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Accidental Teacher, The

Accidental Teacher, The

Heath, Tim
Non-fiction NZ Community Contemporary Culture/Ethnic/Racial Learning Social commentary/perspectives 2023 Titles Larger font Group favourites

  5 Reviews

Tim Heath's decision to go to teachers' college may have been pragmatic - they paid an allowance - but once there he was bitten by the education bug and clocked up more than forty years at the chalk face. Big schools, small schools, urban and rural schools, a stint in Samoa, and more with the Correspondence School, Tim has been there and done that.

Encapsulated by the subtitle, 'the joys, ambitions, ideals, stuff-ups and heartaches of a teaching life', this open and honest memoir brings together the professional and private lives of a thoughtful and passionate New Zealand educator. [Larger font]

Comments from BDS Reviewers

"One of the more enjoyable NZ books that I've read - very interesting and enjoyable."

"The author is self-effacing and often funny. The situations and stories he writes about are poignant and his frustration with himself and bureaucracy is evident."

"Because it's set in New Zealand, his experiences will resonate with most readers."

"The book is well-written and easy to read."

"Tim's private life is vulnerably and honestly exposed in a careful way."

"Tim weaves his philosophy of education through his experience of being a teacher in the system in a seamless way."

"Tim's passion for education seeps through."

Pages
291
Year
2021

Reviews

PALMN 004
20-03-2023
This was a great book. People found it interesting, easy to read and honest.
NELS 040
27-02-2023
An entertaining, easy to read book which provoked a good discussion.
STEW 001
09-01-2023
Great read for our group - lots of members with teaching experience!
WANG 010
08-09-2022
Our members rated this book as a satisfying account of Tim's life as a teacher - we have a teacher or two among the group members.
HAMIL 007
03-08-2022
Members enjoyed this book greatly. All agreed it is well-written and easy to read. We have a number of people who have been teachers, and Tim Heath's frustration with the current emphasis on documentation and reporting against performance indicators, was shared by all... We thought it was a very honest book, humorous and true to the experience of many of us. While the author was highly opiniated and sometimes a little full of himself, his confidence was perhaps what enabled him to make an impact in education - but did not make him easy to live with, it seemed!