{"product_id":"teacher-at-point-blank-9781879960848","title":"Teacher at Point Blank","description":"\u003cp\u003eWhy would a high school teacher who loves teaching leave school—after half a career in the classroom?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e Teacher at Point Blank \u003c\/em\u003eanswers this question at a time when concerns about school performance, safety, and teacher attrition are at an all-time and often anxious high. Meditating on subtle and overt forms of violence in secondary public education from an up-close and “pink collar” point of view, Jo Scott-Coe examines her own workplace as a microcosm of the national compulsory K-12 system, where teachers—now nearly 80% women—find themselves idealized and disparaged, expected to embody the dedication of parents, the coldness of data managers, and the obedience of Stepford spouses. Haunted and compelled forward by memories of a classmate who commits suicide on campus, a former teacher-colleague who dies all alone, Hollywood fantasies of the “ideal teacher,” and chronic reports of school violence and increasing gender crime, Scott-Coe reveals how her hopes, past and present, struggle for breath at the point blank of denial, confinement, addiction, isolation, hostility, subliminal eroticism—and, at times, a healthy dose of fear.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Jo Scott Coe's very fine memoir of her teaching life is unlike anything I have read before. Her lean prose is unyielding to sentimentality and aspires always toward honesty about our lives as adults and as children. One is, here, in the presence of a writer who convinces us that teaching young lives is a constant and, sometimes, terrible journey of adult self-discovery. —Richard Rodriguez, author of \u003cem\u003eBrown: The Last Discovery of America\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e This unique and daring book lifts the cheerful, can-do mask that hides the reality of what it means to be a teacher. In luminous prose, Jo Scott-Coe debunks the sentimentalized mystique, exposing the harsh reality of extreme expectations, isolation, and psychic disconnect that engulfs teachers' lives. Scott-Coe's truth is at once disturbing and emancipating.  —Susan Ohanian, author of \u003cem\u003eWhy Is Corporate America Bashing Our Public Schools?\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e  Jo Scott-Coe writes with humor, insight, and a deep love for her subject. In many ways, she has become a voice for her generation and for teachers, too. Remarkable. — Chris Abani, author of \u003cem\u003eGraceLand\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eThe Virgin of Flames\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Jo Scott-Coe","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48609352777979,"sku":"9781879960848","price":16.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0779\/3917\/9771\/files\/CoreSourceHub_ff10900b-8e25-4dd0-85de-9bd62dd55e92.jpg?v=1775155596","url":"https:\/\/indiepubs.com\/products\/teacher-at-point-blank-9781879960848","provider":"IndiePubs","version":"1.0","type":"link"}