I related to a lot of content in this book. Even though I teach older children and I do not teach in the UK, much of Mike Kent’s writing will resonate with any educator or school administrator. I liked that each chapter was organized around a topic. The book offers genuinely good advice about how to make school engaging and effective for children and staff; this is not surprising given Kent’s many years of experience.

Though the book was sometimes less amusing and more severe than I expected, perhaps my sense of humor is just different than most Brits’. I also felt the book could have been more concise. Overall though, Kent’s work will have school employees nodding along in agreement - perhaps laughing so we don’t cry - about the state of education. At its heart, this book recognizes the value of children as unique and curious learners who deserve the best that teachers and leaders can offer.

Thank you to NetGalley and Troubador for the free eARC. I post this review with my honest opinions.

Sensible, logical and amusing diatribe while showcasing Kent's passion and love for education.

I trained as a teacher in 2002. I read the TES religiously every week, it felt like an essential part of my training, and I read Mike Kent's articles and letters then, and still recognise his name even two decades later, having been unable to 'stick it' in teaching, but still managing to maintain a focus on books, children and learning ever after.

I saw Kent's book and couldn't help but read this, his multiple decades at the chalkface and supporting others who are worth a great deal.

What I read was both inspiring and deeply upsetting, it was unusual to see the last fifty years of changes in education policy and practiced conveyed in one volume like this, and made for instructive reading.

Kent talks about his own experiences in school and with supportive parents, his own errors and good luck in schooling, at then through the decades as he moved into a teaching career and the successive government policies and change in attitudes that the years since have wrought. And how society has reacted.

Behaviour, testing, OFSTED, technology, all of it is covered. And while Kent wryly comments on the 'sucking eggs' situations, it's hard not to feel frustrated and angry on the part of schools, who have had to side step and change direction on a moment's notice and with little thanks.

There's a small amount of repetition, and this is quite a long work, but it doesn't feel preachy and is never anything less than a revealing read that displays the love for education Kent and others like him working tirelessly for our children.

This is for anyone interested in what teachers experience and the history of school policy in the UK.

With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.