The Emergency Teacher: The Inspirational Story of a New Teacher in an Inner-City School
The Emergency Teacher is Christina Asquith’s moving firsthand account of her year spent teaching in one of Philadelphia’s worst schools. Told with striking humor and honesty, her story begins when the School District of Philadelphia, faced with 1,500 teacherless classrooms, instituted a policy of hiring “emergency certified” teachers to fill the void. Asquith, a twenty-five-year-old reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer, joined their untrained ranks. Assigned to a classroom known as “the Badlands,” she was told to “sink or swim.”

More challenging than the classroom are the trials she faces outside it, including the antics of an overwhelmed first-year principal, the politics that prevent a million-dollar grant from reaching her students, and the administration’s shocking insistence that teachers maintain the appearance of success in the face of utter defeat, even if it means falsifying test scores. Asquith tells a classic story of succeeding against insurmountable odds.

With a foreword by bestselling author Mark Bowden and an introduction by award-winning educator Dr. Harry K. Wong, The Emergency Teacher will inspire every teacher—be they first-timers or experienced professionals—to make a difference.
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The Emergency Teacher: The Inspirational Story of a New Teacher in an Inner-City School
The Emergency Teacher is Christina Asquith’s moving firsthand account of her year spent teaching in one of Philadelphia’s worst schools. Told with striking humor and honesty, her story begins when the School District of Philadelphia, faced with 1,500 teacherless classrooms, instituted a policy of hiring “emergency certified” teachers to fill the void. Asquith, a twenty-five-year-old reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer, joined their untrained ranks. Assigned to a classroom known as “the Badlands,” she was told to “sink or swim.”

More challenging than the classroom are the trials she faces outside it, including the antics of an overwhelmed first-year principal, the politics that prevent a million-dollar grant from reaching her students, and the administration’s shocking insistence that teachers maintain the appearance of success in the face of utter defeat, even if it means falsifying test scores. Asquith tells a classic story of succeeding against insurmountable odds.

With a foreword by bestselling author Mark Bowden and an introduction by award-winning educator Dr. Harry K. Wong, The Emergency Teacher will inspire every teacher—be they first-timers or experienced professionals—to make a difference.
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The Emergency Teacher: The Inspirational Story of a New Teacher in an Inner-City School

The Emergency Teacher: The Inspirational Story of a New Teacher in an Inner-City School

The Emergency Teacher: The Inspirational Story of a New Teacher in an Inner-City School

The Emergency Teacher: The Inspirational Story of a New Teacher in an Inner-City School

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Overview

The Emergency Teacher is Christina Asquith’s moving firsthand account of her year spent teaching in one of Philadelphia’s worst schools. Told with striking humor and honesty, her story begins when the School District of Philadelphia, faced with 1,500 teacherless classrooms, instituted a policy of hiring “emergency certified” teachers to fill the void. Asquith, a twenty-five-year-old reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer, joined their untrained ranks. Assigned to a classroom known as “the Badlands,” she was told to “sink or swim.”

More challenging than the classroom are the trials she faces outside it, including the antics of an overwhelmed first-year principal, the politics that prevent a million-dollar grant from reaching her students, and the administration’s shocking insistence that teachers maintain the appearance of success in the face of utter defeat, even if it means falsifying test scores. Asquith tells a classic story of succeeding against insurmountable odds.

With a foreword by bestselling author Mark Bowden and an introduction by award-winning educator Dr. Harry K. Wong, The Emergency Teacher will inspire every teacher—be they first-timers or experienced professionals—to make a difference.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781628733129
Publisher: Skyhorse
Publication date: 09/01/2007
Sold by: SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format: eBook
Pages: 288
File size: 450 KB

About the Author

About The Author
Christina Asquith is a former reporter for The Philadelphia Inquirer, and has written for The New York Times, The Economist, and The Chronicle of Higher Education. She has a master's degree in Educational Philosophy from The London School of Economics and Politics. She lives in Washington, D.C. Her web site is christinareporting.com

Table of Contents

Foreword Mark Bowden ix

Introduction Dr. Harry K. Wong xiii

1 Julia de Burgos: A Short History 1

2 They'll Take Anyone 13

3 The First Days of School 28

4 Bilingual Education 46

5 The Badlands 59

6 The Two Percent Factor 69

7 The New Teacher Exodus 82

8 The Pedagogical Society 88

9 Special Education 93

10 Rebuilding My Classroom 101

11 Visiting Villanova 112

12 The Principal 123

13 Changing Grades 138

14 Arsons 141

15 Rally 172

16 The Toughest Students 178

17 Good-bye 187

Epilogue: Eighth-Grade Graduation Day 195

Afterword 205

Acknowledgements 209

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