{"product_id":"substitute-going-to-school-with-a-thousand-kids-9780399160981","title":"Substitute: Going to School with a Thousand Kids","description":"\u003cp\u003eA New York Times Bestseller  May be the most revealing depiction of the American contemporary classroom that we have to date.\" Garret Keizer  The New York Times Book Review  Bestselling author Nicholson Baker  in pursuit of the realities of American public education  signed up as a substitute teacher in a Maine public school district.  In 2014  after a brief orientation course and a few fingerprinting sessions  Nicholson Baker became an on-call substitute teacher in a Maine public school district. He awoke to the dispatchers five-forty a.m. phone call and headed to one of several nearby schools; when he got there  he did his best to follow lesson plans and help his students get something done. What emerges from Bakers experience is a complex  often touching deconstruction of public schooling in America: children swamped with overdue assignments  overwhelmed by the marvels and distractions of social media and educational technology  and staff who weary themselves trying to teach in step with an often outmoded or overly ambitious standard curriculum.  In Bakers hands  the inner life of the classroom is examined anewmundane worksheets  recess time-outs  surprise nosebleeds  rebellions  griefs  jealousies  minor triumphs  kindergarten show-and-tell  daily lessons on everything from geology to metal tech to the Holocaustas he and his pupils struggle to find ways to get through the day. Baker is one of the most inventive and remarkable writers of our time  and Substitute  filled with humor  honesty  and empathy  may be his most impressive work of nonfiction yet.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45647229354037,"sku":"ByrdShop_0399160981","price":22.15,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780399160981.jpg?v=1781690172","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/substitute-going-to-school-with-a-thousand-kids-9780399160981","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}