_Letters to a Young Teacher_ by Jonathan Kozol
I don’t really know if this counts as pleasure reading, but most of my reading lately consists of journal articles or primary sources for my dissertation topic. However, as I was perusing our library at ZU, I found this book. Since I had read _Savage Inequalities_ by Kozol before, I thought it would be interesting to read.
It did not disappoint. Kozol puts together a collection of his correspondences to a young teacher named Francesca. What was interesting was that the same issues that Kozol dealt with as a new teacher in the ’60s are still in existence today. How is that possible?
Also, I noted an underlying comment on the type of teacher that matters to students, parents, and the system. There’s a quality of caring, empathy and sacrifice in the kind of teacher who truly reaches out and wants to make a difference in the lives of his/her students. Sometimes I forget that I used to be that kind of person. It’s so easy to let the world, our workplace, colleagues, etc. to get us down about wanting to make a difference. However, holding on to that optimism and ideals is really needed to truly succeed….
It’s time to dig that person out and let her shine! π
