Lessons with Love: Tales of teaching and learning in a small-town high school

I was a student in Mrs. Love's classes from 1993 until 1995. Reading this book brought back all the crazy memories of high school as well as enlightening me to what was really going on behind the scenes. This book is applicable to more than just people who know or have been taught by Mrs. Love, however. It's a tail that is often repeated in schools across this country and probably others; it's about a teacher's love for her students and passing knowledge onto them while maintaining a sane personal life and allowing herself to grow with her students. It's a book that really shows that life is a journey, not a destination. All of this packed in with Mrs. Love's personal side stories and her own high school antics. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has ever been in high school (i.e. pretty much everyone). Teachers as well, I'm sure will feel an instant affection for this book and the trials and tribulations that all teachers go through.

This summer I spent more than two and a half months in North Idaho, getting to know it. I stumbled on this gem of a book, and what a treat. Having taught young adults myself, I thoroughly enjoyed its silver-tongued, funny, but thoughtful insights into the Teaching life. My favorite part, in all its humor, insight, and deft touch, is the extended "conversation" between the author and her son, Willie. Not only are the vignettes about her son a riot, but the section generally forces us to think about what happens when the chicken comes home to roost: does the author's teaching skill and compassion apply in her very own home? Thankfully, yes. Only halfway thru the book did the author's last name fully dawn on me. So the title offers a double entendre - a delayed payoff, crystallizing the themes between her public and private lives, her classroom and home, her as uber-professional and as Mom - in short, her lessons and love. A fun read!!! Not only about teaching and family, but about life in small-town America, beautiful Sandpoint,Idaho.