parents, teachers, and educational administrators should read.” STARRED REVIEW — Kirkus Reviews
“This deeply researched and impressive study brings home the fact that America underinvests in the education of its children—and that teachers step in to fill the gaps.” STARRED REVIEW — Publishers Weekly
“A remarkable piece of storytelling that weaves together the personal trials (and triumphs) of individual teachers with extraordinary reporting about the real, and often toxic, work conditions facing this critical profession. As the son of a high-school teacher, the stories struck a personal chord. As a parent, they make me want to thank a teacher every day. And as a citizen, they are a call to arms to save the future of our country by lifting up the profession that molds and shapes our most important asset—our children.” – Jeffrey Selingo, New York Times bestselling author of Who Gets In and Why and There Is Life After College
“Do not miss this book…. An encouraging and uplifting read… Robbins captures not just the human reality of teaching, but the ways in which teaching is a deeply human endeavor, centering on the best of what human beings can be. In my fifth year of retirement, nothing has made me miss the classroom more than reading this book.” – Curmudgucation
“[A] call to action that as a nation, as communities, we owe our teachers much more than we are giving.” — Associated Press
“Robbins is an unflinching and unapologetic advocate for America’s 4,007,908 K-12 teachers.” — Atlanta Journal Constitution
“The book is a tour de force—every teacher I know who’s read it agrees—unapologetically written from the POV of teachers without feeling the need to make excuses or backpedal. Highly recommended for everyone” — Teacher in a Strange Land
“It was thrilling to read THE TEACHERS. I can’t remember another book that is so deeply informed about the nobility, the rewards, and the struggles of the teaching profession. It is a beautiful testimony to the men and women who shape the next generation of Americans, usually without the public support and resources they need and deserve.” — Diane Ravitch, Historian, Author, former United States Assistant Secretary of Education
“As a parent, I wonder about what my child’s teachers might be really going through. In The Teachers, the answer is by turns inspiring, heartbreaking and maddening. Robbins pulls back the veil on the lives of the teachers shaping who our kids are becoming — and the system that so often undermines their efforts. This book will not only make you smarter about the state of American teachers, but it will ignite you to act. Through the eyes of the teachers we come to know intimately in this book, the Teachers will change the way you think about American education.” — Rachel Simmons, New York Times bestselling author of Odd Girl Out
“The Teachers should be required reading for every adult…. [Robbins] put in the work to show what being a teacher in 2023 is like with accuracy, compassion, and—appropriately—urgency. Y’all. She gets us.” — We Are Teachers
“Absorbing.” — The Guardian
Alexandra Robbins
FOLLOW US