Educating Esme

Codell, Esme. Educating Esme. Workman Publishing: New York, 1999.

Annotation

A first year twenty four year old teacher, takes the reader through the ups and down when it comes to teaching her inner city fifth grade class.

Justification for Nomination

For Esme Cordell, and her first year of teaching, no day is the same. She has fights with the boss, and has stressful days with the students. Codell tells it how she sees it. A person may not agree to having a student's family come over to a teacher's house for a night due to living purposes, or allowing a disruptive fifth grader to teach the class, but Codell handles her situations with pride. She has a talent when it comes to teaching. Not all agree with her style. The principal views the students as problems for society. Codell uses her witty, and charismatic teaching talent to ensure that her students believe in themselves and acknowledge success as the number one option. This is a book you can read easily in one sitting. But you'll want to read it again. Not because you didn't understand, but because Codell's dedication for a first year teacher compared to the rest of her colleagues seems far fetched. This book couldn't be any more realer though. When it comes to preparing the youth for the future, you'll want to have Madame Esme in mind.

Genre: Memoir