Adequate Yearly Progress: A Novel by Roxanna Elden (English) Paperback Book

Description: Adequate Yearly Progress by Roxanna Elden Includes discussion questions, ways to enhance your book club, and an conversation with the author. FORMAT Paperback LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Publisher Description A debut novel told with humor, intelligence, and heart, a "funny but insightful look at teachers in the workplace...reminiscent of the TV show The Office but set in an urban high school" (The Washington Post), perfect for fans of Tom Perrotta and Laurie Gelman. Roxanna Eldens "laugh-out-loud funny satire" (Forbes) is a brilliantly entertaining and moving look at our education system. Each new school year brings familiar challenges to Brae Hill Valley, a struggling high school in one the biggest cities in Texas. But the teachers also face plenty of personal challenges and this year, they may finally spill over into the classroom. English teacher Lena Wright, a spoken-word poet, can never seem to truly connect with her students. Hernan D. Hernandez is confident in front of his biology classes, but tongue-tied around the woman he most wants to impress. Down the hall, math teacher Maybelline Galang focuses on the numbers as she struggles to parent her daughter, while Coach Ray hustles his troubled football team toward another winning season. Recording it all is idealistic second-year history teacher Kaytee Mahoney, whose anonymous blog gains new readers by the day as it drifts ever further from her in-class reality. And this year, a new superintendent is determined to leave his own mark on the school--even if that means shutting the whole place down. Author Biography Roxanna Elden is the author of Adequate Yearly Progress: A Novel, and See Me After Class: Advice for Teachers by Teachers. She combines eleven years of experience as a public school teacher with a decade of speaking to audiences around the country about education issues. She has been featured on NPR as well as in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, and more. You can learn more about her work at RoxannaElden.com. Review "Adequate Yearly Progress is laugh-out funny in parts (the comments on KayTees blog are especially hilarious), somber in other parts, and you dont have to be a teacher to enjoy this clever workplace book (but if you are, you will enjoy it on another level)."-- "The Citizen (Auburn, NY)""In Adequate Yearly Progress, Roxanna Elden has written a smart, charming novel about the flaws and promises of our education system. I fell in love with Lena, Hernan, Maybelle, and their fellow teachers -- none of whom are perfect, and each of whom are doing their best (with admittedly mixed results). A laugh-out-loud funny and genuinely heartwarming novel."--Anna Pitoniak, author of Necessary People and The Futures"Provides readers an honest, panoramic view into the challenges modern educators face in districts across America." -- "Great Falls Tribune""[S]harp and hilariously observed." -- "New York Post" Review Quote "Smart and funny. . . .a gem." Excerpt from Book HERNAN D. HERNANDEZ slipped in at the back of the auditorium. The back-to-school faculty meeting hadnt officially started yet, but it felt too late to walk to the front of the room to join the rest of the science department. He slid into a nearby seat, its springs sighing at the years first interruption. A presenter from the district stood on the stage, grinning at no one in particular. She was one of those heavily accessorized, well-connected former teachers who had long ago retreated to offices within the district headquarters, emerging at the beginning of each school year to give PowerPoint presentations. Behind her, a screen glowed with a picture of a beach at sunrise, hundreds of sea stars dotting the sand. All of which suggested they were going to start with the starfish story. Hernan pulled a pen from his computer bag. The bag had spent the summer in his closet, and its reemergence was one of many reminders that summer was over--no more soccer games with his nephew, no more helping his father in the backyard or experimenting in the greenhouses of Hernandez Landscaping and Plant Nursery. For the next ten months, hed spend most of his time indoors. "Good morning, yall!" said the presenter. Conversation sounds dwindled as a few teachers returned the greeting. "I know everyone is sleepy, but we can do better than that ! I said good morning !" "Gmrning . " It came out as a grumble. This crowd spent too much time around teenagers to respond to demands for cheerfulness. Plus, everyone now sensed that the presentation would start with the starfish story, which rarely preceded good news. The door behind Hernan opened to let in a few more stragglers. He turned in time to see Lena Wright appear in its frame, the light of the hallway behind her. Her silhouette was slim and graceful, topped by an unruly crown of curls extending in all directions. She paused, as if assessing whether it was too late to sit with the English department. Then she turned her attention to the back rows, brightening when she spotted Hernan. His faculty-meeting experience improved considerably as she slid into the seat next to him. "Did I miss anything?" she whispered. "Not much." Hernan gestured toward the screen. "Id like to start with a little inspiration this morning!" said the presenter. Lena squinted at the beach scene, massaging her temples with one hand as if she had a headache. She had short nails and thin fingers, her bone structure as delicate as the wing of a bat. "Uh-oh. Is she going to tell us the starfish story?" "Once, a man was walking along a beach," the presenter began. "On the beach lay hundreds of starfish." "Looks like it." Immediately, Hernan lamented the answers lack of cleverness. Growing up with two sisters should have given him an edge in talking to women. Instead, it had trained him to make women see him as a brother. Though they didnt always see him this way, he reminded himself. His younger sister, Lety, sometimes mentioned college friends whod asked about him, and he knew he wasnt bad-looking, though he wouldve liked to be taller. Hed inherited the same tan skin and sharp features as his sisters, and a tendency toward outdoor activity kept him in shape. In his classroom, talking to students about biology, he felt confident, interesting--maybe even charming. And yet, around the women who interested him most, he seemed always to miss some crucial opening, some moment of possibility that floated past without his reaching out to grab it. His dealings with Lena were no exception. Even at this moment, her presence alternated between lifting his spirits and intimidating the hell out of him. "The starfish had been stranded by the tide!" The presenters eyes widened as she read the creatures dramatic fate from the next slide. "Soon, the sun would rise and bake them to death !" "She seems pretty surprised by this story line," whispered Lena. "Maybe shes never heard it before." Lena let out a whoosh of breath that might have been a laugh. "In the distance, the man could see a young boy going back and forth between the surf s edge and the sand ." The presenters habit of speaking slowly and emphasizing words suggested her past teaching experience had been in elementary school. "He was picking up the starfish, one by one , and throwing them back into the sea." Click. A dancing cartoon starfish appeared on the screen. The pointy-headed figure shimmied on the starfish appendages that served as legs and waved the starfish appendages that served as arms. "Nice touch with the graphics," said Lena. "Really adds to the story." "Well, they definitely got the science part right. Thats exactly how a starfish would dance if it could stand on its side." Lena laughed aloud. The treads of Hernans confidence regained their grip. Click. Smile. "The man couldnt believe this young boy thought he could make a difference by throwing just one starfish at a time back into the water. There were far too many starfish stranded on that beach to save them all !" Hernan tried to think of something noteworthy enough to spark conversation. Lena wasnt really his friend so much as a colleague who often ended up at the same happy hour. Hed first noticed her when shed started working at the school two years earlier, strutting the hallway with braids held back by a colorful cloth headband. Her real intrigue, however, had started the morning she showed up completely bald. It wasnt only the haircut, but rather the confidence with which she wore it. There had been competing explanations from Mrs. Friedman-Katz, who believed Lena was a cancer patient ("Poor thing"), and from Mrs. Reynolds-Washington, who believed she was a lesbian ("I always knew that girl was a little strange"). Hernan had hoped neither rumor was true. In any case, over the following year, Lenas hair grew into a halo of wild curls. Click. "The man approached the little boy who was picking up the starfish. You must be crazy , said the man. There are so many miles of beach covered with starfish. You cant possibly make a difference by saving just one starfish at a time !" Hernan surveyed the landscape of seated teachers. The science and math departments were in their usual seats up front, within the sight line of the presenter. The coaches lined the back of the room, where they could slip out to check the action on the field. Any teachers who could get away with it were working discreetly on other things. Occasionally, they looked up with exaggerated intensity, as if absorbed by the suspense of the starfish story. "Lets have one of you read the next line from your packet!" The presenters mouth was still smiling, but her eyes had noted the audiences drifting attention. From the back of the room, a voice called, "What packet? I never got a packet." Another voice chimed in. "I dont have a packet, either!" "Oh . . . well . . . they should be circulating from the front to the back. Has anyone seen the packets?" A few teachers near the front raised their hands. Among them was Maybelline Galang, who strained toward administrative praise like a flower toward the sun. She was taking notes as if shed never heard the starfish story in her life. "I got the last one," said a voice a few rows behind Maybelline. "Okay." The presenters voice was losing its zest. "It looks like we dont have quite enough copies, so if you dont have a packet, please share with someone next to you, and maybe some of yall in the back can move up to share with someone in the front?" A few latecomers took the opportunity to hurry up the aisles and sit with their departments. Hernan was glad to see Lena wasnt one of them. "My packet is missing pages one and two," said another voice. "Oh . . . right," said the presenter. "I meant to tell yall--the page numbers are a little off. So, the packet starts on page three, and its stapled on the right instead of the left, but if you just flip over page three, youll see page two . . . You see it? Page one is behind that. Okay, great! Were on page four." Click. The reddish glow of another ocean sunrise cascaded over the teachers, some of whom were now fumbling with the misstapled packets. Others bent over their laps, still trying to complete paperwork by the low light of the new slide. "So, just to review: The man didnt think the boy could ever make a difference, right? Since there were so many starfish washed up on the beach? And the boy can only save one at a time, right? Right, everyone?" She waited until a few teachers nodded before advancing the slide. "The little boy picked up one more starfish and threw it back into the ocean. Then he turned to the man and said, It sure made a difference to that one! " She paused, gazing at the teachers in front of her as if watching butter sin Details ISBN1982135026 Author Roxanna Elden Short Title ADEQUATE YEARLY PROGRESS Pages 400 Publisher Atria Books Language English ISBN-10 1982135026 ISBN-13 9781982135027 Format Paperback DEWEY 813.6 Year 2020 Publication Date 2020-02-11 Imprint Atria Books Subtitle A Novel Audience General We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and well over a million items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! TheNile_Item_ID:137975605;

Price: 50.75 AUD

Location: Melbourne

End Time: 2024-11-29T03:35:54.000Z

Shipping Cost: 0 AUD