'The seminal book on the hardships and joys of teaching.' - The New York Times 'Easily the most popular novel about U.S.

A stunningly accurate portrait of life in an urban school.' - The New York Times 'The most enduring account we have of teachers' lives. Shot through with despair and hopefulness, violence and levity. It timelessly depicts a beleaguered public school system redeemed by teachers who love to teach and students who long to be recognized. An instant bestseller when it was first published in 1964, Up the Down Staircase remains as poignant, devastating, laugh-out-loud funny, and relevant today as ever. Her bumpy yet ultimately rewarding journey is narrated through an extraordinary collection of correspondence-sternly worded yet nonsensical administrative memos, furtive notes of wisdom from teacher to teacher, 'polio consent slips,' and student homework assignments that unwittingly speak from the heart. Instead she encounters broken windows, a lack of supplies, a stifling bureaucracy, and students with no interest in Chaucer.

It is poignant, devastating, laugh-out-loud funny, and-in our current moment of debate around the future of American education-more relevant than ever'-īook Synopsis Sylvia Barrett arrives at New York City's Calvin Coolidge High fresh from earning literature degrees at Hunter College and eager to shape young minds. Up the Down Staircase stands as the seminal novel of a beleaguered public school system that is redeemed by teachers who love to teach and students who long to be recognized. Her bumpy yet ultimately rewarding journey is depicted through an extraordinary collection of correspondence-sternly worded yet nonsensical administrative memos, furtive notes of wisdom from teacher to teacher, 'polio consent slips,' and student homework assignments that unwittingly speak from the heart.

Sylvia Barrett arrives at New York City's Calvin Coolidge High fresh from earning literature degrees at Hunter College and eager to shape young minds. public schools in history': narrated through a collection of memos, doodles, notes between teachers, and papers from desk drawers and wastebaskets, Up the Down Staircase timelessly depicts the shambolic joys and frustrations of a young teacher. About the Book 'Our Vintage reissue of Bel Kaufman's classic 1964 novel, which Time has called 'the most popular book about U.S.

Up the down staircase book