The Blackboard Jungle (Classic Ed)

Forget the campy movie- The novel is an insightful look at the people who become teachers; how they cope, how they survive and what happens when they don't. It was written over fifty years ago, but the issues it addresses are still with us. Rick, the hero, struggles within an educational system that is broken; filled with cynics that feel their job is to "keep the lid on the garbage can." He manages not to be be crushed like his idealistic coworker and even manages to reach his students. Blackboard jungle should be required reading for anyone who wants to be a teacher.

This was the first major novel of "Evan Hunter", a WW II Navy veteran who attended college and then taught at a vocational high school. This book is dedicated to his wife Anita. It is a work of fiction, any resemblance to actual persons is purely coincidental. But it is obviously based on his personal experience. There is a lot of detail in this 309 page book that suggests reporting rather than fiction. If you saw the film you will find the novel more detailed about his teaching experiences, and without the Hollywood dramatic changes. Are this scenes still true today? The snowfall on October 19 suggests Albany or Syracuse rather than New York city (Chapter 6). Rick learned the usefulness of dramatics in teaching and holding attention in class. Rick says there are no courses on "Teaching the Trades School Student". The trade school was invented to give "practical education for those who want it, or don't fit into an academic environment. [They don't acknowledge that it is class-based. Before the 1930s most grammar school graduates went directly to work at 14. They learned on the job.] Rick's experiences in the Navy told of a similar situation regarding a squealer. Chapter 10 describes the various methods used to keep discipline in school. One incident has Dadier accused of bias by a secret informer (one of his students). Part III describes the work done for the Christmas Assembly show. Dadier was put in charge, he found the volunteers needed. Later he made a breakthrough to his class (Chapter 12). It was the story about "The Fifty-First Dragon". Was the story about the maternity hospital an allegory about his teaching career? There is a final dramatic chapter where Dadier earns the respect of his class. Are trades school students still considered inferior? They are more likely to become independent businessmen than an academic graduate. Note that Dadier family is a "nuclear family" living in a new development with little contact with relatives. Hunter knew how to spice up this novel for the reading audience of the 1950s. [There was an earlier film by Abbott & Costello whose story was similar to "The Fifty-First Dragon".]

Published in 1954, Evan Hunter's novel is set in an urban vocational school of all boys. Today, almost fifty years later, it remains not just an excellent read, but also a worthwhile one-especially when it is read in conjunction with SPINE, a more contemporary novel of teachers struggling with students and the school system of an isolated rural town. In the latter work-a creation of this reviewer-the power and authority of the teacher in the classroom has been virtually eliminated (though seldom admitted), and no administrator would ever utter the words that Hunter's principal stresses to his faculty: "The teacher is boss, remember that!" Nor would those same administrators of today play the hardball of the JUNGLE's head man and insist on payment by parents for the destruction of school property by their sons and daughters. And how many modern-day parents are there who don't view the entire school as something they cannot entirely trust? Who may even regard it less a friend to their progeny and more an enemy? These and other contrasts are often starkly apparent if one reads both novels. Just as are other items that are the same today as they were midway through the previous century. In fact, one of these may even help to determine when teachers began to lose the authority of their position. Again, consider Hunter's school principal. When a student levels a charge at his English teacher, the story's protagonist, principal Small accuses his employee Rick Dadier of being a racial bigot, and he does so without first listening to the other side of the incident. Read one, read the other. Gain a little more insight about the world of education.

As a mystery writer with my debut novel in its initial release and a teacher with over twenty years of experience in an impoverished high school, I found Evan Hunter's THE BLACKBOARD JUNGLE fascinating. Ed McBain, the celebrated mystery writer, was a teacher back when he wrote this book. Evan Hunter is, as we all know, Ed McBain's actual name. I suspect he based his Richard Dadier character on his own experiences. Dadier is an idealistic young man with his first professional job as an English teacher in a working class high school. Dadier does his best to reach his students, yet the challenges are great. This book is a classic, and it still applies to teaching these days. I truly wish Evan Hunter would return to THE BLACKBOARD JUNGLE. America needs its best and its brightest in our classrooms. As I can attest to from my experience, one can teach students and write mysteries without sacrificing either career.

The first time I read the book, I had checked it out at my university's library. There were several different editions on display. I selected the one which had notes scribbled in the margins by a previous reader. Curious to find out what others thought of my favourite author, I read all the scribbles before I started the book. Whoever had it before me hated it! I cannot concieve why, since this is an excellent look into the struggles of a new teacher in a harsh environment. Hey, let's not forget that Mr. Hunter has an Oscar for the film based on the book! The major difference towards the end between the movie and the book sways me in favour of the book -- a must-read, to quote an old cliche.