Waubonsee Community College

Inside Mrs. B's classroom, courage, hope, and learning on Chicago's South Side, Leslie Baldacci

eng

autobiography

index present

non fiction

Inside Mrs. B's classroom

52485893

Leslie Baldacci

courage, hope, and learning on Chicago's South Side

In 1999, Chicago Sun-Times veteran Leslie Baldacci left her prestigious, twenty-five year career to teach at a public school in one of Chicago's roughest South Side neighborhoods. As she later commented, "I thought I knew rough. I thought I had answers. I didn't know jack." But Baldacci never looked back, and the result is Inside Mrs. B's Classroom, a compelling, first-hand narrative from the trenches of the inner-city school system that addresses one of society's most critical issues from gritty, daily personal experience. An expert on Chicago's massive education reform efforts even before she turned in her press credentials, Baldacci adds an informed, intellectual layer to this insightful, engaging work. In an era in which many people talk about wanting to make a difference, Baldacci has done so. Here she shares the whole picture, from the unrealistic expectations to the surprises--good and bad--that make up education today. Above all, she shows how an individual can, did--and continues to--make a difference in the lives of American children

Cover -- Copyright -- Table of Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Chapter 1 The Mad Crapper -- Chapter 2 Welcome to the Neighborhood -- Chapter 3 Bring Two No. 2 Pencils -- Chapter 4 My Assignment -- Chapter 5 The Farewell Tour -- Chapter 6 The Belly of the Beast -- Chapter 7 Nesting -- Chapter 8 The Seventh Graders Arrive -- Chapter 9 Getting to Know Them -- Chapter 10 Al Gore Visits the Billy Goat -- Chapter 11 The Kids Are All Right, but the Teachers Are Wrecks -- Chapter 12 Violence -- Chapter 13 A Five-Week Reorganization -- Chapter 14 Learning -- Chapter 15 An Observation -- Chapter 16 Crime and Punishment -- Chapter 17 Thanksgiving Break -- Chapter 18 An Intervention -- Chapter 19 The Bathroom Incident -- Chapter 20 A Winning Streak -- Chapter 21 So Far -- Chapter 22 The Mid-Winter Lull -- Chapter 23 The Second Half -- Chapter 24 Hip Hop 101 -- Chapter 25 Bottoming Out -- Chapter 26 No Coincidences -- Chapter 27 Pierre -- Chapter 28 Spring Planting -- Chapter 29 Bad Things Happen in Threes -- Chapter 30 Remediation -- Chapter 31 Assumptions -- Chapter 32 Livin' On the Edge -- Chapter 33 The End of Seventh Grade -- Chapter 34 Fairyland -- Chapter 35 The More Things Change -- Chapter 36 Cult of Personality -- Chapter 37 Trouble -- Chapter 38 Dance Africa -- Chapter 39 Loving Louis -- Chapter 40 The Downside -- Chapter 41 Another Christmas -- Chapter 42 Cruel January -- Chapter 43 A Prayer in School -- Chapter 44 Recess! -- Chapter 45 The Teacher Certification Test -- Chapter 46 Midnight Catches a Snake -- Chapter 47 Lost Parents -- Chapter 48 Mother's Day -- Chapter 49 Guns of Summer -- Chapter 50 Going from Here -- Chapter 51 Graduation -- Postscript