Why Is the Teacher's Butt So Big?

Debra Craig

Ah, the hazards of starting to write one's reviews in one's head early. By the time I'd finished the introduction, I was ready to proclaim this one of the two (J. Eric Smith's Eponymous being the other) best vanity press books I'd ever encountered-- well-spoken, thoughtful, presented with flair. By the time I'd finished it, I'd tried as hard as I could to banish all memory of my original opening lines from my head. The best I can come up with is that, for the most part, Craig's got a lot of what seem to be really good ideas. The problem is in the presentation.

I'm not sure what happened between the introduction and the body of the book, but whatever it was, it was horribly traumatic, and seems to have damaged whatever area of the brain rules over spelling, grammar, sentence structure, and diction. There were a few pages where I found myself despairing for the literacy of an entire generation of California schoolchildren; if the teacher writes this badly, how can the students be expected to do well? From here on out, when I encounter those odd, pitiful people who believe that any sort of language is acceptable as long as the point is gotten across, I will give them copies of this book.

That said, with a good editor, this could have been solid gold. Even as I cringed at the grammar and word choice, averted my eyes from spelling errors, and wept over diction, Craig's thesis, and the points she uses to make it, resonated. Craig takes a common-sense approach to the idea of fixing America's public eduction system; thus, it's one that has certainly never been thought of at the governmental level. It addresses the many shortcomings of the No Child Left Behind act and offers solid, reasonable alternatives that actually make sense.

Had it been better-written, this might have become a word-of-mouth bestseller in the tradition of The Overworked American, Freakonomics, or Blink. As it stands, though, I hope it finds a good editor and proofreader before it sees a second printing.