I Wish My Teacher Knew had me laughing, crying, happy and sad. As a teacher, I know that it is important for form relationships which is sometimes hard to do. This book proved to me just how important it is. You never really know until you ask.

This was not what I was expecting from this book. I was expecting it to be filled with vignettes of the students actual writing to this prompt. This book is more for teachers. It was interesting, but merely okay!

I did not have a chance to read this book, but it is effecting my feedback rating.  I am giving books 5 stars that I haven't read to improve my feedback rating.  I am not recommending the book for my classroom or students since I have not read the book.  There needs to be a better system of leaving feedback for books not read.

This book offers incredible insight and makes readers really think about how much can be going on below the surface. While this book is not for students, it definitely made me consider some writing pieces we could do in class.

Using her experience as a teacher and an innovative communication tool, third-grade teacher Kyle Schwartz found a way to initiate conversations with her students on the issues that matter most to them. Schwartz asked her students to finish the following sentence, “I wish my teacher knew…” The results informed her of situations as serious as not having access to dependable transportation to school and as sweet as a love for horses. Schwartz shared the exercise with other teachers and then wrote the book to offer parents and other guardians information on the kids in their lives.

Schwartz’s enthusiasm and love for her students come shining through. No one will doubt how much she enjoys her work or her students, and every single page exudes her deep-seated desire to help others. The trouble comes, however, in the way she chooses to present her information. Each chapter starts with a replication of a handwritten note and uses it as a springboard into a larger conversation about a topic children face. Schwartz spins outward from the kids’ notes into broad topics, but she chooses to include so many figures and facts that the book reads more like an economic report and less like a series of anecdotes that inform a national conversation. No one can doubt Schwartz’s intentions, but her method needed refinement. Readers who don’t mind trudging through a bevy of facts and numbers can Borrow I Wish My Teacher Knew.

While Im not a teacher, I do volunteer in a classroom. This book....well lets just say it tugged at my heart strings. I don't know how anyone can read this and have it not have a profound influence on their life. If there's one lesson that someone can take away from this book- its that you should be kind to every person you meet- because some are fighting a battle you'll never know about.

I thought it was such an interesting take on how to ask students for opinion! I’ve shared the idea (and the name of the book, of course) with many colleagues. It’s a great way to connect and learn more about the kids we teach!

My eARC was a little hard to read at times, the formatting didn't show properly on my kindle and the personal stories sprinkled throughout the novel were "printed" in a lighter font color, making it very difficult to see. Difficulties aside, I thought this was a practical book filled with both anecdotes and actual research. Recommended reading for all teachers!

I really enjoyed this book! Nonfiction is a favorite genre of mine so I really liked having a nonfiction book surrounding the educations systems and schools, as a future teacher. I adore these kinds of books.

This is a resource that I wish every educator and even parent would read. It addresses heavy topics and aims you with the ability to do the same with the various children or students in your life. The author sounds like an amazing educator and I pray and hope that my children are privileged enough to have teachers who are just as amazing and as invested in them.

There is so much more to teaching than just teaching, and this book helps show that.

I have mixed feelings about this book. The title and premise are misleading, and I thought I was getting a book about student responses to the title's statement. That's not what this is at all, instead its a guide for teachers. It's still interesting information, but not what I would have read on my own without having this to review.

Funny, incisive little book which I enjoyed reading and sharing snippets off with my teacher-sister.

I am sorry for the inconvenience but I don’t have the time to read this anymore and have lost interest in the concept. I believe that it would benefit your book more if I did not skim your book and write a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience.

Kids need to be known and heard by someone who cares about them. And teachers need to know their students in order to be able to really see them and be able to help them. That's what this book is about. It's helpful to teachers. I would recommend it.

**This book was reviewed for Perseus, Da Capo Press via Netgalley.

Schwartz’ poignant book is a testimony to the impact and power a teacher has. Rather than going through the mere drudgery of teaching, day in, day out, Schwartz went out of her way to really get to know her students. Teachers really play the role of psychologist and sociologist, in addition to their 'job’ of passing along information. 

Kids of all ages have myriad problems most people either don't know, or don't care about, but those problems, and lack of a positive outlet of release, can lead to all manner of behavioural issues. Children look up to teachers as mentors, and all it takes is one to pay attention, and genuinely care to make a difference. Throughout this book, Kyle illustrates this again, and again, with many different issues. Specific examples of students’ “I wish my teacher knew…” are given, but if you are expecting the whole book to be that, you are destined for disappointment. There are anecdotal stories I found more fascinating than the kids’ submissions, mainly because of the difficulty I had reading the photocopies of the  on the Kindle.

📚📚📚📚 Should be required reading for all teachers.

I read this more for my information than for my students'.

As a teacher of 18 years - I was excited to read this book.  I teach secondary education but found this book applicable to teachers of all grades.  i can't wait to share this title with our reading coach and possibly using it as a book study next year.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my review.  At first glance, this may appear to be a book for teachers-and it is, however, I feel the insights gained in this book would benefit parents as well.  Such a simple question led to such powerful profound answers.  I have used this question as a journal prompt in my classroom and it has been an eye-opening experience for me.  Kudos to Kyle Schwartz for thinking of it!