Teachers, Straight Talk from the Trenches: Straight Talk from the Trenches

The 35 interviews with teachers, current and former, in this collection shape an informed overview of the troubled classroom environment in American schools. Well represented are the two largest systems, New York City and Los Angeles; the voices are impassioned, often using terms of warfare, of frustration and diminishing hope. Family life in the suburbs is shown to be reflective of the social climate that infiltrates classrooms, a part of the problems that cause these teachers to express feelings of inadequacy, under attack, they maintain, from students and parents alike. The book points out conditions that drive teachers from the field and offers practical suggestions that could help stem the exodus. Dichter, a former teacher, directs a history museum in Chappaqua, N.Y. National Education Association Book Club main selection. (Nov.)