Chasing Hellhounds: A Teacher Learns from His StudentsMany books showcase the triumphs of "hero teachers", who swoop into a classroom full of misfits, transforming them into Shakespearean scholars or algebra geniuses. But for most working teachers, the day-to-day struggles are more subtle and come from the students themselves as they discover the pleasures of learning. Chasing Hellhounds is the story of nationally regarded educator Marvin Hoffman's experience teaching at Jones High, an inner-city school in Houston. Through his tales of teaching literature to a wide variety of students, he gives us an intimate, sympathetic look at what it's like to he both a giver and a recipient of an education today. Hoffman draws vivid portraits of ten of his students: a girl, living in a Greyhound bus station with her family, who wins a scholarship; a hulking student named Seth, whose explosive temper masks a sensitive and gifted writer; and others who overcome adversity through their own determination and talent. He also chronicles his evolution as a teacher, from the schools of the Mississippi Freedom Summer to his assignment at Jones. |
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