When Teachers Talk: Principal Abuse of Teachers - The Untold Story is a mind-blowing book that every parent with a child in public schools should read. In the book, teacher interviews disclose the real reasons schools are failing and how your child suffers because of it. Under the protection of anonymity, hundreds of teachers talk. This book delivers a powerful message to parents and anyone who wonders why so many students are struggling and public education is failing.
I'm not kidding when I say that this book was eye opening and absolutely heartbreaking. I no longer have my children in public school, and after reading this book, I am even more thankful to be a homeschooling mom. This country is in serious trouble and education for our children needs to stop being put on the back burner.
I absolutely could not believe some of the things I read in this book. The way these teachers were being treated by principals was insane. These principals had such an abuse of power that it turned into an abuse of teachers. So very, very sad what these teachers have had to endure.
I will say that not every principal in the book was painted in a bad light. There were a handful of really great principals: those who treated the teachers with respect and understood that it really is all about the children.
The book also provides a section entitled "What Can We Do About It?" It offers suggestions from teachers as well as a sample faculty questionnaire.
While I'm not a teacher (in a public school system), I am a mom. And the things that I read in this book are shocking. Our children deserve better. Our child(ren)'s teachers deserve so much better. Here they are, sacrificing their time, efforts, and abilities to nurture and help our children succeed. They should be respected and esteemed not belittled and abused.
When Teachers Talk is one book that every teacher, parent, educator, and school board should read. It will blow your mind. But it might just make the change that our public school system needs.
Rosalyn S. Schnall, author of When Teachers Talk, taught in the Chicago public school system for thirty five years. Upon retirement Ms. Schnall published her book which is comprised of the interviews of five hundred public school teachers she personally conducted over a period of five and a half years. The book shockingly reveals the widespread abuse of teachers by administrators and the real reason our school system is failing. The revelations in this groundbreaking new book counters the common assumption that teachers are the problem, and puts the blame where it belongs, primarily on principals and school administrators.