Not Quite Burned Out, but Crispy Around the Edges: Inspiration, Laughter, and Encouragement for Teachers »

Sharon Draper is a two-time Coretta Scott King Award-winning author, most recently for Copper Sun, and previously for Forged by Fire. She's also the recipient of the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Author Award for New Talent for Tears of a Tiger and the Coretta Scott King Author Honor for The Battle of Jericho and November Blues. Her other books include Romiette and Julio, Darkness Before Dawn, and Double Dutch. She lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she taught high school English for twenty-five years.

This book of inspirational stories and essays is designed for any teacher who has survived the first week of the first year of teaching. It offers memories of the joy of teaching, tells compelling tales of tragedy as well as survival, and provides opportunities for laughter, which is sometimes the only remedy for difficult situations.

Faced with low salaries, overcrowded classrooms, and dwindling public support, teachers are expected to improve student performance, answer public scrutiny, and solve society's problems - with just a stroke of chalk across a blackboard. It is easy to become discouraged, and many do. Not Quite Burned Out helps remind teachers of the reasons they entered the profession in the first place. Without disguising the heart-breaking realities, Draper nonetheless celebrates the joys and very real rewards of teaching. Her clear-eyed compassion and wry humor will offer inspiration to novice and longtime teachers alike.

Once Upon a Time Was a Long Time Ago

The Broom Brigade

Alex Haley, Me, and a Kid Named Kyrus

Reach Out and Touch, If You Can

Burned Out, Beat Up, and Torn Down

Turning Rocks into Rubies

Kids We Lost and Kids We Found

Finding Your Joy

The Keys to Success