Land on his experience in New York School system then how they envision higher publication and, mo neek, the black girls in schools and, john shields discusses politics on college campuses. After that, andrew on his book the math myth. Now, fundraising executive turned schoolteacher talks about his book the battle for room 314 on the lessons he learned while teaching for one year in a new york city public high school. This is just under an hour. [applause] welcome. If this is your first time oh, well thank you so much for finding us. 20 years ago but it was lost to the upper westside. A year ago, we took the plunge, and oped our third location, and we want to thank you for come to tonights reading, the book culture is pleased to host ed, the battle for room 314. [applause] joining us tonight is marie, we do not charge tickets, so we hope that youll pick up a copy of the book. Well have ed signing upfront after wards. So wait just a moment. Ed has dedicated his life to nonprofit causes. As a fundraiser and communications expert. He was an admissions officer, and yale and lived in china. He was in husband, marie teaches at column we ann 234eu7 university, and, writings is writes for the guarantee dean and she was the first recipient after fellowship to south korea and was a judge among other things, she taught at yale. Il turn it over to them. Of course i killed them, i killed them all. [laughter] this book is going to be very exciting. Its on entertainment week limit. [applause] its going to be in the new york times, everybody look for it. Ill let you take it away. All right. Thank you so much for come everybody. I was on fox and friends, and let me say you are all a sight for sore eyes and thank you. I wanted to thank marie, because i did the flowers in her wedding on a budget and badly and she still talks to me. A terrible job i d. But she forgave me. You know that this relax and get comfortable. Julie andrews who said lets start at the beginning, a very good place to start. So well start with the prolog. Brown back exposing a baby blue thong. I leaned over and whispered, we had a deal, and you arent holding up your end of it. She yelled back at me. What deal, mr. . In the kind of teenage voice that adults dread. Almost painful at close range. She was chewing a wad of gum that she seemed to have a piston in her jaw. It was 10 minutes before dismass sal, on a hot september, and a single fan strained to cool the classroom. Its white plastic head, panned backandforth on her, 30 other freshmen and me, their anxious new teacher. Our deal that was you would do your work and i wont call you out in public. No more drama, remember . I said in the desperate whisper, quoting a song. A pathetic attempt, to find common ground, from a gay guy, and a girl from the projects i was only five days, into my new teaching career, and precious little, in the way of learning was getting done. She continued to hold court with a group of her girls, their chatter getting louder, and the worksheets they were supposed to be completing were left in a pile. The other groups had passed them out before ignoring them. I shot her a fierce look. She returned with a light smile. As if she were on a talk show and given the host an amusing answer. Our deal was off and i was angry, so i resorted to some old school yelling. Chan take get back to work now. On the other side of the room someone had hurdle a calculator, and my head snapped towards the trouble t. Wasnt the only problem a group of boys were shoving each other and two girls, mouthed lyrics while sharing the earphones after forbidden ipod and another girl, reading, as if she were on a cruise. I heard chantes cak kel and turned to her. She was standing on top of her desk, towering above me, about to pounce. Her head was surround by world currencies, that hung from an economic mobile i had done over the summer. I started to feel squeezy and lightheaded. No, it wasnt supposed to happen like this. Chante sit down, all eyes were now darting backandforth like spectators, she laughed and coked her head and then she slid her hand to her upper thighs, and formed a long cylinder and shook it, and what the hell was she doing. She lead me in the i and said suck my if you. [bleep] done i stood frozen in front of the class. I didnt know a room full of humans were capable of making that much noise. It sounds like a hollywood laugh track, laugh and and then the pause and oh, no she didnt. And he cant even control the girls. Jesus glanced at her and grinned. Proud of the talent. I had always admired a filthy mouth especially on a woman and i thought, too shay i was not talking smack and this was a class and i was her teacher and i yanked, and frantically searched for a professional response. If i were to go eight, it would show, if i underreacted i would appear passive, and invite more trouble. But nothing came to me. Nothing at all. I stood there paralyzed and my legs were hidden inside my brand new pair of doctors. I was so unfamiliar with the feeling of fear that i barely recognized t. Chante fingered me not only as gay bull as her and sadly base it was a girl it was viewed as a great humiliation for me. So much for there being the easy ones to control, the girls. Even the way she blocked the screen with her towering on top of her desk. The final touch, that was she didnt know my name. It wasnt worth remembering, just mr. I should have walked out of the building, hailed a cab and gone to the unemployment office. Game over. How had things gotten so bad so quickly . So i want to take you towards the end of the book. This is about a field trip part of our world relig general, we were going to a mosque, a boast different and a a synagogue. I was most concerned about mickey. He was among my most disruptive student. Here we go. We arrived late and rowdy at the temple. The temple until new york. At the Visitors Center i checked in with a Security Guard, he wanted to see where all the noise was coming from. He rolled his eyes, and when he saw it, terrorizing a hotdog vendor outside. A few minutes later, out came, hunch but percky she was kissing and 5 2, with smart cork wedges. She lead up at me through oversized glasses and asked me, a few questions, as the screams and shouts. I told her, spoke, frantic limit sometimes, they get so out of hand and they dont mean half of what we say. Theres this one kid, she fixed me with pa stare. Dont you worry about a thing. Oh, now listen to me. We entered the sanctuary which took up almost an entire city block. The kids were awestruck. Most of them were used to the storefronts or the low rent kingdom halls. And, they filed into the pews quiet licks mickey sat in a row by himself. With one smooth gesture pulled a hightech wireless headset down over her ear to her mouth. That is it, thank you, she said. The blasting organ went silent. It was clear who ran the show here. She then held court about her faith, and the temple and as she promised they listened to her. I should have been delighted but i was ashamed. What does she got that i aint got . Are they cutting her slack because shes old, female . The last time i tried to lecture five minutes there was unrest. And here they were, listen, like they were the temple sisterhood. What gives . Question . My abdomen tightened. He through up his hands how much does it cost to you these place every month . What was, no one has ever asked me that before and i dont know. Probably a lot. It may have seemed like a bizarre question but it was logical for a kid whose mother was struggling for a basement apartment. How do you change a light bulb up here . She just chuckled. Are you jewish . What a silly question. Of course, im jewish. Well that will Security Guard he doesnt look jewish to me. Wait, why do jews love blackandwhite so much . Oh, you mean the i love blackandwhite cookies. The jews invented oreos and looked more puzzles. No wonder theyre so rich. I was relieved to see mickey staring into space. I didnt take heed to their choice of clouding. With a sweep of her hand she alluded to her dress with pride. Many of our students come from the low eastside and theyre referring to the hasidic community. She seemed eager thats a good question. No like things very oldfashioned. William, wise ass took his shot. Do you hate all muslims . Why i dont hate anybody. Before she could finish she was drowned by out by mick kicks screaming from the last row. I cringed, i knew this was coming. You dum bishop they are related through daddy abraham. Its family feud and its been that way, whats the matter with you . [laughter] the sacred setting was perfect of the i was speechless. Mickey of all people had listened to something in class. Mickey asleep. With the head phones on, with his head forever out the window, how did that sink in . I was shocked he eastern knew my name. [laughter] what else was he manage to go learn . My mind raced maybe they were all getting it. Faking it. Just to torture me. Maybe there was hope after all. As i was leaving, the hopeful idea, i realized all eyes were on me, waiting for me. I heard myself giving a reprimand but i was still enjoying my tiny victory. As we went onto the street, a passage, flashed into my head, planning was right, sometimes suddenly, there is god, so quickly. So, were on our way back from the fieldtrip. Maybe it was the warm spring air, or being liberated. But romans, and vulgar righty were in the air. Singles were flirting up a storm. To my surprise the attention was turned my way. Hey, you got a girlfriend . No. I answered, for probably the 200th time. From the beginning i had always vowed, i would never lie but i hadnt been asked grel. Jackson, asked me what no one asked, have you got a bye friend . Without much thought i answered, with a simple yes. I realized what i said, as i was, as it was leaving my mouth. I lacked the energy or the will to brace myself. I had already been fed to the crowd. I looked into the sun and waited for the onslaught. I heard amount short giggle, a tiny gasp, and mostly silence. Have you got a picture . I pulled out my phone, which add tiny sticker photo of sam on the back. Smaller than a postage stamp. They gathered and inspected the image with care and intensity as if they had uncovered a rare coin. Oh, his boyfriend is black [laughter] no, actually, hes not. His no, hes jewish. Oh, mr. Bowl lands boyfriend is rich. [laughter] the boy said, no, i said, he actually doesnt make very much money. Jewish, thats right i heard what theyre jewish. [laughter] then he said, does he got a big dick . I conjured the last bit and tried to get some dignitism thats really inappropriate. Yeah, tell us about that. Yeah, someone said. They chanted. The chinese mothers, gave us a wide shot. The chorus grew louder, but it wasnt the hateful chants of the lord of the flies. It was jolly and real and human and it seemed happy for me. Where was all that hate . Why hadnt i done this from the start . I blushed. I was standing on east broadway surrounded by a group of thug teens who were chanting about my boy friends junk. Who had i become that this was migrate moment with my students . Victory, by name. [applause] i need moment to catch my breath. I know ed from, he was one of our first board members, at the workshop which, passed its 25th birthday. So, a bunch of us were in our 20s and we form they had organization, which today, its great. And we ed came to donate his time because he was a professional, an executive. So i have known ed all these years as the one, non writer, of the writers workshop. He is still that will agent. [laughter] so, i was so thrilled when i got my advanced copy of this and i got, you can see, too, like you, i was laughing, and crying, and, through the whole thing. I kept going, my husband, i read it. No, its so free. But what i want to bring us back to, is i think also, this book is going to be kind of inflammatori but its really this dispatch it was made from s hell hole where people who want to help children, are up against it. You know, benefit came i thought let me just take ap sentence, this is as sentence. Given freddies reputation and confirmed criminal record i was afraid to have him in my class. So i think the first question i want to ask you is, about failure . Being writer is all about failure, and not something that you want to hear about from our teachers. No, i think americans, i think they really hate failure and i dont love it. But i will tell you my you are against need to tell this story and process this experience was so great that it other came my shame of failure. That tells you a lot. I had never written a word until i twhroat book. That tells you how i needed to process this and i was willing to put failure on the line. Because the greater message. People need to know. Itit is not just mr. Chips. Not stand and deliver. Or freedom riders. Yeah, so, what about when you are writing it, youre a white guy. And your students are all different colors. Tell us more about, what was it that, like, facing that challenge. The biggest challenge i had, is i promise fed i was going to do it, i was going for try and go against type of the hero teacher. We are all so drawn in, by that myth. Turn that classroom around in 90 minutes and it makes for grate t. V. And crappy policy. So everyday i was at odds with my own performance. And expectations of what i had hoped to do. You had just gotten out of a Career Change and graduate school. I was a star on paper, i was a much south after teacher, i was not effective at all. Going back to your point, here i was, could not have been more different in backgrounds, i believe, at heart that anybody can learn from anybody. You know, 70yearold nuns, were in robes, and i didnt know they were people. I learned from them. But, i also say, yes, anyone can learn from anybody, but kids respond to rolemodels and people whose lives were similar to their own. I wish that i our Teaching Force more closely reflected people, the students, that theyre teaching. On the one hand anyone can learn but we need to have rolemodels, and, people who the kids can relate to better. It was a barrier. So, this is called your year of hope, and despair. So you lasted a year, and gave it your all. So what are you going to do, i want to be teacher with this glook someone said that to me, arent you afraid youre going scare away everyone. I would have been better prepared and more realistic. And i would have been tougher and ignored a lot of what i heard in graduate school. Just create fascinating lesson plans. And kids respond to. Theyll just respond for your professionalism. And, you should assign best intentions to everything students do. So you may see students doing this, and whats the best intention you can find . Watching someone really, pummel another student. What are the best intentions . So, yes. People have a knee sha that there were once that age. Your book is getting a lot of press. Im curious what kind of response, you are getting . The response that has shocked me the most has been several of my former student, have written to me to apologize. Thats not what i was looking for. I apologized to them. I refused to accept their apology. And one kid said, which really broke my heart. He said we were just kids. And Everybody Needs to know that what am i, when i had that big New York Post article, and hate about these terrible kids and they were described in the worst terms. Some people said they were animals. And hey, how dare you judge . How dare you judge those kids you dont know the half of it. But you dont know the half of it. So that was very telling. Let me ask you two more questions, and, the audience, a few questions. So your style, hope and despair, as i was laughing and crying. Got a lot of despair, i would love to hear some hope. There are stories of hope. The school that i taught was a school for international studies, and they tried to teach cricket instead of basketball, in gym. And we taught chinese instead of french. There was one student, who is not profiled him in the book and guess what, he embraced the study of chinese. He worked hard. He was not the very top but he was a top kid and he went onto college. I think he was only one of three of 90 kids who graduated with a degree in business. He is living in china now. Working for a leather company, and hes, he just sent me picture of he and his girlfriend on vacation. So im so thrilled. It worked for this kid. My second story is there was a coworker of mine, a fellow student teacher who we were in the graduate program together and we went to the same place for student teaching, and he is here tonight. I have to tell you, he became a master teacher. He has excellent results on the exams. He loves it, and hes a great teacher. He was a better history student and a better teacher than i was. There are people who can do what i cant do. They are superhuman. But, hats off to them. Those are my two success stories. [applause] my last question for you, is so over the last 25 years, ed would be, you guys are the writers. And he has been hide it go under the bush she will. Yeah. Thats nice. Oh, my god. You are such a writer. I want to hear what you are working on next . A little on forms. But i grew up in rochester new york. Its been known as smug town. So, tales from smug town. It is going to be about coming of age, memoirs. I think. Some questions. I thought your book was terrific because you didnt im sorry. I thought your book was terrific because you were truthful and you told the best of your ability what you observed. You dont see that, in many books written by teachers. I have twopoints to make about what you said before. Very often, we hold teachers to a standard like if you dont measure up to that standard, you are a failure or its like if we held every physician up to albert, they wont be, and its so unfair how teachers get characterized. And he got a heart attack and almost died. Yes. But then the other thing, i do have one disagreement with you, it is that, i dont think its true that a teacher has to reflect the ethnicity of the student he or she is teaching. I dont believe that. Because if we did, we would start hiring teachers on the basis of that and i think theres a lot more room for teachers to succeed, teaching anybody. I will disagree. I wouldnt say it is a requirement. But its more helpful. Anybody can learn from anybody. But, at the same time, when you look at, the proportions of o are out of whack f. We can get closer to representation, that would be better. We need more rolemodels. I can understand having worked for the board of ed myself, on a good number of years i can understand why you would to want leave it. [laughter] the kind of rapport that you did establish tells me that you were a good teacher. You had heart and soul and shared it with them. Thats great. I also love your writing. Thanks, i appreciate that comment. But heres, but, a Teachers First job is to inculcate knowledge. They knew i cared about them. And they knew that. And that i was really trying. They said, you know what you need to try [laughter] heres the thing, but but i didnt teach them history. That was my first job. I was a good guy but job one has to be that they leave there with some understanding of the subject. The chaos was too overwhelming except for mickey. [laughter] im retired new york city p