Title: Take Me to School
Subtitle: Reflections on a Life of Teaching
Author: Serena Casey
Publisher: XlibrisUS
Genre: Memoir
Pages: 260
ISBN: 978-1-6641-6769-8
Reviewer: Margie Przybylski
Pacific Book Review
There is something incredibly special about memories of school days, led through the day by kind and caring teachers. While educators prepare students for the world beyond graduation, they also learn alongside them. This commitment to growth shines through author Serena Casey’s memoir, Take Me to School, a book about her life as a teacher. Through a variety of cheerful anecdotes about her fond moments shared with students, Casey entertains and offers meaningful insights into the intimacy of a classroom.
Casey’s unconventional launch into her teaching career demonstrates tenacity required for success in any career. Her story shows readers that change is possible for anyone who seeks out a new direction in life. Throughout her education and career Casey overcame several challenges, many of which shaped her approach to teaching. She expresses gratitude for nearly every obstacle she faced, a refreshing perspective today.
Take me to School, serves as a flowing fountain of knowledge about teaching various classes and grade levels. The author’s greatest insights are related to family structures. Casey recounts the smartest student she ever taught, as well as a pair of siblings that blossomed at different ages. As much as we remember our teachers, Casey demonstrates students’ memorable impacts on their educators as well. She also highlights the important role parents play in their kids’ education, discussing how home environments help or hinder students’ schooling.
Casey explores faculty culture by describing her own relationships as well as what she learned in the faculty lounge. While pursuing her master’s in education, professors warned her against spending time in the lounge where students were bad-mouthed. Casey discovered the opposite to being true and attributes much of her success to brushing shoulders with colleagues. The camaraderie carried her as well as the rest of the staff through the years, as they spent time together both in and out of school.
While Take Me to School delves into fairly universal themes, it would have a special place on the bookshelf of any teacher, or student pursuing a career in education. Casey’s work serves as a time capsule not only to the education system but also American culture. She beautifully captures many changes that occurred in the system from her days as a student witnessing corporal punishment to the increase in paid activities for teachers. Casey’s hilarious anecdotes will take readers back to the good old days.
