The Other Side of Teaching

About the Book

The substandard education most American students receive isn’t the fault of teachers. As longtime educator Evelyn A. Uddin-Khan points out, few parents and politicians know what actually goes on behind the closed doors of public schools. Most teachers operate under exploitative conditions, overseen by school administrators corrupt with power. Unlike past eras where students once brought apples to their teachers, most teachers can count on students to be bored and irresponsible and to make spurious claims to their rights when their asocial behavior is challenged in a classroom setting. She shows how education standards have eroded amidst an atmosphere where grades are inflated, curricula are diluted, and ignorance is mass produced. She shows how the once-powerful teachers unions have become little more than voting machines, how segregation is alive in NYC, and how a death threat is taken in stride. Many of the incidents and anecdotes are real-life stories where the names of the participants have been changed in order to protect their identities. Her informative, challenging book is an attempt to set the record straight on the reputation of public school teachers who she feels have been unfairly maligned in the press and in current political debates.

About the Author

Evelyn A. Uddin-Khan has nearly a quarter-century of experience as an educator at all levels and in several different countries. She earned a doctorate in comparative and international education from Columbia University. She has conducted teacher training in China, worked in Egypt, researched gender issues in public schools, and taught English as Second Language and English in NYC and at college. She has volunteered with Literacy Volunteers of America and delivered lectures on religion and gender issues. She has published poems and essays, but The Other Side of Teaching is her first book. She currently teaches at Suffolk College and lives in Long Island, New York.