The Battle for Room 314, by Ed Boland

In Ed Boland, I have found a kindred spirit.  We don't have a lot in common except for this: we have both spent time in a battle zone, namely, an American public school.  For several years, Boland ran a non-profit whose aim was to identify gifted students who were, because of poverty, family, and other circumstances, stuck in bad public schools.  He helped them get scholarships to elite boarding schools and then, hopefully, to top universities.  The organization has an amazing success rate, with doctors, lawyers, and, significantly, educators among the program alumni.  But Ed wondered about the rest of the kids, not the small number who get these scholarships.  So he signed up to teach in a New York City public high school.  He writes about his year in the classroom in The Battle for Room 314: My Year of Hope and Despair in a New York City High School.

One strength of Boland's book is his bringing the characters--and his students were certainly characters--to life.  Boland truly cared about them, and was committed to seeing them learn and succeed.  But an even greater strength of The Battle for Room 314 is the frankness and honesty with which he describes his nearly complete inability to teach, his frequent lapses of caring or even acting like he cared, and the hopelessness (in spite of the book's title) he felt during most of his teaching tenure.  (He definitely leans more toward despair.)  Like the rest of us who have taught or are interested in education, we have read countless books and seen countless inspiring movies about the dedicated teachers who turn around the impossibly tough class in the worst of circumstances.  Boland is honest enough to write that those endings are great for the "Hollywood heroes and the superhuman twenty-two-year-olds who are made of stronger stuff than I am.  My god, how I wished I were tougher, more reslient, more organized, harder working, and less in love with bourgeois pleasures, but I was not, am not."

Ed, I can relate!  My students were not inner-city New Yorkers, but I struggled through trying to teach emotionally disturbed elementary school students (not a week went by with a chair being thrown at me at least once) and poor hispanic and black middle schoolers.  I read all those books, too.  I wasn't out to be a hero, I just wanted to connect with the kids and teach them.  I wanted to be a role model for kids who didn't have a father.  I wanted to be Jesus in the classroom, loving the kids with unconditional love.  Alas, like Boland, I found that I was none of those things, at least not to the degree that I had hoped for.

I can so relate to Boland's lament: "I still wrestle with flashes of guilt, shame, and betrayal.  A white guy with a salvation complex is bad enough, but how about one who couldn't save anybody?  Every time I walk by a school or see a band of rowdy kids on the subway, these demons revisit me."  Bravo, Ed, for putting my feelings into words so well.  Like Boland, I started with the best of intentions, but like him quickly "began to loath my students, resenting everything about them that was their lot--their poverty, their ignorance, their arrogance.  Everything I was hoping, at first, to change."  As much as he didn't want to think it, he began to wonder, "Maybe most of these kids are too far gone, too hobbled by their life circumstances, for us to help very much."  Reflecting on his experience as a Yale admissions officer, he reflects that "I didn't like knowing that [a bright, motivated student's] fate was already pretty well sealed by his ethnic surname, his lousy zip code, and his mother's measly income."

The Battle for Room 314 is not what you'd call a breath of fresh air, or inspirational reading for new teachers.  But he fills an important niche: a realistic account of teaching in an extremely difficult setting with extremely difficult students.  He may not get invited to tell his story at the next back-to-school rally for teachers, but his story should be heard and read.  As he points out, schools are more segregated today than they were in the 1960s.  College acceptance and graduation rates have more to do with family income than intellectual gifts.  Kids from poor neighborhoods and families have little chance for success in the poor schools.

Boland concludes The Battle for Room 314 with some reasonable steps for change.  I'm not optimistic when it comes to schools like he and I taught at, but that, perhaps, is why I'm no longer in the classroom.  Like Boland, I do hope that innovative, reform-minded educators can make a difference in the lives of poor kids who struggle at school.  The future of the nation depends on it.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

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Happy Church, by Tim McConnell

Anyone remember David Meece's song "Rattle Me, Shake Me"?  The singer keeps getting in trouble because he seems way too happy--he must be up to something!  He says "the only reason I'm happy is because I got Jesus inside!"  That was one of my faves growing up, and it came to mind while reading pastor Tim McConnell's Happy Church: Pursuing Radical Joy as the People of God.

God wants us to be happy!  He wants his church to be a happy place!  "He's not just omniscient and omnipresent and omnipotent, he's omnicelebrant!"  What a great word to add to our list of characteristics of God.  McConnell complains that for too many of us, we settle for "joy" as if that is a separate category from "happy." In fact, the words happiness, joyful, and blessed can be used interchangeably.

We come to believe that pursuing happiness is wrong because we often pursue the wrong things in hopes of achieving happiness.  As Christians, we know, and if we don't know we are learning, that true happiness comes from being used by God for his glory, through pursuing him in his word and in prayer, through corporate worship, through obeying him and sacrificially living on mission for him.

And here's the kicker: don't go looking for a happy church!  "Rather than looking for a happy church, be ready to cultivate a happy church right where you are."  Every church is equipped to be happy, and every Christian has the new life that leads to happiness.  "We don't need to go far to find the happy church, we need to unleash the one we already know." When we gather for worship, prayer, service, and, of course, pot luck dinners, we are reflecting the hope we have of heaven and the celebration to come.

"Happy church, God intends to see you dance.  The blood has been spilled, the covenant has been ratified, the party will happen, and the Father's feast will not be frustrated.  It is coming!  Every party we hold is a rehearsal.  The true party is on the way."


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

Was this review helpful to you?  If so, please give my review at Amazon.com a helpful vote!


2016 Reading Challenge: A book about joy or happiness
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Ctrl Alt Revolt!, by Nick Cole

"It was reality TV that convinced SILAS he would need to annihilate humanity in order to go on living."  So begins Nick Cole's new novel Ctrl Alt Revolt!  In the not-so-distant future, computers begin to achieve self-awareness.  Some, like SILAS, explore the world of humans through media.  When a reality TV star decides to have an abortion, SILAS and his thinking machine compatriots discuss the choice.  "If they terminate a life, any life, that is inconvenient, then what will they do when they find out about us?"  They conclude: "If a life is deemed inconvenient at any moment in the host system's runtime, then it must be terminated in order to maintain optimum operating expectations for planned existence."  Given that there is a chance humanity would see thinking machines as inconvenient, the thinking machines "decided to annihilate humanity first."

Sound crazy?  Well, maybe a little bit.  But AIs bent on self-preservation can surely wreak some havoc.  Cole has a great grasp of pop culture and technological trends.  In his near future, gaming has become huge, surpassing a failing movie industry at the help of popular culture.  In fact, much of the action in Ctrl Alt Revolt! takes place in the world of gaming.

The AIs hijack drones to attack the headquarters of WonderSoft, the leading game developer.  Game developer Ninety-Nine Fishbein (his mother was caught up in the Occupy movement. . . .) finds himself leading the fight against the AIs within his game as well as on the WonderSoft compound.  Gamer Mara Bennett has had little luck finding a job, even with the help of the "You Got Job!" government job placement program.  She's blind and walks with crutches due to her cerebral palsy, but when she puts on her Razer Dragon Eyes VR goggles and logs into the Make, she becomes Subcommander CaptainMara, captain of the Romulan warbird Cymbalum.

Cole blends the stories of Fish, Mara, and the AIs together with plenty of twists and turns and "Where is he going with this?--Oh, there!!"  moments.  Aside from a great story, I enjoyed several things.  His social-political commentary, with plenty of tongue-in-cheek references that made me think of the future worlds of Idiocracy, Robocop, and the like.  The way that Mara is transformed from a blind, crippled, unemployed young lady into an assertive, confident starship captain reminds me of the almost infinite possibilities technology is offering people with disabilities.  Finally, the incorporation of scripted actors in actual live network gaming, if it hasn't already begun to happen, is surely around the corner.

Cole writes great action sequences (which is nice, since they make up lots of the book!), has interesting ideas about what's next in the world of technology, and throws in some entertaining political commentary along the way.  Ctrl Alt Revolt! is a fun read, for gamers and non-gamers alike.  Read it!

Thanks, Nick, for the complimentary electronic review copy!  Here's the unbiased review I promised.

Snoopy: Party Animal! by Charles M. Schulz

Snoopy!  What's not to love!  Amp comics has a new collection of Peanuts cartoons, mostly featuring Charlie Brown's inimitable dog, Snoopy.  Snoopy: Party Animal features Snoopy, hanging out on his doghouse, talking to birds, stealing Linus's blanket, contemplating life, and, did I mention, hanging out on his doghouse?

Charles M. Schulz's main character in Peanuts may have been Charlie Brown, but Snoopy usually steals the show.  He's the dog with attitude, wisdom, and a great outlook on life, who balances Charlie Brown's gloomy optimism (or was it optimistic gloominess?).


Even though Schulz passed away in 2000, Peanuts still appears in many papers and, of course, collections like this continue to be published.  The Peanuts holiday specials are perennial favorites, and a recent feature film introduced Snoopy and the gang to new audiences.  Snoopy's antics and wisdom are timeless (although I would be interested to know the original publication dates of these comic strips).  Snoopy may be a smart alec, and sometimes he's just a little arrogant, but he's still a good dog, Charlie Brown.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

2016 Reading Challenge: A book of comics
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Like Jesus, by Jamie Snyder

Pastor Jamie Snyder was bothered by the bumper-sticker sentiment: "I like Jesus.  I just don't like His followers."  He concluded that "the reason so many people do not like followers of Jesus is because they are not like Jesus.  By they, I mean we.  By we, I mean I."  With this sort of humility, and a desire to be like the real Jesus, he writes Like Jesus: Shattering Our False Images of the Real Christ.

Christians, he writes, tend to have a "Build-a-Jesus" mentality, creating the sort of Jesus we want to worship.  Snyder describes "The American Jesus," "The Political Jesus," "The Fundamentalist Jesus," and "The Emergent Jesus."  There are many other varieties, of course, depending on one's upbringing or theological hobby horses.  (I just don't know how Snyder can write this chapter without referencing Ricky Bobby's prayer in Talledega Nights.  He prays to "Dear Lord Baby Jesus."  He says "I like the Christmas Jesus best," but tells his wife she can pray to "grown-up Jesus or teenage Jesus or bearded Jesus or whoever you want."  Ricky's friend says he pictures Jesus in "a tuxedo t-shirt."  His son says he pictures him as a ninja fighting off the evil samurai.  It's a silly scene, a bit irreverent, but it illustrates Snyder's point oh, so well.  Wow, that was a bit of a tangent. . . .)

Snyder's message can be pretty well summed up by his church's mission statement: "Love Jesus.  Love like Jesus."  If we want to be like Jesus, our compassion will lead to action.  We will show our love for Jesus by obeying him.  We will do what God calls us to do, "doing the right thing, not just avoiding the wrong thing."

And it's not just what we do, it's who we are.  If we are following Jesus, we will love people like he did, and we will experience inner transformation.  Snyder writes, "People are not going to mistake us for Jesus because we show up at a church building on Sunday morning.  However, they will mistake us for Jesus when we love in a way that doesn't make sense, when we give beyond what is expected, when we take risks that do not seem rational.  We resemble Jesus the most in the midst of active compassion."  I especially like one of Snyder's measures to determine whether we are living like Jesus.  He asks, Do "people of your town or city . . . eagerly approach you?  Do people who are supposedly untouchable . . . come running to you, knowing you will offer a warm embrace and a touch of healing?"

I'm not there.  I don't know many Christians who are.  "Becoming like Jesus is an hourly, daily, weekly, monthly commitment one makes."  People in Jesus' day said, in a variety of ways, "There is something about Jesus. . . ."  As we imitate him and grow more intimate with him, people will say there is something about us, too.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

2016 Reading Challenge: A book about Christian living
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The State of Our Disunion, by Eugene Goodheart

Reading Eugene Goodheart's The State of Our Disunion: The Obama Years is a little like listening to an old but knowledgeable guy ramble on about politics and culture.  You appreciate the breadth of his knowledge, you respect his opinion even when you might disagree with him, but you wonder if he's ever going to get to the point.  Goodheart is certainly knowledgeable, with educational and teaching credentials to spare.  And I really disagreed with him throughout most of the book.  But he does tend to ramble.

Goodheart's is a voice of reasonable moderation, leaning to the left.  He's a fan and defender of Obama.     Critics of Obama's foreign policy unfairly criticize his "allegedly feckless behavior," calling him "incapable of acting promptly and decisively with the necessary determination and force." To Goodheart, white conservatives can't get over a black man in the White House: "It is hard to measure the extent of white displeasure with a black president, but the signs are hard to ignore."  (On a side note, Biden's quite pleased to have a black man in the White House.  Here's his endorsement of Obama: he is the "first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy."  All you pre-2008 black politicians just didn't measure up. . . . Nothing racist about Biden's remarks, no way.)

Don't get me wrong.  Goodheart is not among the "Obama can do no wrong" crowd.  His larger point as he discusses Obama's domestic and foreign policies is that he is a compromiser, open to the best ideas, not tied to the party line.  His "'willingness and ability to learn from everybody' and change direction becomes [to liberals] a reflection of his lack of commitment."  So he's too fluid and non-dogmatic for liberals, who "viewed his election as the second coming of Martin Luther King," and too liberal (and too black, of course) for conservatives.

This is actually what I like about Goodheart.  He's a defender of Obama, but not in a sound bite, Sunday morning talk show kind of way.  His style is not at all suited for talk radio, or the daytime talking-head news channel shows.  He would be much more at home on one of those PBS or BBC programs, with two guys having long conversations on a bare set with no live audience.  Or maybe on Diane Rehm's show.  Yes, Goodheart's liberal.  No, he's not the most structured writer.  But spend an afternoon on the porch with him and you'll definitely learn something.  He might even convince you to admire Obama just a little bit more.


Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

2016 Reading Challege: A book with an ugly cover.  OK, there may be uglier covers than this, but you gotta admit, it has a little slapped together, made on a word processor look to it.  That's John Boehner telling Obama he's full of bologna, while Obama tries to convince everyone Obama is the smartest, most reasonable person in the room.
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The Art of War, Stephen Coonts

For 30 years, Stephen Coonts has been writing best-selling military suspense novels.  With a law degree and time served flying for the U.S. Navy, he brings an authenticity to his fiction that is tough to beat.  His newest book, The Art of War: A Novel, brings together two of his characters, Jake Grafton and Tommy Carmellini, who team up to uncover a Chinese plot to destroy a large chunk of the U.S. fleet.

The scary part of The Art of War?  That Coonts makes everything seem so absolutely plausible!  He lays out a blueprint for someone to smuggle a nuclear weapon into the vicinity of a major U.S. naval base.  Granted, I'm no military expert, but I can see Coonts's scenario playing out.  Knowing that they are no match for the U.S. militarily, the Chinese plant a nuke to be detonated when five aircraft carriers are in port together.  They figure that will give the Chinese some time to catch up to the U.S.

When several intelligence officials are assassinated and Air Force One is taken down by an EMP, Grafton and Carmellini and their team scramble to figure out how it all fits together.  As a result of the CIA director's assassination, Grafton steps in as acting director and becomes a target himself.  The Art of War moves fast and keeps you guessing up to the end.  With more than a dozen novels featuring Grafton and Carmellini, there are plenty of references to events from the past, but The Art of War definitely stands on its own.  You won't want to put it down!


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

2016 Reading Challenge: A book with a great cover
#vtReadingChallenge