Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me

Uncompromising, penetratingly clear-sighted and fiercely humane. Few, if any, more essential memoirs will be published this year * The Lady * An engaging, continuously interesting book, and an encouraging one. It is full of good stories and I don't think anyone could read it without having his or her understanding deepened and sympathies engaged -- Allan Massie * Scotsman * Kate Clanchy, a prizewinning poet, draws on thirty years of teaching in state schools to produce a "revelatory picture of school life, and a fascinating look at the role education plays". Clanchy doesn't dodge the hard knocks, but what comes through from her personal stories is the transformative power of good teaching. -- Tom Gatti * Economia * An enthralling and often profoundly moving insight into life in British schools today. * Bookseller * Her insights therefore avoid the vague generalisations we might find in a government report and come with the practical wisdom of a teacher on the ground . . . We need people like Clanchy * Guardian * Funny, cynical, inspiring . . . [Clanchy has] a wicked way of describing failure in the education system -- Andrew Billen * The Times * An engrossing read - a fascinating memoir of a career dedicated to educating a generation of young people. Highly recommended, and downright essential for fellow teachers * Culturefly * Honest and heartwarming -- <i>Stylist</i>, 2019's best non-fiction books Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me is an honest and heartwarming look at a career path that is often demeaned, diminished and under-resourced, and will show you why it shouldn't be -- Sarah Shaffi * Stylist * These sometimes painful, often funny reports provide a valuable insight into the young lives flailing, striving and blossoming in the nation's classrooms -- Stephen Kelman, author of <i>Pigeon English</i> Beautifully written and full of heart. Kate Clanchy has written a love letter to teachers everywhere, to remind us all that as children we begin with tolerance and love -- Christie Watson, author of <i>The Language of Kindness</i> Inspiring, moving and funny . . . A book that will appeal not just to other teachers and parents, but to anyone who cares about education. Her classroom anecdotes are inspiring, mortifying, energising and moving. I'd give her an A* -- Alex O'Connell * The Times * One of the most inspiring books about teaching you'll ever read . . . superbly well written . . . brilliantly funny . . . read this book -- Bryan Appleyard * Sunday Times * The best book on teachers and children and writing that I've ever read. No-one has said better so much of what so badly needs saying. I want to see this book become a bestseller, I want to see it in every staffroom, I want to see it read by every student teacher. This is a wonderful achievement -- Philip Pullman

Kate Clanchy is a writer, teacher and journalist. Her poetry collection Slattern won a Forward Prize. Her short story 'The Not-Dead and the Saved' won both the 2009 BBC National Short Story Award and the VS Pritchett Memorial Prize. Her novel Meeting the English was shortlisted for the Costa Prize. Her BBC 3 radio programme about her work with students was shortlisted for the Ted Hughes prize. In 2018 she was awarded an MBE for services to literature, and an anthology of her students' work, England: Poems from a School, was published to great acclaim.

Introduction - i: Introduction from Kate Clanchy Chapter - 1: About Love, Sex, and the Limits of Embarrassment: Callum, Paul, Liam, Akash, Emmanuel, and Javel Chapter - 2: About Exclusion: Kylie, Royar, and Simon Chapter - 3: About Nations, Papers, and Where We Belong: Shakila, Aadil, and Me Chapter - 4: About Writing, Secrets, and Being Foreign: Priti, Farah, Priya, and Amina Chapter - 5: About the Hijab: Imani's Argument Chapter - 6: About Uniform: Elsa, Connor, and Saira Chapter - 7: On the Church in Schools: Tess, Jude, and Oldest One Chapter - 8: About Prayer: Emily, Priya, and Kamal Kamal's Paris Chapter - 9: About Poverty, Art, and How to Choose a School: Cheyenne, Darren, My Son, and Scarlett Chapter - 10: About Prizes: Phillip and Tanya Chapter - 11: About Selection: Sets and Streams, Grammars and Not: Jez and Oldest One Chapter - 12: About Teaching English: Michael and Allen Chapter - 13: About Being Out of Place: Sofia, Janie, and Chris Chapter - 14: About Being Well: Lianne, Danielle, Susie, Kristell, Courtney, and Dawud Chapter - 15: About What I Think I Am Doing: Jason, Aimee, Heya, and Shakila