While reading "Too Dangerous to Teach" I couldn't help but think of my own experience in high school. During the course of my high school career, there were three student suicides. Because I graduated from a class of 106, I have to assume that this has to be some astronomical magnification of the national average. The local newspapers and families kept calling these events tragedies, but somehow that word didn't seem appropriate to me. An attempted suicide is a tragedy and a failure involving many levels of a child rearing community. One achieved suicide is negligence, two is gross negligence, and three is criminal.
To my perspective, these "tragedies" were happening primarily due to the way students were being mistreated by the incompetent, power-hungry and self-deluded faculty and administration of my high school. Many students were depressed and confused, much to the indifference of the administration. The administration simply allowed a truly horrible environment to develop, one in which children were treated with disrespect and unintentionally led to exhibit spiteful, backstabbing behaviors rather than caring or nurturing ones.
But when I spoke out to this effect, people were appalled. Who was I, a sixteen year old know it all, to make these suggestions? How dare I be so disrespectful. How dare I speak out. Similarly, at the heart of "Too Dangerous to Teach" is a discussion of the consequences of speaking out against the majority and holding firm to a higher moral standard than is being exhibited. After reading it, I believe that if Isobel Kleinman (or her alter-ego Elizabeth Feinman as it appears in the book)had taught in my school, there would have been at least one pair of open ears willing to hear my concerns. And who knows, maybe one responsible voice could have made all the difference.
"Too Dangerous to Teach" is a very interesting recollection of the frustrations of a Phy. Ed. teacher during the course of a full career. The book is refreshing in its openness and honesty; although, it does not really resemble a true novel in its organization. Each chapter is a series of anecdotes surrounding the difficulties of things such as: the inherent dangers and problems of teaching archery to fifty children, getting funding for extracurricular activities, and, of course, run-ins with administrators who really don't have the first clue as to what you are dealing with. There is a common thread to the book, but this is not a "plot-driven" novel. This is more an example of literary non-fiction, and the draw of the work is the documentary style insights you get from Kleinman's experience. Reading it is very much like sitting down with the experienced teacher and listening to her impart to you virtually everything she learned about her profession, both comical and sad, during the course of her lengthy career.
The book is written in a clear, if not especially daring voice. The stories are told in a conversational tone that isn't at all reachy, and the events dealing with human behavior are of the type that are too absurd to be made up. You never doubt the work's authenticity, and although this book does nothing special stylistically, it doesn't need to. This is a recollection of events told in a way to gain credibility, and stylistic experimentation would have detracted from that.
Above all, this book feels very true. The atmosphere of a modern school is recreated, and I had no difficulty visualizing the faces of my teachers and principal in the places of those that Kleinman described. Being a single person's account, it is natural to begin to suspect that the author could have intentionally or unintentionally misconstrued or misrepresented various conflicts in her favor. However, the accuracy of what is presented is unimportant in the matter of details. What is important is that the main character of the story is clearly very responsible and conscientious regarding the care of her students, and that the currently accepted standard of school administration got in the way of her doing her job to the best effect.
I think this book would resonate strongly with anybody in the teaching industry whether they are the type of responsible teacher Elizabeth Feinman is or not. I could see this book being of great interest to anyone who is starting a career in teaching, and I can foresee that books like this will be great for sociologists four hundred years from now who are trying to reconstruct the sources of the flaws in our culture.
It is hard to pinpoint exactly what it is in human nature, or culture, that makes such a mess of our school system. Part of it comes from people who lose track of just what it is they are trying to accomplish, that is, they forget that the children come first. Part of it might be from a socially conditioned drive for power and stature. I don't know, and neither, do I think, does Isobel Kleinman, but in "Too Dangerous to Teach" she provides the raw material from which a conclusion might one day be drawn.
"Too Dangerous to Teach" contains a lot of material, and, in all fairness, probably runs a bit too long. I couldn't help but think that somebody could make a great fictional novel from this vast work of recollections. There are so many characters that I began to lose track of who was who. A more "Hollywood" version of this story would combine the personality traits of various groups, and present them in a single antagonist. The advantage of that would be that the more important themes of the work would be brought to the surface where they might be more effectively explored. However, having personally seen enough Hollywood garbage, I found the raw quality of Kleinman's writing to be rather relaxing. It is nice when you can enjoy a story without feeling manipulated. After my own experience in high school, there is really no criticism of modern schooling that is too strong for my liking. Both teen suicide and school shootings are major issues today that were almost unheard of as recently as fifty years ago.
"Too Dangerous to Teach" is both funny and frustrating, and it only goes to further show that there is something inherently wrong in the system. Changes must be made, but unfortunately, the public reaction is far too frequently a scolding of the messenger rather than an acknowledgement of his/her report. Sure, a major overhaul of public education is a big time undertaking. But in the end, don't you think the kids are worth it?