THE BATTLE FOR ROOM 314 My Year of Hope and Despair in a New York City High School

In this moving lesson drawn from his short teaching career, the author-narrator Ed Boland's clear baritone communicates the type of humble confidence that gives his experiences authenticity and his advice credibility. His writing is fluid, often vulnerable, and his sensitive expression of dialogue and pathos will make listeners admire him and want to get involved with the issues he cares about. Gripping stories of kids with enormous challenges fill the first part of the audio. His sensitivity to the cultural contexts in which these student live is palpable. Though his conclusions are hard-hitting and the bureaucratic and political obstacles enormous, the simplicity of his arguments gives his closing chapters power. He's utterly convincing that nothing is more important than preparing these vulnerable youth for life. T.W. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine [Published: AUGUST 2017]