I've never read anything like this before, so it was very interesting to me. I would totally recommend it to other readers.

**Listened to the audiobook, and read along with the kindle copy**

As a secondary school teacher myself, I really love reading books about others opinions and journeys within the profession. It seems there have been a lot of teacher-memoir-type books released over the last few months - I have read about 4 of these in the past 6 months, so I have a lot of comparisons with these.

In Hidden Lessons, Baig really writes from the heart. I don't think I have read a book on this topic that has been so honest or heartfelt. I love how Baig explains how difficult teaching can be at times, and doesn't just focus on the 'laugh-out-loud' comedic moments that some other books have done. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy those type of books, but this book just felt so original and makes it stand out from those other books as it is so different.

Really enjoyed this, and it really broke my heart at the end - wasn't expecting that!
Would love to sit down with Mehreen Baig and compare notes on teaching!

An inightful piece that highlights the issues faced by the modern education world. Many of my students want to go into teaching and I can't wait to share this with them

When I saw the blurb for this I was instantly at home - as a former English teacher myself, I was intrigued to see what Mehreen’s experiences of teaching had been, and naturally, whether it mirrored my own. And honestly, I was not disappointed - I feel like this book could’ve been written about my own teaching career (albeit short). The anecdotes; the characters; the endless dichotomies between policy, process and practice. It was all utterly relatable.

For people outside of education, this provides a candid and easy-read insight into the world of teaching and the realities of educational inequality. It highlights, through fictionalised (but based on real events) anecdotes, the multi-faceted challenges of teaching, and especially brings to the forefront all of the ‘other’ things teachers do and face beyond teaching. I love that, without becoming politicised, this book is able to show us how people are so often let down by systems, despite the absolute best effort of their teachers.

Would definitely recommend for anyone interested in a firsthand, authentic insight into where education is going wrong and why many teachers can’t sustain an entire career in the profession.

A very honest account of the pressures facing teachers today. Told with compassion and humour the journey from newly qualified to leaving the profession.
You would recognise students and colleagues if you have ever worked in the education sector.
Teachers are expected to cover so much more than their subject, life skills, safe guarding to mention just a couple of things.

In 'Hidden Lessons' Mehreen Baig shares her funniest and most touching stories from her time as an secondary school English teacher. I've read a few of these 'memoirs of teaching' books now and this is definitely one of the most enjoyable ones.

What went well: Baig became a teacher almost by accident and, as a newly qualified teacher, went to teach at her old secondary school for nearly a decade. Going into the book I thought that staying at one school during a short teaching career would mean that the book lacked a wider viewpoint but it actually gave her story much more narrative and depth than I was expecting. The myriad of problems faced by individual students was counterbalanced by a number of success stories which made me think 'maybe it isn't impossible to change kids lives' or maybe 'oh wow- there are some teachers out there who enjoy teaching?'. Baig herself is definitely a character and not afraid to laugh at herself. She seems to have a lot of self-awareness and doesn't shy away from telling the reader about herself - the good and the bad.

Even better if: By the end of the book, Baig is another burnt out teacher who leaves the profession that they spent so much time trying to make a difference in. This isn't a decision that she's made lightly and it clearly hurts her to have done so. However, apart from making very good points about cuts to education funding and school resources she doesn't make any suggestions for improving things. That's not her job, it's the job of politicians, but as she rightly points out politicians don't know a whole lot about teaching. She doesn't agree with the priorities of the government and is clearly angry over the decisions made by those in charge but that's a very broad ask. Some targeted insight and advice would have been welcomed.

There were so many important messages in this book and I enjoyed reading it.

The tone is quite conversational but I liked the fact that it seemed genuine and fresh. I think it is a important read for any Early Career Teachers: those aspiring, in training or newly qualified. I have a significant number of years on earth more than Mehreen Baig, but am fairly new to teaching, so understood many of her dilemmas. However, the most challenging one for her I felt was her youth - being so close in age to her pupils made it difficult to draw that line between friend/mentor and being a teacher to the students in the school which she worked in.

I think this book is a n honest appraisal of a teacher's life: what it costs you personally and what you gain. I love the Ofsted story and other teaching anecdotes. Baig's experiences with her pupils is heartbreaking and ultimately changes her path irrevocably.

This book made me laugh and shocked me to my core. You don't need to be a teacher or work in a school to enjoy this - there are important lessons for us all!

I am still not sure what to make of this book. It does stand up for teachers in many ways but equally shows the naivety of those entering the profession at a young age,
The stories show the everyday trails and tribulations of working at an inner city school but in many ways lacked the depth of some of the other books that have come out on the same subject from other teachers.
This was an interesting read but I found that I wanted more details and depth to some of the areas and the end seemed somewhat abrupt and unexplained.

This is a book from an ex high school teacher about her experiences in her old career. I didn’t really engage with the way it was written and I didn’t think any of the stories were particularly interesting.

As someone who works within a school. I have read several of similar books that show the behind the scenes of teaching. The way that this book was written it took me a while to get into as the prose is fairly free form. I enjoyed the anecdotes of the students.