Teacher Swag

Confession time.  I actually hate most teacher books/teacher movies.  They gloss over all of the hard work and frustration and just present some shiny version of what school is like.  I especially hate the way they portray students.  As if students are these one dimensional beings who are terrors one day and then the magic teacher comes and now they're angels.  Real life is much more messy.

So I put off reading because of mr.terupt as I was afraid it would be another sappy teacher story.  I was pleased to find that this book is written from the students perspective-all of them.  It bounces from Jeffrey to Anna to Lexie and so many more.  But what really sold me on this book was the way Rob Buyea captured the students personalities.

For example, Peter says, "If the bathroom pass is free, all you have to do is take it and go.  This year, the bathrooms were right across the hall.  It's always been an easy way to get out of doing work.  I can be really sneaky like that.  I take the pass all the time and the teachers never notice.  And like I said, Mr. Terupt was a rookie, so I knew he wasn't going to catch me."

Later Peter sums up the main dilemma in my teaching career, "Peter, that's not funny,' Mr. T said to me.  'Someone could have  been injured.  You're lucky you didn't hit anyone in the eye.  Go sit down.'  I sat down.  It was no big deal. If you'd been there, you'd agree, it was superfunny."   I can't tell you how many times I needed to hold in my laughter because a student did something inappropriate that was indeed, superfunny.

In the end this is one teacher story I can wholeheartedly recommend.  I find myself forced to agree with the the review on the cover.  Because of Mr. Terupt really is "the masterful story of one teacher who changes everything."

Finishing 5th grade...that's kids stuff.