The best book on teachers and children and writing that I've ever read. No-one has said better so much of what so badly needs saying. I want to see this book become a bestseller, I want to see it in every staffroom, I want to see it read by every student teacher. This is a wonderful achievement. * Philip Pullman *
One of the most inspiring books about teaching you'll ever read . . . superbly well written . . . brilliantly funny . . . read this book, then lots of poetry and the world will be a better place. -- Bryan Appleyard * Sunday Times *
Inspiring, moving and funny . . . Each story stands up the belief in the power of education to change lives . . . A book that will appeal not just to other teachers and parents, but to anyone who cares about education. Her classroom anecdotes are inspiring, mortifying, energising and moving. I'd give her an A*. -- Alex O'Connell * The Times *
Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me is beautifully written and full of heart. Kate Clanchy has written a love letter to teachers everywhere, to remind us all that as children we begin with tolerance and love. -- Christie Watson, author of The Language of Kindness
These sometimes painful, often funny reports provide a valuable insight into the young lives flailing, striving and blossoming in the nation's classrooms. -- Stephen Kelman, author of Pigeon English
Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me is an honest and heartwarming look at a career path that is often demeaned, diminished and under-resourced, and will show you why it shouldn't be -- Sarah Shaffi * Stylist *
Kate Clanchy is an extraordinary person . . . Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me is full of treasures . . . It's clear from this book that she has changed the world for a significant number of young people . . . Read it. It will make you a better person, kinder and more understanding. * Spectator *
Honest and heartwarming -- Stylist, 2019's best non-fiction books
An engrossing read - a fascinating memoir of a career dedicated to educating a generation of young people. Highly recommended, and downright essential for fellow teachers. * Culturefly *
Funny, cynical, inspiring . . . [Clanchy has] a wicked way of describing failure in the education system -- Andrew Billen * The Times *
A teacher's honest, personal account of state education puts individual children at its centre . . . Her insights therefore avoid the vague generalisations we might find in a government report and come with the practical wisdom of a teacher on the ground . . . We need people like Clanchy * Guardian *
An enthralling and often profoundly moving insight into life in British schools today. * Bookseller *
Kate Clanchy, a prizewinning poet, draws on thirty years of teaching in state schools to produce a "revelatory picture of school life, and a fascinating look at the role education plays". Clanchy doesn't dodge the hard knocks, but what comes through from her personal stories is the transformative power of good teaching. -- Tom Gatti * Economia *
An engaging, continuously interesting book, and an encouraging one. It is full of good stories and I don't think anyone could read it without having his or her understanding deepened and sympathies engaged -- Allan Massie * Scotsman *
Uncompromising, penetratingly clear-sighted and fiercely humane. Few, if any, more essential memoirs will be published this year * The Lady *
Moving dispatches from the front line of education * The Times, Best Books of 2019 *
Her celebration of an undervalued profession will make you wish 'Miss Clanchy' had been your English teacher. * Daily Mail *
The extraordinary modesty of this book's title belies an extraordinary work - a distillation not so much of a life's teaching experience as a life's accumulated humanity . . . [Clanchy] tells powerful stories about her pupils, illuminating what education in Britain really is - and how it could be -- James McConnachie, The Times
