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    Educating Esmé: Diary of a Teacher's First Year
    Educating Esmé: Diary of a Teacher's First Year
    Educating Esmé: Diary of a Teacher's First Year
    Audiobook (abridged)2 hours

    Educating Esmé: Diary of a Teacher's First Year

    Written by Esmé Raji Codell

    Narrated by Esmé Raji Codell

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Codell's portrait of an inner-city elementary school is funny, poignant, and inspiring.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHighbridge Company
    Release dateOct 22, 2002
    ISBN9781598871180
    Educating Esmé: Diary of a Teacher's First Year

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    Reviews for Educating Esmé

    4/5

    25 ratings19 reviews

    What did you think?

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      Madame Esme is daring and fabulous.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      I just loved this book. It probably makes a difference that I am a new teacher preparing my new classroom and planning for my first year, but maybe not. It made me laugh and pause to reflect. Well worth reading!

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Esme's diary is a wake up call to college freshman entering an education program. A teacher's first year is the most difficult, and this book clearly lets an aspriing teacher know that all of her students will not worship the ground she works on, and parents aren't always as helpful as a naive 18 year old might expect.Esme's journal chronicles her first year at a new school in Chicago, dealing with the administration, holding her ground in classroom management, and learning what it means to be a teacher, as her students explore their new school.Esme has a refreshing voice and I'd love to see any of her future memoirs.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      This is a fantastic book that EVERY new teacher should read. Esme is inspiring, and I am a better person for reading this book.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      Esme is pretty much the most awesome person I have read about in terms of balancing sheer moxie with drive, honesty, and perpetual fun. I think this really should be required reading of any individual wishing to educate children because it is a true no-nonsense guide to how a first year of teaching is. It doesn't paint an overly pessimistic view, but it certainly does not sugarcoat any of the reasons why teachers often quit in their first couple of years.
    • 3/5
      interesting. it's cool that she grew up in uptown and i liked her creative techniques. i find it interesting that so many teachers later homeschool their own kids...
    • 5/5
      Esme Raji Codell is basically my hero. She's a funny, prolific teacher/librarian/writer. This particular book chronicles her first year of teaching at an inner-city Chicago school. Esme demands her students call her Madame Esme, to her principal's dismay, and roller skates in crazy outfits into her classroom. To interest her students in school, she changes subject titles, like "Math" becomes "Puzzling." She also builds a time machine out of a refrigerator box and a snake light in order to illustrate to her students that reading can transport you to another place and time. She also gives advice through experience on how to handle hostile, misbehaving, or abused children with humor, grace and compassion. The book also has occasional tidbits in the form of letters written by fifth graders to new teachers. They give cute, hilariously misspelled advice that ties the book together and lets you see the fun side of the students. I love this book and it's a big reason behind why I want to be a teacher.
    • 2/5
      I found this to be insufferable. The author is in her first year of teaching, and while I could understand her frustration with bureaucracy, she seemed a little nuts. I had the feeling I would have been really annoyed if I had had to work with her.
    • 4/5
      Wonderful book. Funny, inspiring, terribly sad. The sorrow relates to the plight of the author's students, and is worthwhile.
    • 4/5
      This diary of a 1st-yr teacher had me remembering my favorite elementary school teachers. Reminded me what a demanding and stressful job those teachers had, even in the days before they had to "teach to the test". Lots of good examples and cautionary tips for new teachers.
    • 4/5
      This is a true day-by-day account of a teacher’s first year at school. Codell is an extremely creative and caring teacher. In one chapter, she had a student that was behaving badly and she put him in charge of the classroom and she took his place as the misbehaving student. She builds a time machine using a refrigerator box and a shelf of old books.
    • 4/5
      Educating Esme: Diary of a Teacher's First Year is smart and funny. It's a journey inside the mind of a young, fresh-minded educator hell bent on doing things her way. Her lessons and style of teaching are engaging. They allow students to be themselves and in the process learn something. The students are not bribed or cajoled into lesson plans. Codell disguises education in a safe, fun environment. This is not to say she doesn't have her share of problems. Chicago has it's gang culture, it's broken homes, it's drug addled families; not to mention a difficult hierarchy within the school system. Codell encounters it all with grace and strength.
    • 3/5
      This book was definitely entertaining, but I wonder about how much of it was factual. It claims to be the diary of a first-year teacher, but it seemed very idealistic and unrealistic.And it didn't sit right with me that there was a time when her students stabbed a substitute teacher in the back with a pencil and she wasn't really bothered about it. That's kind of a big deal...I did love the idea of building a "time machine" filled with books. I might have to use that someday.
    • 5/5
      Madame Esme is daring and fabulous.
    • 5/5
      Even though I am not a teacher, nor have I ever really wanted to be one, I really enjoyed “Educating Esmé: Diary of a Teacher's First Year, Expanded Edition.” The author, Esme Raji Codell (also wrote How to Get Your Child to Love Reading: For Ravenous and Reluctant Readers Alike), wrote this book to chronicle her first year of teaching in a Chicago public school. Living in Chicago, it was funny to hear her thoughts and experiences here in my hometown. I also have had first time teachers before and this was amusing to see things from their perspective.Throughout the book Esme, or Madame Esme as she prefers, battles “bureaucrats, gang members, abusive parents, and her own insecurities” as she lets us in on her daily life as a teacher. Esme is funny, strong, honest, and definitely a great teacher. She is actually now “one of the nation’s most sought-after voices for empowering teachers.” Esme shows that she really cares about her students and how hard she must work to reach them.Educating Esmé is a quick read and a must-read for all teachers and teacher-to-be. And even if you are not a teacher, like me, it still made me laugh and was a great outside my norm genre book. Originally published in 1999, and after selling over 200,000 and becoming a Bestseller, Educating Esme is back (re-published 9/1/2009) and now includes a guide with 25 tips for teachers and teachers-to-be. I especially loved her tips and I saw that I could easily incorporate them into everyday life. I mean as mothers aren’t we all our kids first teachers!You can read more about Esme at her website Planet Esme or check out her book at your favorite online retailer!
    • 3/5
      From the perspective of a first year teacher in an inner city Chicago school, comes Educating Esme. It is the real story of her experience teaching a class of 5th graders who are struggling with many things and don't have a lot of school supplies, but come to class with open hearts. This book is very eye-opening and a must read for teachers and non-teachers alike. I would recommend this book to any future teacher thinking about teaching in an inner city school.
    • 2/5
      I wanted to like this book, but certain parts just rubbed me the wrong way. Such as when the mother was punching her son, Esme's student, in school, and she thinks something along the lines of, "Well I could report this to DCFS but that would bring about whole other problems." Really? Yeah, that's why I'm a 22 year old dropout, in therapy, diagnosed with PTSD. Teachers liked to look the other way when I was in school. Please teachers, report! It might cause "problems," but it might save someone. I did like much of her teaching style, but it doesn't save the book for me.
    • 1/5
      I thought I would love this book. I didn't. I couldn't relate to the cynicism of the main character.
    • 4/5
      I was assigned to read this book for one of my education classes, and never bothered to read more than the first few pages. However, recently, in an attempt to go through some of the books I have yet to read, I decided to try once again to read this one.I must say, I was thoroughly impressed. The book is written as a diary, with most of the witting actually coming from the authors journal. Esme begins as a new teacher in a brand new school. However, she manages to do great things, motivating her class, creating new projects and doing the amazing thing all teachers wish they could accomplish. She does all these things working for a man who could easily be one of the most incompetent administrators in the history of schools and surrounded by burnt out or disillusioned teachers.Esme at times can be a downright cruel in her judgment of her fellow teachers and extremely condescending to those who don't share the insane level of passion and work ethic as her. However, with her students she accomplished great things. It is a must-read for anyone wanting to become a teacher, or a teacher who is just fresh out of ideas.