A well-researched, disheartening, yet relentlessly hopeful examination of American public schools.
A former teacher assesses the problems that plague public schools in the United States in this debut education book.
During her tenure teaching elementary math in Baltimore County public schools, DeMallie was time and again “a teacher without a voice.” Her own professional opinions, based on the interests of the students she knew best, were constantly vetoed by the schools’ administrations. Tired of seeing how the public school system itself “enabled the problem and failed to provide a solution,” the author resigned after seven years in the classroom to become a national voice for education reform. This book’s first half identifies some of the major issues confronting America’s public schools, ranging from corrupt superintendents to the misapplication of technology. DeMallie’s nuanced analysis tackles the controversial Common Core, noting areas where it “benefits” students but also highlighting spots where it falls short of its intended goals. Even America’s century-old grading system is put under the microscope, as the author encourages readers to ask if “grades motivate students” to learn or even are accurate reflections of their knowledge. The second half of the volume centers on “Ten Steps To Improve Public Education,” which range from mental fortitude (“be resilient” and “focus on the positive”) to pragmatic tips, such as the efficacy of teacher microphones in reducing academic and behavioral issues. DeMallie’s rigorous analysis is often accompanied by anecdotes from her time in the classroom as well as her own experiences as a parent whose son initially struggled in school due to a hearing issue. These vignettes, combined with the author’s conversational yet informed writing style, make for an approachable read. Designed to spawn future parent/teacher activists, the book also includes questions for small group discussions as well as practical advice on how individuals can speak up and make changes on a local and even national level (as DeMallie did as the founding director of the Institute of Classroom Hearing). While some may disagree with the author’s suggestion to not “rely on politicians” for reform, this is a remarkably well-written, balanced, and impassioned case for change.
A well-researched, disheartening, yet relentlessly hopeful examination of American public schools.Pub Date: Jan. 13, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-54-451796-4
Page Count: 316
Publisher: Houndstooth Press
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A virtuoso performance and an ode to an undervalued medium created by two talented artists.
The veteran actor, comedian, and banjo player teams up with the acclaimed illustrator to create a unique book of cartoons that communicates their personalities.
Martin, also a prolific author, has always been intrigued by the cartoons strewn throughout the pages of the New Yorker. So when he was presented with the opportunity to work with Bliss, who has been a staff cartoonist at the magazine since 1997, he seized the moment. “The idea of a one-panel image with or without a caption mystified me,” he writes. “I felt like, yeah, sometimes I’m funny, but there are these other weird freaks who are actually funny.” Once the duo agreed to work together, they established their creative process, which consisted of working forward and backward: “Forwards was me conceiving of several cartoon images and captions, and Harry would select his favorites; backwards was Harry sending me sketched or fully drawn cartoons for dialogue or banners.” Sometimes, he writes, “the perfect joke occurs two seconds before deadline.” There are several cartoons depicting this method, including a humorous multipanel piece highlighting their first meeting called “They Meet,” in which Martin thinks to himself, “He’ll never be able to translate my delicate and finely honed droll notions.” In the next panel, Bliss thinks, “I’m sure he won’t understand that the comic art form is way more subtle than his blunt-force humor.” The team collaborated for a year and created 150 cartoons featuring an array of topics, “from dogs and cats to outer space and art museums.” A witty creation of a bovine family sitting down to a gourmet meal and one of Dumbo getting his comeuppance highlight the duo’s comedic talent. What also makes this project successful is the team’s keen understanding of human behavior as viewed through their unconventional comedic minds.
A virtuoso performance and an ode to an undervalued medium created by two talented artists.Pub Date: Nov. 17, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-26289-9
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Celadon Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2020
PERSPECTIVES
A frank and funny but uneven essay collection about neurodiversity.
An experimental, illustrated essay collection that questions neurotypical definitions of what is normal.
From a young age, writer and comedian Myers has been different. In addition to coping with obsessive compulsive disorder and panic attacks, she struggled to read basic social cues. During a round of seven minutes in heaven—a game in which two players spend seven minutes in a closet and are expected to kiss—Myers misread the romantic advances of her best friend and longtime crush, Marley. In Paris, she accidentally invited a sex worker to join her friends for “board games and beer,” thinking he was simply a random stranger who happened to be hitting on her. In community college, a stranger’s request for a pen spiraled her into a panic attack but resulted in a tentative friendship. When the author moved to Australia, she began taking notes on her colleagues in an effort to know them better. As the author says to her co-worker, Tabitha, “there are unspoken social contracts within a workplace that—by some miracle—everyone else already understands, and I don’t….When things Go Without Saying, they Never Get Said, and sometimes people need you to Say Those Things So They Understand What The Hell Is Going On.” At its best, Myers’ prose is vulnerable and humorous, capturing characterization in small but consequential life moments, and her illustrations beautifully complement the text. Unfortunately, the author’s tendency toward unnecessary capitalization and experimental forms is often unsuccessful, breaking the book’s otherwise steady rhythm.
A frank and funny but uneven essay collection about neurodiversity.Pub Date: Oct. 28, 2025
ISBN: 9780063381308
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2025
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