The Secret Tracher follows an anonymous NQT during his first tumultuous years at an inner city school. We see the changing nature of the job, the politics and harsh working environments but most importantly we see the children he teaches and how he learns to adapt and learn from them to become a better teacher.
This was an ok read, perfect for this time of year as we gear up for ‘back to school’. The setting was explored well, and there’s the full range of characters from various background you would expect from an inner city school - from the overachieving or troubled pupil to the ‘perfect’ teacher. At times I found the author skimmed the surface of these characters, going into very brief detail about them before moving on to someone or something else. This meant I didn’t really get any kind of emotional attachment to anyone.
I also found the author a bit standoffish and condescending at times, meaning I struggled to connect with him too. He could come across as quite abrasive, making fun of some of the children he teaches and his colleagues in a way that was quite mean and unnecessary. It felt like he was laughing at the pupils and his colleagues rather than with them, which I didn’t like. I think that if we perhaps knew more about the author he would have appeared more ‘human’.
The writing also jumps from being quite engaging in places to just being a bit dull. I’m not a teacher myself, and have no interest to be, so the sections on the work aspect of the job as opposed to the more emotional side involving the children I just didn’t find interesting. It also doesn’t flow particularly well, with only a rough timeline of events over the course of a few years meaning it was hard for me to read.
I think I’ll stick to my preferred medical biographies, but this might appeal to those within the teaching profession who can perhaps relate to the highs and lows of teaching.
- 3 stars
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