Confessions of a Bad Teacher: The Shocking Truth from the Front Lines of American Public Education

If only they didn't stand in the way of progress. Today, all teachers seem to be considered bad until proven otherwise. Campaigns for school reform and corporate-style management of our public schools are sweeping the country. As a result, individual principals have been given a stunning amount of power and leeway to decide who's a good teacher and who's a bad teacher. With that much authority in the hands of a few top administrators who have little accountability for their decisions, it's easy for good management and honest evaluation of teachers to be trampled during administrators' efforts to deliver stellar results in unrealistically short periods of time.

On top of that, precisely what defines a "bad teacher" isn't clear. There are too many factors-from standardized test scores to subjective department evaluations-and the criteria vary from state to state, school district to school district. But from what I've seen, unless a teacher turns in grades and standardized test scores in the highest level of academic achievement while the students perform in class as the educational equivalents of the von Trapp kids in The Sound of Music , there's a chance of being branded a bad teacher.

Too many of America's schools are run on the belief that everything would be great if not for these bad teachers.

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4. CONFESSIONS OF A BAD TEACHER by John Owens | Kirkus Reviews.

Today, the term seems to be used almost interchangeably with the word "teachers" itself. The bad teacher witch-hunt is destroying our schools and robbing our children of their future. My experience on the front lines of education has brought me to the conclusion that America's public school policies are drowning children, not helping them.

Many good, well-intentioned, and truly effective educators across the country are reaching, stretching, trying desperately to save these kids, but those in charge increasingly beat them back, insisting that these teachers are not using the appropriate method of rescue. Meanwhile, the children are carried off downstream, flailing. This is not an exaggeration. Throughout the country, we are told that everything we have been doing in our schools is wrong. The education system that once was the envy of the world has become a hopeless, costly, out-of-control dinosaur.

Further, we hear that the only way to save American education is through school reform-to manage our schools as though they were businesses, employing powerful, hard-nosed leaders who make tough rules and use data to measure students' progress and teachers' accountability in order to punish those who impede success. This version of school reform is rooted in the appealing notion of using scientific studies to determine what's needed and how to fix it. A report from the U.

Department of Education's Office of Elementary and Secondary Education envisioned school reform this way:. The primary responsibility of schools undertaking comprehensive school reform is creating programs that result in improved student achievement. One of the most important tasks in this process is choosing highly effective reform strategies, methods, and programs, those that are grounded in scientifically based research. But these days, "scientifically based research" has been replaced by "data"-test scores, class grades, and, as I saw, virtually any number that can be recorded and crunched.

The current version of school reform, as championed by those such as Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor and now chairman of the Foundation for Excellence in Education, has a common-sense ring to it with mantras such as "put students first, support effective teachers, and continue to hold everyone accountable for results.

But the more subtle and much more important point is that all too often Bush and others like him replace "scientifically based research" and "highly effective reform strategies, methods, and programs" with data-driven grades for schools and data-driven rewards and punishments for teachers. As Bush put it in a article on Politico. A--F systems [for grading schools] are more intuitive to parents and the public. They also help leaders to clearly differentiate rewards and interventions for schools Many states and school districts are now adopting more advanced data systems, linking student performance to teachers.

For the first time, we can measure teacher effectiveness using transparent objectives and standards. It's a data-driven solution that speaks of efficiency and the digital genius that has built technology powerhouses such as Microsoft and Google and made billionaires of hedge-fund managers. But it masks the real truth. We see the success stories in films such as Waiting for "Superman," which portrays teachers' unions as venal, data-averse impediments to better schools and casts "reformers" as visionary leaders heroically struggling to overcome the forces of self-interest that are holding children back.

We also hear how charter schools produce amazing results. Released from some of the rules, regulations, and statutes that apply to other public schools, charter schools often are free to extend the usual school day by several hours, require weekend classes, and demand extensive parental involvement. Charter schools are often independent-sometimes for-profit-operations that, at least in the public imagination, are managed by tough, visionary leaders who gain the freedom to run the school their way in exchange for accountability in producing results. But the brilliance, easy answers, and immediate measurable results of school reform have not been proven.

Studies going back nearly a decade conflict with the popular image of the magically successful charter school. In December , the National Assessment of Educational Progress NAEP released research showing that fourth-grade charter school students do no better than their public school counterparts on math and reading assessments, and in some cases score lower. The group portrait shows wide variation in performance. The study reveals that a decent fraction of charter schools, 17 percent, provide superior education opportunities for their students. Nearly half of the charter schools nationwide have results that are no different from the local public school options and over a third, 37 percent, deliver learning results that are significantly worse than their students would have realized had they remained in traditional public schools.

While the CREDO study is-so far-the gold standard on the topic, headlines from the industry publication Education Week also vividly demonstrate the confused and quite often lackluster state of charter school achievement:. Proponents of charter schools and school reform, politicians, and business leaders dismiss these dubious results with one explanation. The reason charter schools and school reform haven't been an unqualified success is simple, they say. It's because there are so many bad teachers, and we can't get rid of them fast enough. The truth, of course, is not so simple.

Teachers have become scapegoats for a broken system that isn't being fixed, but rather is being gradually destroyed. The real problem, it seems, is that with so many issues plaguing our educational system, blaming teachers is easier than doing a massive system overhaul. As a result, many of our public schools have been put in the hands of "visionary managers" who insist that strictly enforced procedures and data-driven business principles will revitalize American education.

They are, in many cases, misguided or tyrannical number-crunchers who use their skills with spreadsheets and theatrics to make parents and taxpayers believe that our children are being educated-and educated well, at that-when in fact, they are just bit players in a giant pageant of data and window dressing. Along the way, these administrators secure their power by demonizing the people closest to our children, their teachers. Consider, for instance, Michelle Rhee, one of the most famous proponents of school reform. The student achievement numbers she's reported from her own teaching career have been questioned, and while chancellor of the Washington, D.

When pressed to back up her claims, Rhee "clarified" that actually only one teacher was dismissed due to sexual abuse allegations, and she didn't address the other issues. Teachers' union officials pointed out that Rhee presented no evidence for her charges. Still, the damage was done. Meanwhile, Rhee, despite her record of suspect data and unnecessarily vilifying teachers, remains a powerful, listened-to voice in American education. According to my personnel file at the New York City Department of Education, I am "unprofessional," "insubordinate," and "culturally insensitive.

As if that's not enough, I tend to place students in a "dangerous and unsafe situation," and I might be a racist. Mind you, I didn't set out to be a "bad teacher. I am a middle-aged professional, but I'm not lazy. I'm great with kids and I love literature. My love of words has taken me from a troubled, working-class childhood to a wonderfully happy, successful life.

I have been writing-and teaching others to write-for a long time.

Confessions of a bad teacher : the shocking truth from the front lines of American public education

And I have enjoyed helping younger writers build great careers. During a three-decade career as a writer, editor, and corporate executive, I had traveled to more than a hundred countries, met heads of state, and picked up some wisdom about getting along and getting ahead in life that I thought was worth sharing with those just starting the journey. I wanted to make an impact directly with kids in the classroom. There was something else at work here, too. For want of a better word, I will call it patriotism. The flood of immigrants into New York City in recent years has been astounding.

Currently, nearly 40 percent of the city's residents are immigrants, according to data compiled by the Weissman Center for International Business at Baruch College. Queens and Manhattan have seen huge influxes from China. The Bronx and Brooklyn are teeming with Dominicans. Africans, especially from the central belt of the continent, are numerous in the Bronx. Needless to say, the children who have come with or been born to these recent arrivals are the future of our country.

They need teachers and mentors, guides to help them navigate what often is a new world. Teachers like the ones I had growing up. Teachers who can present a passion for the greatness and potential of learning and the greatness and potential of America. Teachers who can make kids want to be upstanding, successful Americans. The school where I landed touted itself as a model of school reform.

Its website presented a showcase of high standards and a passion for learning. The interview that sealed the job was more about practical concerns than such lofty ideals, but what did it matter? It was the job offer I had clinched, and no matter what, I was determined to help poor kids, immigrant kids, and kids who simply needed people to inspire them, believe in them, and encourage them to succeed.

Instead, I experienced firsthand school reform gone terribly wrong. Students who did nothing were passed, and students who did nothing more than cut and paste from Wikipedia were deemed high performers. Special-needs students were swept along with their classmates while their real problems were swept under the rug. Disruptive students were permitted to rob their classmates of precious teaching time.

Teachers who were skilled, enthusiastic, caring, and hardworking were held accountable for every ill in the school and every problem each student faced, most of which were entirely unrelated to their classes. Some teachers were able to survive the system with luck, savvy, and years of skills to rely on, or with sacrifices to serve the administration's interests, rather than the students'. Some, like me, were not so fortunate. And all because the data could be worked over-or even invented-to give the appearance that the kids were learning and that the principal was indeed a visionary leader.

As common as this is, the media spotlight rarely shines on the schools that are failures of reform. Schools run by tyrannical principals. Schools where the much-vaunted data is easily manipulated. Most importantly, schools where our children aren't getting the education they need. When it was clear that my teaching career was doomed, I decided it was time to bring this issue to light and wrote an article for Salon.

The article went viral, and Salon's comment section swelled:. Thousands of people reached out from all over the country to tell me how much of a major problem this is throughout America. Assistant Secretary of Education and best-selling author Diane Ravitch tweeted my article to her 18, followers.

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From blogs to discussion boards to emails I received from readers who tracked me down through LinkedIn, the message was clear: It was the truth behind so much of today's school reform. That's why I wrote this book-to tell the story of this outrage, of this total failure of visionary managers and easy solutions for our broken educational system. Across the nation, in communities of all sizes and at every rung of the economic ladder, hundreds of thousands-perhaps millions-of children are cheated of a real education, and hundreds of thousands of passionate, hard-working, results-oriented educators are demonized and belittled because America is looking for easy fixes.

Another reason for writing this was to explore solutions to our public education woes and offer advice for parents, teachers, students, and anyone else who understands that education truly does represent the future of America. Toward that end, I have included some key facts and figures that illustrate the scope and depth of our national problem, as well as crucial lessons I learned from my time at Latinate and from the hundreds of other educators, administrators, parents, and students I've spoken with since then.

And, although I'm supposedly a bad teacher, I also respectfully offer some suggestions to add to our national dialogue. This is not a book about policy. It's a book about people-primarily the people I taught, taught with, and worked for during my career in education. Each is an individual, though I'm sure there are people much like each of them at schools around America. As we journey through the school and the education system, you'll meet students, parents, teachers, and administrators and hear their stories.

There are some dedicated saints and a couple of unmitigated villains. Most, however, are just ordinary people grappling with extraordinary situations. And there are lessons for all of America's parents, educators, and taxpayers in their stories. Among the people you'll meet are:. You'll also read firsthand reports from other teachers across America and what they face in this era of school reform and bad teachers. My school's situation and mismanagement were terrible-both for the teachers and for the students.

Yet the school was not ranked among the worst of the hundreds of high schools in New York City. In some ways, the data placed it in the top tier of city schools. That a school this awful should be highly ranked shows just what a mess we're in. But there are steps that we as a nation can take to clean up this mess.

It must start, of course, with an honest search for answers. And honesty demands that we stop the polarizing bad-teacher witch-hunt, which isn't solving our public education issues.

At the same time, we must stop believing in superhero principals and administrators as the quick and easy solution to this problem. They are myths, products of popular imagination. As much as America might want them to, visionary managers are not going to save our students and schools. In fact, from what I've seen, the opposite is true. In today's educational system, not only does power corrupt, but combining power and data corrupts both the person and the data. And that leaves us worse off than ever. Instead, we need to address directly and honestly the needs of so many of our children both inside and outside the classroom and how those needs affect our ability to educate them and their abilities to learn.

And despite what school reformers lead America to believe, no teacher can provide or be responsible for everything every child needs. Only by taking an honest approach to solving the problems can we save the drowning children who are in our public schools.

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Education -- United States -- Anecdotes. Educational change -- United States. Summary An explosive new look at the pressures on today's teachers and the pitfalls of school reform, Confessions of a Bad Teacher presents a passionate appeal to save public schools, before it's too late. Publisher's Weekly Review Owens took quite a pay cut when, determined to make a difference in the lives of children, he left a high-level publishing job to teach English at a public school in New York's South Bronx.

Choice Review Although this book's title gave this reviewer much angst, after the first chapter, it was clear that Owens was not a bad teacher. Booklist Review Owens' book began as an article on Salon. Library Journal Review Owens changed careers at midlife to follow his heart and become a teacher.

How Testing and Choice are Undermining Education After we read the section of Homer's The Odyssey where Odysseus and his men confront the Cyclops, we watched a movie clip of how the clever Greek hero blinded that wine-swilling, man-eating, one-eyed monster and escaped. Department of Education's Office of Elementary and Secondary Education envisioned school reform this way: While the CREDO study is-so far-the gold standard on the topic, headlines from the industry publication Education Week also vividly demonstrate the confused and quite often lackluster state of charter school achievement: But why believe me?

Lessons, backup lessons, tutoring students during lunch and after school, PowerPoints, grading, inputting data, inputting more data, meeting with parents, observing experienced teachers to learn their techniques, meeting with my bosses, updating databases, writing reports, and trying to get help from someone for the struggling students in my classes. Most of the teachers I have worked with have been caring and concerned both with doing a great job and meeting the needs of each student.

However, "every second of the day was filled with demands and -- sadly -- students whose needs still weren't being addressed despite all the efforts I could put in. Owens creates an enthusiastic response from his students but he is reprimanding for his class being too noisy. He has many meetings and moments with the principal as he is warned that he will receive an unsatisfactory rating for his first year skills.

He learns that "inspiring, empowering, really teaching these students" is not enough. Many teachers are leaving the profession, as "America is demanding too much from its teachers without giving them the proper support to educate students effectively. Commitment, caring, pushing for results, and putting in a full work's day no longer seem to be enough Often, I felt like a soldier dropped behind enemy lines with nothing more than orders.

No hope of reinforcements. Students want to share themselves and deserve teachers who can be present and focus on them from "Rikkie, the bright, defiant ninth grader, who did a long piece about how prison isn't so bad to a ninth-grade girl wrote about the day she saw her father get arrested in the neighborhood check-cashing store. Teachers need to work in an environment where they can thrive. In response to an overwhelming situation in , I created this network for professional development, support and camaraderie. Administrators cannot do everything and we all must participate to improve learning for the children.

Do not listen to the blame. Do something about it. We are each responsible to do what we can. Write a blog, start a network, help a child and find a way to feel supported in the classroom. She was the first teacher to appear on Career Day. She and her husband George are on a career break sharing their world adventures on We Said Go Travel. This review first appeared on the Huffington Post as of Nov 11 it has had over 1. Apr 14, Lisajean rated it it was ok Shelves: Owens taught for less than one year in an exceptionally mismanaged school. Nov 05, Mimi Fintel rated it it was amazing. I feel this book should be required reading for every adult in the U.

He felt he could give back to the community in a positive way by becoming a teacher. However, what he encountered instead was a broken educational system which was focused on test scores and an administration that offered no support to the teachers. In many schools across the U. Teachers that c I feel this book should be required reading for every adult in the U.

Here is an excerpt from the book that perfectly defines what is happening in many schools: And do it every day, every time, regardless of the students' learning abilities or the resources available to them. The general expectation is that poverty, learning disabilities, medical-emotional issues, and behavior problems shouldn't stand in the way of student achievement. This is a must read! Dec 23, Jenny GB rated it liked it.

Sadly, this book was nothing new for me. I've lived some of it and read lots more about the rest. I'm really saddened by the direct of education in the US and I'm not sure how much longer I would like to be a part of it which breaks my heart because I love my students. Owens talks about his experiences teaching in a inner city school. In particular, he details the insanity of personal grudges from administrators, endless data and testing, and how tough it is to learn classroom management wit Sadly, this book was nothing new for me.

In particular, he details the insanity of personal grudges from administrators, endless data and testing, and how tough it is to learn classroom management with a room full of neglected and academically deficient students. Even that really bothered me so I can't imagine the number gymnastics and outright cheating that occurs in other schools around the country. This should be a must read for anyone involved in public education. They need to read these books over and over until they learn that problems are not isolated to one area or one teacher, but a nation of teachers.

Aug 24, Michelle rated it really liked it Shelves: This guy was a publishing exec who wanted to help kids, took a graduate program, and went to work teaching English at an inner-city high school. He identifies lots of really salient points that are real problems in education today--but his fixes aren't all that helpful. Just more same old same old--more money, same structure although I think he wants to limit principal power I wish he'd seen real, truly independent charter schools.

He made no mention of homeschooling. I wish there were more teachers like this guy--but it wouldn't solve the structural problems of education in America today. Nor would any of his "fixes. Good read--the author has a vigorous voice and a lot to say. Jul 06, Amy rated it it was amazing Shelves: It seemed very honestly written by a man who wanted to be a good man and teach the youth of our age in school and found out just how corrupt and problematic the system has become. This poor guy did years of college to teach just to essentially get pushed out by a horrid Principle and guidelines and requirements even Superman couldn't manage to do.

I knew our educational system had problems,but reading this book was a serious eye opener. I really had no idea it was as messed up as it is. It also saddens me because I would love to be a teacher, but it sounds like it has become a revolving door system and it wouldn't justify the cost for the education.

I liked this book a lot. Now, my copy had a few formatting errors, but nothing that couldn't be overlooked or ignored. It was a fast read, I read it in one sitting, and it seemed to go by very quickly. If you like nonfiction or are an educator or have considered becoming a teacher, you should read this book. Sep 10, Sandy Brehl rated it it was amazing Shelves: This is a public school teacher's voice whose authenticity cannot be questioned. When someone steps away from a lengthy and lucrative career in the business of writing and publishing to share that expertise with young learners, they should do what the author did-commit to a full program of education, with ongoing classes and guidance once classroom instruction begins.

Readers cannot question his motives: Everyone should read this book. Aug 19, Austin Martin rated it really liked it. I enjoyed this book! What I liked was hearing the author's stories on how the principal demanded perfection and how he was somewhat able to do it even with all the barriers. I am shocked at how principals have all of these unrealistic expectations and how that among other factors is destroying education for students.

I could also not believe that when things go wrong that they blame the teacher for every little thing. It's not just the teacher. It is the result of a broken education system that I enjoyed this book! It is the result of a broken education system that no one is willing to fix. Dec 25, Suzanne rated it liked it. Confessions of a Bad Teacher goes beyond the telling of one teacher. It shouts the struggles on a seriously messed up educational system. The blaming of teachers for poor test scores and biased data is just a small part of the problem.

I wish those in charge of making educational decisions would read this book. Sep 27, Dana rated it it was ok Shelves: I received this book free to review from Netgalley. I chose it because I am a teacher and it sounded interesting. I agree that if most people spent a day in public school, they might be shocked. However, I was not too impressed with this book.

The author spends a lot of time complaining about the principal he worked for. He really hated her and he quit teaching before he had even completed one school year. I wonder if he really wanted to be a teacher or if he just tried it for a year so he could I received this book free to review from Netgalley. I wonder if he really wanted to be a teacher or if he just tried it for a year so he could write a book about it.

Many of the things that he complains about are valid complaints and I agree that there are many things about our educational system that are broken. Other things that he complains about though are normal teaching skills. When students run in the hall, we should yell "walk" or "please walk" rather than "don't run" because, according to studies, when kids hear the word "run" and keep on running and when they hear the word "walk", they may just begin walking.

I don't think that it is a difficult thing to ask teachers to phrase things positively rather than negatively. It sounds like the school district that John taught in could use a lot of improvement. I taught middle school for 13 years, then volunteered in my children's schools some and have been substitute teaching for 4 years. I have been involved in 5 different school districts in all income levels from the inner city school where I taught my first three years to the nice suburban district where I now substitute teach. I think that people who are not teachers may enjoy John's book and may indeed be shocked by some of the things he shares.

I just think that John was a first year teacher in a difficult school and he was unable to manage teaching, student discipline and keeping to the standards that his principal set. That can be difficult to do in any teaching situation and it does sound like John's situation was especially difficult. John could not take it and he quit teaching. I did not find this book interesting enough to finish and I quit reading it.

Jan 10, Katie rated it it was amazing Shelves: An excellent, amusing and gut-clenchingly familiar tale of the "easy" teacher life from one who lived it. Although I have never had such an unreasonably demanding principal as Owens, so much of what he talked about related closely to my experiences in urban and suburban school settings. No matter what obstacles are in the way: I'm sorry the author had a particularly bad experience with public education, but it is nice to hear an outsider-turned-insider validate what so many of us career teachers have been feeling over the past 10 years.

We are society's scapegoats in a job that is assumed to be easy so our cries are not heard. Let's hope some more non-teachers take up the school reform banner that focuses more on policies and funding than bad teachers. Apr 10, victor harris rated it it was amazing. A harsh but fair critique of the education system. It addresses the multiple flaws that plague education today. It is a well-targeted assault on knot-headed state bureaucrats trying to regulate something they don't understand to equally knot-headed administrators, including self-serving principals who flourish in the modern data driven edu-culture.

An indictment of the absurd testing models that have been implemented to evaluate student and teacher competence. Such number crunching has little to A harsh but fair critique of the education system. Such number crunching has little to commend it unless one likes to chant the battle cry of " Blame the teachers", or " Privatize education. His article in Salon received such an overwhelming response, he decided to recount his experiences in book form. If have an interest in the education system and how it has become just another outpost of inane bureaucracy in America, it is highly recommended.

Sep 21, Teresa rated it really liked it Shelves: This book is a good look at many of the problems that have developed in American education over the past two decades. Written by a career-changing now former teacher, the book details his experiences in the public schools of New York city. I have taught in the Baltimore City public school system and have encountered my own version of Ms.

It is also a very common mantra that states, "We This book is a good look at many of the problems that have developed in American education over the past two decades. It is also a very common mantra that states, "Well, if you were a GOOD teacher, you would do something that does not permit you have a life away from the classroom or you would not do something contrary to what some supposed expert [expert never having actually taught real students] says will work.

I hope that this book is read by people who aren't teachers, because teachers already know what is happening and can do precious little to change it. Aug 14, Beth rated it it was ok. A book which makes many good points about bad policy and bad managers in the public schools of today - all of which could be taken much more seriously were the book not so full of self-congratulatory narrative about the high income our suburban author sacrificed in order to "rescue" the poor souls of the South Bronx. His outrage at being falsely accused of cultural insensitivity is rather rich when considered alongside his musings marveling at the fact that his students did not all have names li A book which makes many good points about bad policy and bad managers in the public schools of today - all of which could be taken much more seriously were the book not so full of self-congratulatory narrative about the high income our suburban author sacrificed in order to "rescue" the poor souls of the South Bronx.

His outrage at being falsely accused of cultural insensitivity is rather rich when considered alongside his musings marveling at the fact that his students did not all have names lifted directly from the King James Bible like his own or that many of them did not know how to tie the school necktie because they were not from households with adults who wore ties to work um If a person goes into teaching with the attitude that he will educate students but students cannot also educate him, he is probably not emotionally mature enough for the profession. Sep 06, Jen rated it really liked it.

This book reveals the extent of scandal, mismanagement, and cheating that goes on in our nation's school and makes you question the motives of everyone in--as Owens so ominously refers to NYC public schools--"the System. Interesting, although I knew that problem schools such This book reveals the extent of scandal, mismanagement, and cheating that goes on in our nation's school and makes you question the motives of everyone in--as Owens so ominously refers to NYC public schools--"the System.

Interesting, although I knew that problem schools such as "Latinate" truly exist, I couldn't help but feel he must be exaggerating Sep 06, Samuel Lubell rated it really liked it Shelves: Very alarming book about a new midcareer teacher who started at a NYC high school. But he offended the principal because he did not volunteer enough hours so she became determined the rate him Unsatisfactory and there's enough subjectivity in the process that the principal can find an excuse for any rating.

The book shows many of the problems of school reform and how we expect the impossible from teachers and force them to teach in ways that don't recognize where the students actually are and Very alarming book about a new midcareer teacher who started at a NYC high school. The book shows many of the problems of school reform and how we expect the impossible from teachers and force them to teach in ways that don't recognize where the students actually are and fail to support them in discipline. As a result, someone who might have become a good teacher in time left to go back to his old career.

There was too much emphasis on the rules and not enough on helping the students.

Confessions of a Bad Teacher: The Shocking Truth from the Front Lines of American Public Education

Jul 25, Barbara Stephens rated it it was amazing. This is a must read for teachers, administrators, parents and anyone who cares about our future. We know educating our children is the most important thing we can do. But do we enable our teachers to do this important work? Owens shows us how out of control the education programs are with the clear eyes of an outsider. He makes the situation understandable to anyone. The system is abused so that the teachers and the kids are the last ones to get a break.

The time to change things is now This is a must read for teachers, administrators, parents and anyone who cares about our future. The time to change things is now and Owens' cogent book makes it clear. Don't think this isn't your kids' school. Stop the madness now. Mar 16, The Suburban Eclectic rated it it was amazing Shelves: Confessionsof a Bad Teacher isn't about a teacher witch hunt, that would be too simple and there are bigger problems with the American education sytem than a teacher's performance, rather it is the system itself that does a unsatisfactory job of supporting it's teachers and students alike.

Definitely eye opening and poignant. A must read for parents, students, teachers or anyone that knows one. Oct 02, Marilyn rated it really liked it. Sadly, this is an excellent and revealing look at what happens in more schools than one would think. I experienced the type of school leader that the author had. Aug 09, Angel rated it it was amazing Shelves: You can find my full review of this very good book on my blog.

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Nov 06, Megan rated it really liked it. I enjoyed this book immensely. As a public school teacher myself it made me laugh and smile and cry all at the same time. I highly recommend to anyone working in or around public education. Sep 12, Michael Tallman rated it it was amazing. If you think teachers are the source of our educational woes, read this book. Aug 09, Corinne Driscoll rated it really liked it. This is exactly the hell that is now a teacher's life.

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. John Owens is an award-winning travel journalist, author, editor and photographer based in Vero Beach, Florida. This collection of stories is a hilarious, insightful flashback packed with joyfully offbeat characters and you-can't-make-this-up experienc John Owens is an award-winning travel journalist, author, editor and photographer based in Vero Beach, Florida.

This collection of stories is a hilarious, insightful flashback packed with joyfully offbeat characters and you-can't-make-this-up experiences. Chickens Are Not Pets grew out of his work as an 8th and 9th grade public school English teacher. One of the exercises most popular with his students was Writing Your Life; students eagerly captured colorful stories about growing up. This book resulted from John doing exactly that. Books by John Owens. Trivia About Confessions of a No trivia or quizzes yet. Quotes from Confessions of a We have to focus on basic skills and classroom management.

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