On Being a Teacher

by Jonathan Kozol

Book Overview

A new edition of the seminal work

Jonathan Kozol, National Book Award-winning author and one of America's foremost writers on social issues, offers a passionate and provocative critique on the role of the teacher in America's public school system. Writing as a teacher, Kozol advocates an approach to education that is infused with ethical values: fairness, truth, and integrity, and a driving compassion for the world beyond the classroom...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1851686312
• ISBN13: 9781851686315
• Release Date: March 2009
• Publisher: ONEWorld Publications
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.0" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

in response to "a reader"

I just want to respond to the review by "a reader." Jonathan Kozol was in fact an educator, and if you're read any of his other works, such as "Death at an Early Age," he gives us personal accounts from his own teaching. He is an amazing writer, and very powerful in the field of education. If you do not agree with his "conspiracy theories" that is fine, but please do not make it seem as if he is not qualified to write about what he does.

education as citizenship

I have my community college students read Kozol's essays and they always have a strong response leading to debate about thier own education and belief systems. The essays are highly accessible to general readers and blow the pants off the denser works of the most acclaimed education theorists. Like all Kozol's work, On Being a Teacher book is passionate, pointed and beautifully written. (Before emerging as a 60s activist, Kozol was a poet.) He asks us what teaching and schools are for: mantaining an inequitable status quo or achieving a vibrant democracy that all students (and teachers)feel they can enter into? You would be well served to read it and see what you think! Each short essay addresses a theme having to do with the ethical and social responsibilities of the teacher. Topics include "History from the bottom up," "The Hero in jail: the truth will set us free," and "It is evil to tell lies to children." Although this book is almost 20 years old, every essay still resonates and asks contmeperary questons. Savor this book if you have a bit of the revolutionary in you, or if you are feeling like you're on auto-pilot and need some revolutionary sprit infused into your veins. Even politically conservative readers like the one above will find they have an challenging and engaging dialog with this book. As for educators and parents, On Being a Teacher is a must. There is only one philosphical book about education that is more stunning, a book called The Night is Dark and I am Far From Home, also by Kozol. Sadly, that book is out of print. Hopefully that will change. In the meantime, On Being a Teacher continues to resound.