I loved this book from start to finish. It made me laugh out loud and also feel terrified for the state of our education system. I wish everyone who does not work in education reads this to get a glimpse into what teachers go through. They deserve so much more respect than our society gives them. Such a good read - funny, jaw dropping, and sometimes just plain crazy.

I am the only sibling out of four that is not a teacher and I find myself envious of their leisurely summers each year. Maybe not so much now. This is a really interesting collection of stories from educators across the country that gives us a glimpse of what it’s really like. I found the bodily functions and lack of administrative support equally disgusting and parental behaviors shocking, but there were a few heartwarming bits as well. A quick enjoyable read.

This is my first year dipping my toes into secondary, outside of subbing, so I really appreciate what J. Morris has done here.

J. Morris has collected a very nice sample of 152 teacher anecdotes and they are organized in such a way that the good is not always overshadowed by the bad in teaching. I particularly loved the intro and the concluding chapter, which really do a nice job of wrapping things up. My favorite? 97. The dog, that was one thing I've experienced, too, but the chicken? And then how the teacher handled it? I literally laughed out loud and scared my cat.

The nice thing that J. Morris has done is reminded those of us who needed it that there is humor and joy still in the profession, especially in these times of COVID. I'm just sad that there was a missed opportunity to include the Zoom "reconecting" meme, which is a reminder that even if our students and profession is changing, some things just never do.

I also appreciated the use of profanity. Having never been able to drop any in my classroom (for good reason) nor hear anything like it come out of my colleagues' mouths, it was a fresh reminder that teachers are human and curse too.

Man what a timely read. I don’t think many people can ever know the magnitude of what teachers go through. You think you know, but you really have no idea. This book gives such a glimpse into the appalling, absurd, outrageous, precious and hilarious moments a teacher goes through

I loved mixed within the stories the e-mails and images of letters and notes sent to parents just to prove the crazy people teachers really do deal with. Teachers are on the battleground of being a vital part of raising future generations. What we don’t realize is to raise the next generations you have to wade through the madness. Teachers deserve our thoughts, love, prayers and encouragement because they are so needed.

Jane Morris did such a great job compiling these stores so the reader can have a greater idea what teachers go through but lives you with the message of why teachers are so needed. Highly recommend this book!

I did not love this book, but I think it might be a good “bathroom book” or perhaps teachers might enjoy it more.

The book is a series of very short vignettes about being a teacher.
I had thought it would be more like an Erma Bombeck book, with a single voice running through the vignettes.

It was NOT FUNNY to me, just really SAD. If you’re unsure about a teaching job, just read this book and it will 100% put you off teaching.
The things described are so unspeakable and horrid!
It was almost what I’d call misanthropic.

So I can’t recommend this, unless maybe you’re a teacher who wants validation of the horror of your profession.

I received a free copy of the book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This is the author’s third book I’ve read. A collection of stories from real educators - they are always funny and relatable. From gifts from admin to kindergarten show and tell, to student quotes. All of these stories will give teachers a good laugh.

Thank you Jane Morris! I don’t need to write a book of my teaching experiences after all-you’ve done it for me 💯. This book is teacher truth to power and is a must for any teacher feeling alone or unheard. It should be required reading for parents and administrators, though it’s doubtful they will admit to seeing themselves in the anecdotes. I alternately laughed and cried, but couldn’t put it down. I’m recommending it to all my retired teacher friends to remind them why they’re retired and to all my current teacher friends so they can begin to save their own anecdotal records for their future books. thank you, thank you, thank you.

I found this through Netgalley. I am a retired teacher. I taught over thirty years. Sometimes I still think about the things I was required to do. The money I spent on my classroom and students. The disrespect. Odd thing is I really loved my job. The kids who made me smile. The magic moment you saw a child get it. Seeing students you had become teachers. Seeing them raising families. Setting out in careers you never heard of when you were their age. Then, I think of the sad ones who died. The ones whose addiction was bigger than them. The ones sitting in jail that you knew were on that path and wouldn't change.
I left burned out. Not from the kids. From being treated horribly. From not being able to deal with the class troublemakers because they can't be denied an education while their behavior denied all the others. I worked in a Correctional setting 12 years. The guards were little help. I really liked the kids. But trying to deal with other things in my life and watching out for everyone got to be too much.
I read this to validate all the teachers who get up everyday and do it. Who lay awake and worry. Who remember to smile because yours might be the only one a child gets all day.
Everyone needs to read this.

Ever wanted to know the truth from our teachers, our kids teachers our grandkids teachers?! Then this is the book for you. Some stories are hilarious, others dad but true. and others welllllll, just read it. Morris does not disappoint with these stories at all. Maybe you'll look at your teachers with a more appreciated eye.

This book reaffirmed my respect for teachers while confirming I definitely don't have what it takes to be one. It was hilarious, disgusting, infuriating and heartbreaking all at once. With all the grief they get from students, parents, administrators, and sometimes other teachers, it's amazing anyone stays in the profession.

Found this book confusing, and I frankly wanted to throw up every time I saw that cover (seriously couldn't have used something less disgusting?) But the array of stories in there, some turned out to be rather disturbing. Not dismissing that this is the reality of teachers, but it just felt 'off'. Even the foreword felt awkward, making me wonder 'why on earth would I want to read on when this is what I'll be reading about?' Just felt the approach could've been a tad different, less in your face, and a bit more streamlined throughout. Overall, this felt jumbled and confused

A jaded anthology of negative teacher experiences in the classroom. Not humourous or uplifting. I do not recommend What It's Really Like.

Thanks to the publishers and netgalley for providing me this eARC. If you are a teacher or planning to be a teacher, this book is highly recommended. 'What It's Really Like' by Jane Morris has a compilation of personal and anecdotal experiences in the life of a teacher. These range from hilarious to cringeworthy to sublime. Parent's remarks which range from funny to abusive to downright racist, administrators descended from hell and finally students who leave no stone unturned to make the teacher wish that she should have done something else with her life. 😀
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I requested this book because last year I read the cult classic 'Up the Down Staircase' which made me want more. The writing style is simple and funny but I wanted some more stories where children did something truly special. These instances are far and few but otherwise this is a good book for laughs. Beware you may not want to eat or drink after reading some real life instances of children being crappy, literally! I skipped these entries honestly. While this is not comparable to Up the Down Staircase, this one do have it's moments.

Oh man. I burned through this book in one sitting. As an educator, I did not find any of this totally shocking- though one part about a teacher's first day and many many kids vomiting was absolutely horrific. I am here to attest that these stories were hilariously truthfully written and I wish all parents would pick this up and just imagine for one day what it's like to be in our shoes. I also appreciate that this book also acknowledged the joys of our job. Obviously, we love what we do and it's not as thankless as everyone thinks. Do we make the most money in the world? Nah, but we rarely have a boring day at the office and we get to be a part of the lives of a lot of wonderful kids. I loved this. 5 stars. AWESOME!

Quite honestly, it scared me to think that other teachers have had experiences similar to my own. However, it was also comforting to know that the issues faced in the many schools I've taught at aren't unique. I will be sharing this book with colleagues, administration, parents and, most importantly, my friends. They often ask what it's like to teach and this book will offer an opportunity to start to understand the difficulties in our profession and a chance to laugh along with us.

As a retired teacher I thoroughly enjoyed reading the hilarious and often outrageous stories of classroom teachers. It is an honest depiction of what teachers across North America are dealing with in today's world.A worthwhile read for all!
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC inn exchange for an honest review.

This collection of outrageous stories from teachers had me both laughing out loud and wincing in painful recognition..
From less-than-supportive admin, to Twilight Zone classroom situations, to batshit crazy parents, this book pretty much runs the gamut. It’s a short, entertaining glimpse of the most challenging profession out there.
Not only was it thoroughly enjoyable, this book also helped reaffirm my decision to leave the classroom and pursue other things.

The stories in this book are a good look into the life of a teacher. I especially like how it had the positive and negative sides of teaching mixed in the stories. It is easy to focus on the bad parts of teaching, but there are a lot of good things too. Many of the stories made me feel less alone as a teacher; there was someone else that had an experience that made them shake their head.

Teachers are definitely the unsung heroes we don't deserve. Reading this book I laughed hysterically, sobbed, became enraged (all of it sometimes within 2 pages). I think this book is necessary. Jane Morris offers an inside perspective of what it is to be a teacher today, with tremendous obligations and pressures from administration, parents, and students while receiving little recognition or compensation. With What It's Really Like, Morris shows us the reality of being a teacher without the need of becoming preachy or standing on a soapbox; she does it with the most infallible of weapons: humor.

This book compiles a huge range of teaching stories - some horrifying and some humorous - from teachers across America. What this book does really well is effectively paint the picture of how challenging teaching can be when faced with students, parents and administrators - all with different expectations and value systems.

However, as a teacher something about this book didn't sit well with me. I think it's because I couldn't quite work out what the author was trying to do: was I meant to laugh? Be outraged? Be sad? Whilst there were many stories which I recognised from my own and colleagues' careers and could laugh at wryly, there were other parts that didn't feel appropriate - whilst they might accurately reflect what can go on in the classroom, when written alongside humorous anecdotes, the overall message was disturbing. In particular there was a story where a child exhibited sexual behaviour and the teacher chose not to report it because it was so bizarre. I couldn't work out why this kind of story was included and it made me feel uncomfortable about the choices made by the teacher - but it didn't feel like that was meant to be the takeaway of the story.

Overall I would say this is worth reading to show the challenges faced by many in schools on a daily basis, but perhaps it is too close to the bone for some teachers themselves.