In School: Our Kids, Our Teachers, Our Classrooms

Hayward C. Blake is a high-school principal in Harbour Grace,
Newfoundland.

Every day from September 1993 until June 1994, Ken Dryden attended a
public high school, sitting, watching, and taking notes. The result is a
document about what really goes on inside schools. We see the demands
placed on students and teachers and come to understand their
frustrations. Dryden’s account of their likes and dislikes, their
thoughts, their leisure-time activities, and the role school plays in
their lives will enlighten, intrigue, and fascinate the reader because
it is authentic.

As the book makes clear, the challenge in schools is not to teach the
academically gifted; it is to teach those kids who are not as interested
in learning. Dryden set out to determine what makes a good teacher and
discovered that the good teachers don’t just teach courses or
ideas—they teach young people. In School is a must-read for anyone who
has preconceived notions about what is happening in our schools.