The Teachers

A Year Inside America's Most Vulnerable, Important Profession

By: Alexandra Robbins

Narrated by: Alexandra Robbins

A National Bestseller

*Winner of the 2024 DKG International Educators Book Award*

A riveting, must-read, year-in-the-life account of three teachers, combined with reporting that reveals what’s really going on behind school doors, by New York Times bestselling author and education expert Alexandra Robbins.

Alexandra Robbins goes behind the scenes to tell the true, sometimes shocking, always inspirational stories of three teachers as they navigate a year in the classroom. She follows Penny, a southern middle school math teacher who grappled with a toxic staff clique at the big school in a small town; Miguel, a special ed teacher in the western United States who fought for his students both as an educator and as an activist; and Rebecca, an East Coast elementary school teacher who struggled to schedule and define a life outside of school. Robbins also interviewed hundreds of other teachers nationwide who share their secrets, dramas, and joys.

Interspersed among the teachers’ stories—a seeming scandal, a fourth-grade whodunit, and teacher confessions—are hard-hitting essays featuring cutting-edge reporting on the biggest issues facing teachers today, such as school violence; outrageous parent behavior; inadequate support, staffing, and resources coupled with unrealistic mounting demands; the “myth” of teacher burnout; the COVID-19 pandemic; and ways all of us can help the professionals who are central both to the lives of our children and the heart of our communities.

Do NOT Buy the Audiobook

The absolute worst performance I have ever heard. The book is fine but read it, don’t listen.

Spot on…

As a teacher this book provides an accurate portrayal of teacher lives. I wish the epilogue was heard by all stakeholders - especially those who have never stepped foot into a school or classroom for length of time. You have no idea what it is like.

Insightful

I think this book is a good window to how and what is going on in the classroom- it helps to humanize the teachers and to see the struggles, I could have done well without the accents and extra of the narrator but overall the content of this book was pretty good, there are many parents and those who are not parents who don’t understand or see the struggles or teachers. The profession which should be prized above all else as that is the most important part of early formation of so many children, yet we neglect them. They are underpaid, not valued and dismissed by our society and we should do better.

Good mixture of facts and true stories

The voices for some of the teachers were painful to listen to. This was distracting as the listener

Read the Kindle or paper version.

As important as this subject is, I almost put the book down because of the terrible narration. The attempt to imitate the subjects regional accents fails to the point you almost think they are being made fun of.

I also found the points made about the difficult challenge these teachers faced so repetitive that I lost interest.