Description
Literary Nonfiction. Education Studies. Memoir. Why would a high school teacher who loves teaching leave school—after half a career in the classroom? TEACHER AT POINT BLANK answers this question at a time when concerns about school performance, safety, and teacher attrition are at an all-time and often anxious high. Meditating on subtle and overt forms of violence in secondary public education from an up-close and "pink collar" point of view, Jo Scott-Coe defies clichés and cultural fantasies about teachers. She examines her own workplace as a microcosm of the national compulsory K—12 system, where teachers—now nearly 80 percent women—find themselves idealized and disparaged, expected to embody the dedication of parents, the coldness of data managers, and the obedience of Stepford spouses. In this groundbreaking memoir in essays, Scott-Coe recounts her own journey to recover a sane and independent voice. TEACHER AT POINT BLANK fuses her perspectives as teacher and former student, adult and child, educator and writer.
Author Bio
Jo Scott-Coe is the author of MASS: A Sniper, a Father, and a Priest (Pelekinesis, 2018) and TEACHER AT POINT BLANK (Aunt Lute, 2010). Her first-ever portrait of Kathy Leissner Whitman, Listening to Kathy (Catapult) received a Notable listing in Best American Essays and is now available in print. Scott-Coe's nonfiction has appeared in Talking Writing, Tahoma Literary Review, Cultural Weekly, American Studies Journal, Pacific Coast Philology, Superstition Review, Fourth Genre, Ninth Letter, Salon, and many other publications. She is an associate professor of English composition at Riverside City College, where she was named 57th Distinguished Faculty Lecturer for her research on the epistolary history of Kathy Leissner. Scott-Coe also facilitates community writing workshops for the Inlandia Institute.
Author City: RIVERSIDE, CA USA