Confessions of a Bad Teacher: The Shocking Truth from the Front Lines of American Public Education

An explosive new look at the pressures on today's teachers and the pitfalls of school reform, Confessions of a Bad Teacher presents a passionate appeal to save public schools, before it's too late.

When John Owens left a lucrative job to teach English at a public school in New York City's South Bronx, he thought he could do some good. Faced with a flood of struggling students, Owens devised ingenious ways to engage every last one. But as his students began to thrive under his tutelage, Owens found himself increasingly mired in a broken educational system, driven by broken statistics, finances, and administrations undermining their own support system―the teachers.

The situation has gotten to the point where the phrase "Bad Teacher" is almost interchangeable with "Teacher." And Owens found himself labeled just that when the methods he saw inspiring his students didn't meet the reform mandates. With firsthand accounts from teachers across the country and tips for improving public schools, Confessions of a Bad Teacher is an eye-opening call-to-action to embrace our best educators and create real reform for our children's futures.

Owens’ book began as an article on Salon.com, documenting his first and last year teaching literature in a high-needs South Bronx public school. It went viral, and the outpouring of affirmation inspired Owens to tell his full story. A publishing executive turned high-school teacher, he delivers an intelligent, readable, and occasionally eye-opening analysis of the deep flaws in today’s educational system, now driven by massive amounts of easily manipulated statistics, inadequate and poorly allocated financing, and administrators charged with meeting virtually impossible top-down demands. Owens was soon labeled a “bad teacher” by his principal (who is portrayed as having “crazy boss syndrome” on steroids) for not conforming to restrictive, often ridiculous protocols and failing to meet unrealistic expectations. Owens’ narrative is punctuated with the voices of teachers from across the country who echo his plight and expose the absurdity of relying on data-driven business principles to try to fix American education. The true solution, says Owens, is a massive system overhaul, involving core reforms that embrace and support teachers in honing their craft to benefit students. --Carolyn Saper