School House Diary

Reflections of a Retired Educator

Every teacher knows that a day in the classroom is always full of surprises, successes, failures, and inspirational moments. In the poignant memoir School House Diary, longtime educator shares anecdotesboth tragic and humorousthat detail his nearly thirty years as a social studies teacher, coach, and student advocate in Cincinnati, Ohio. Jerry Roberts began his career as a high school history teacher not as a green twenty-two-year-old recent college graduate, but as a four-year Army veteran and father of two young children. As he details the antics, humorous incidents, and human tragedy that often unfolded on a daily basis in his classroom, Roberts offers an eye-opening glimpse into the life of a teachera life that often includes switching roles from history teacher to surrogate parent to armchair psychologist. From the helicopter Mom who had difficulty letting her daughter grow up to the pregnant twelve-year-old student to the driven high school student who learned that leadership requires building trust in others, Roberts shines a fascinating light into the challenging world of an educator. School House Diary is a compelling collection of essays that prove that teachers truly make a difference every day in the lives of their students.