Impressed enough to buy two copies of Kleinman's COMPLETE PHYSICAL EDUCATION PLANS FOR GRADES 7-12, one for my home and another for my office, I felt compelled to read her novel also. Unsurprisingly, I found TOO DANGEROUS TO TEACH well-written and richly-textured. Its account of a physical education teacher's efforts in a national school of excellence tugged at my every emotion . The dialogue between students, peers, teachers and parents was engaging and eerie in its plausibility . The lengths that the administrators went to ensure that their hidden agenda would prevail chilled my soul. The most frightening thing is that this could happen to any teacher, no matter how good or how dedicated. I couldn't put this story, reportedly based on fact, down. It is worthy of the Twilight Zone! There are a great many books in print written by teachers, but this is the first one written by "one of us", a Physical Education teacher. Marilyn Laidlaw
I have started reading it and am having trouble putting it down. As a classroom teacher for 25 years and a Alabama Education Association Staff member for the past 10 years, I have found it both heartwarming and alarming. In the early 80's, I found myself in a similar situation while serving as Local President. Fortunately, I had a strong tenure law and a stong professional association (union) to protect me. I just spent the past hour counseling th a . . . teacher. . . that has been subjected to some of the same type harassment. . . . Fortunately we have stopped the harassment and the principal has been terminated for his actions. I can't wait to finish the book. Mary Bruce Ogles
I am only up to Chapter 34, but already have lost count of the number of different emotions that have gone through my brain. . . . I am inspired yet at the same time I'm horrified . . .(thinking) how many outstanding teachers like you have gone through . . . this. I'm mostly furious that such heinous corruption can make its way into something so sacred as education (and public education, no less). To be honest, I used to think that teacher's unions were useless and just a group of teachers who whined about not getting a big enough pay hike. Now, I realize what teachers have to deal with . . . and how vital a union is to a teacher's 'well-being' and success in the workplace. Andrew Black
How could a book so well written [and that mentions me TWICE] have its publication stopped? What an outrage!! Seriously, I read the book during my flights to and from California. I lived a lot of your experiences with you, however, there were situations and anecdotes involving (Cross, Silvertone, and Bart as named in the book) that I found appalling. Bottom line, and as you so aptly put it, the years at Sandyfield [oops, I mean ATS] were the best. Big Guy----- Original Gary Landsberg
This true story reads like a first class spy thriller. It is so surreal that Stephen King could not do a better job. The average person would not think things like this could possibly happen in a field that is supposed to be dedicated to educating our students. Instead, we find that solid professionalism takes a back seat to powerful individuals political agenda. I am a teacher and have seen some pretty strange things happen, but never on this scale. Read it and see what I mean. Howie Weiss
My dear friend and cousin gave me your incredible book. I read your book compulsively, nodding my head at every administrative obscenity. I shed real tears when a student you thought you hadn't reached expressed her love for you. I thank you, thank you for telling your story so well. Teachers have become the fall guys for everything that's wrong in education, but how can teachers do their jobs with rampant administrative abuse and ineffectual union representation. Diana Siegel
I love your book. I am really caught up in the daily triumphs, struggles, disappointments and necessary adjustments of the narrator in pursuing her passion for teaching. . . . . Cross and the Union President are pathetic losers. Consequently, they didn't make me as angry as I became with O'Leary and Silverstone, who I expected would continue to get undeserved rewards (as you have just confirmed) because they are smart and unprincipled when it comes to self-promotion. Do a sequel only if unexpectedly O'Connor and Goldstein get their just deserts in real life, or if you are willing to fictionalize the story so that's the ending. Otherwise, it's just too much for readers like me to handle. Steve McCrae
"Too Dangerous to Teach" is an absorbing and sometimes frightening account of the extreme dangers one is likely to face for daring to be truthful to one's beliefs in the face of the establishment. It is also a powerful indictment of a school system in which seeking revenge and personal political gain under the guise of concern for educational excellence and student safety is the order of the day. It's a story that needed to be told, and Ms Kleinman has done so with flying colors. George Mandel
I am at the end of the chapter 19 (and) am ready to stomp the Glenda person into the ground. Had this woman ever taught before? Ever been in a school environment before? Any request you or anyone else had (Ellie) was turned into a battle for you and an insult for her. I don't think she saw the big picture by any means. I am really enjoying reading your book and feel like I'm in the hallway with you. Excellent descriptions keep it vibrant in my head. Elizabeth Hitchcock
I find your book riveting, revealing, heart-breaking. The scenes you painted brought back so many memories. Your writing style is gripping. It’s hard to put down. Rosalia Gioia
It demonstrates how involved you were in (students) . . . and . . . their well-being . . . (got) across the point that an ineffectual union is worse that no union at all. Your book is very well written and . . . exposes the sham that exists between . . . extolling the importance of public education and the reality. Stu Blumner
Elizabeth . . . worked in a Kafka-esque world where evil ruled . . . . (That) she survived with her principles in tact is . . . a triumph. Every chapter will shock you! Dr. Richard Saland
Opens a window into the power politics of school administrators. A. Messina
"Too Dangerous To Teach" is too good to miss." This incredible story is so well told that it aroused anger, incredulity, disgust, empathy and pushed all my buttons. If you have an interest in how schools are run, students are being taught, teachers are asked to assume burdens beyond the classroom, this story will capture you. Elizabeth Feinman's struggle to be a great teacher while protecting her professional status makes a great read. Renee Greene
Ms. Kleinman tells an incredible tale about her teaching experience. A well-qualified professional confronts an unyielding educational system, an administration that seems only interested in maintaining the status quo, and the hesitation of a union that supports her reluctantly. It is a sad yet enlightening tale brightened only by Ms. Kleinman's understanding of her students and her rapport with them. Her determined strength and her mission to teach sustains her. Ginny Sixeas
I found "Too Dangerous to Teach" both exciting and shocking. Exciting for its page-turning vivid writing, shocking in its recounting of the story of a dedicated teacher who refuses to lower her standards and cheat her students in order to make her school look better. As an adjunct professor of Teaching and Learning at New York University, I find this troubling. Students graduate who are academically and ethically unprepared for college, for life, and for their role as aware, literate citizens in a democratic system. This is a book that anyone concerned about the education of our nation's children should read. Joyce West
I get angry at the immoral way they disposed of a damned good teacher who became a perceived threat to their personal aspirations, just because she had a greater vision that encompassed giving priority to the needs of the children! What does "education" stand for, if not providing the best environment for learning? How can an "excellent record" of any administrator or school or system be applied in an arbitrary fashion to results based on the numbers of kids pushed through? Val Drake
I loved your style of writing and your dedication to teaching. That you were able to perform, coach and supervise all the sporting activities with daily harassment was truly amazing. I need to read more after your last teaching assignment.... Perhaps a sequel... Pat Villante
I attended 2 of these "fictional" schools during the Camelot years of education on Long Island. Isobel Kleinman was my Phys. Ed. teacher. YOU WILL BE RIVETED by her story........I could not put the book down! The sacrificing of excellent teachers to maintain bogus grading, attendance, & behavioral statistics for financial gain, awards recognition, better budgets, & increased property values is a pathetic state of affairs for education. The district fear factor, outrageous ratio of non-tenured teachers, & growing number of retired good teachers will create the perfect environment for this corrupt district to reign. The fabrications & perjury of the students, faculty, & administration is astonishing! - June Cwiek Jordan
Your (hi)story remains so fascinating that I only reluctantly interrupt reading it to look up words in the dictionary. It took a while since it is not written in my native tongue but (it) is fascinating and (a book) one can hardly stop reading. You certainly are a gifted writer. The more I read the more I felt uneasy, annoyed (and) even disgusted by the behavior of some people you describe. If it were a story that (was) made up from a to z, OK, but when . . . everything really happened - well then it is almost a miracle that you are still the sound mind and pleasant, interesting, engaged and lively, well-balanced person friends love and appreciate. Congratulations! Erwin Kaufmann
I am in the middle of your book; My God! My husband has observed me as reading it like a textbook, underlining, starring, commenting. Cannot wait to meet with you to talk about this. I cannot believe how bad it really could get! Glenda is an asshole, and Cross ought to just be brought up as incompetent! Perhaps he just needs a shrink! Anyway, I am immersed and will be in touch again. Maria Testa
Isobel Kleinman told us how a school district with no standards can engineer a dedicated teacher's dismissal. Where was her union when the district set her up for failure and used the students to this end? Ms Kleinman describes how her naive support of the students and academic standards led to disaster. All teachers should read this book to learn how important it is to develop survival skills in a district that seems to support passing students just to pass them rather than educating them for their future benefit. Her dialogue was so engrossing and events so riveting that I couldn't put it down. A must read. Marlene E. Natale
I was up until 2:30 A.M. last night because I couldn’t put your book down. . . . Your writing is spectacular. ... As much as I am thoroughly enjoying reading it, I am also disturbed that the events were real. I’m sure at times it was painful to relive and write about. I applaud you for documenting your story. I can hear your voice speaking the words. It's excellent! Suzan Black
I finished your book. Even though I had followed the case as it unfolded, it was quite different to read it through. I don't understand how you survived. I was talking about the book with my cousin Rachel. Her comment was "that teaching would be great if there were less grown-ups". Other friends, who are teachers, have observed the power trips, politics and manipulation that goes on. So unnecessary and so not the point. I wonder why one friend thought the book was funny. It was difficult emotionally for me to read it. I am so proud of you for having been a dedicated teacher, for standing up for your beliefs, for surviving such viciousness, and writing the book. They say what doesn't kill you will make you strong. Sybil Solomon
I thoroughly enjoyed the book and have given it to a friend who teaches in the city. She is spellbound and incredulous. Fran Decicio
You never doubt the works authenticity, and although this book does nothing special stylistically, it doesn’t need to. 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. Ben Jonjak
I finally finished reading it and had so many mixed feelings. I kept saying to myself they were portraying you as someone you were not . . . it appears it was all a set up. It was kind of weird . . . because obviously I could figure out who some of the characters were since I did go to . . . (there.) It's just a shame that students were cut short of the experience of learning from one of the best physical education teachers around. Lisa Conter
Your book has the elements of a good film. Send a copy to S. Spielberg!!! Barbra Todd
It is an important, well-written work. It is engaging, hard to put down. I will recommend it to all my friends. Rachael Lippman Eichelbaum
I am loving reading it. Donna Bonfiglio
Started the book..couldn't put it down.. WOW that's about all I can say right now. Truly amazing!!! Anna Ciulla