Educating Esmé: Diary of a Teacher's First Year, Expanded… (original 1999; edition 2009)

by Esmé Raji Codell

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ckachelmuss's review

Even though I am not a teacher, nor have I ever really wanted to be one, I really enjoyed “Educating Esmé: Diary of a Teacher's First Year, Expanded Edition.” The author, Esme Raji Codell (also wrote How to Get Your Child to Love Reading: For Ravenous and Reluctant Readers Alike), wrote this book to chronicle her first year of teaching in a Chicago public school. Living in Chicago, it was funny to hear her thoughts and experiences here in my hometown. I also have had first time teachers before and this was amusing to see things from their perspective.

Throughout the book Esme, or Madame Esme as she prefers, battles “bureaucrats, gang members, abusive parents, and her own insecurities” as she lets us in on her daily life as a teacher. Esme is funny, strong, honest, and definitely a great teacher. She is actually now “one of the nation’s most sought-after voices for empowering teachers.” Esme shows that she really cares about her students and how hard she must work to reach them.

Educating Esmé is a quick read and a must-read for all teachers and teacher-to-be. And even if you are not a teacher, like me, it still made me laugh and was a great outside my norm genre book. Originally published in 1999, and after selling over 200,000 and becoming a Bestseller, Educating Esme is back (re-published 9/1/2009) and now includes a guide with 25 tips for teachers and teachers-to-be. I especially loved her tips and I saw that I could easily incorporate them into everyday life. I mean as mothers aren’t we all our kids first teachers!

You can read more about Esme at her website Planet Esme or check out her book at your favorite online retailer! (

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ckachelmuss | Sep 12, 2009 |

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Madame Esme is daring and fabulous. (

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Molly K | Jan 24, 2012 |

not reviewed

davidloertscher | Apr 2, 2011 |

This diary of a 1st-yr teacher had me remembering my favorite elementary school teachers. Reminded me what a demanding and stressful job those teachers had, even in the days before they had to "teach to the test". Lots of good examples and cautionary tips for new teachers. (

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Milda-TX | Jan 17, 2011 |

Esme should have been fired. As a first-year teacher, a white woman in a predominantly black school and a recent graduate surrounded by old-fashioned colleagues, she should have held her peace, listened carefully and introduced small, incremental changes that would rattle no one’s cage. But Esme was irrepressible. Bursting with enthusiasm and great ideas, she was determined to reach each and every kid in her fifth grade class.

Not surprisingly, she irritated the administration, a timid group of minders waiting for retirement and praying only to avoid a lawsuit that might threaten it. Most young teachers would never survive the fights she picked; they would have been thrown into the street. Yet she got results: her students not only passed the mighty standardized tests, that holy grail that has displaced real education in so many schools; her students advanced more than a year ahead.

This short book is a quick read. The language of the students, and the author, is natural and must have been shocking to older readers when the book first appeared. Today it seems merely honest. As a brief, lively overview of troubled schools and the courage and creativity of an exemplary teacher, it is highly recommended.

fredvandoren | Aug 14, 2010 |

I just loved this book. It probably makes a difference that I am a new teacher preparing my new classroom and planning for my first year, but maybe not. It made me laugh and pause to reflect. Well worth reading! (

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stewfive | Jun 18, 2010 |

Esmé is a free spirit who wants her students to call her Madame rather than Ms. Codell. She and her principal do not see eye to eye. Recounting her first-year teaching experiences with a wicked sense of humour and fearlessness, Esmé offers an entertaining narrative that manages to imbue the typical teacher memoir with an uncharacteristic sense of fun. While Esmé is open about the challenges of teaching, she seems to look for ways to bring joy to her students' education (such as calling her class "puzzling" instead of math), and this lends an infectious enthusiasm to her story, making it feel like it could actually be possible to enjoy being a brand-new teacher in spite of the low pay and bureaucratic inefficiency. The book doesn't offer much in the way of advice (except in the "expanded edition," which includes some helpful hints and a checklist of things a new teacher might want to buy), reading more like a blog that one would turn to for a winking acknowledgement of the adventure that teaching can be. Still, if this were a blog, I would subscribe to it. (

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quaintlittlehead | Apr 17, 2010 |

Esme's diary is a wake up call to college freshman entering an education program. A teacher's first year is the most difficult, and this book clearly lets an aspriing teacher know that all of her students will not worship the ground she works on, and parents aren't always as helpful as a naive 18 year old might expect.

Esme's journal chronicles her first year at a new school in Chicago, dealing with the administration, holding her ground in classroom management, and learning what it means to be a teacher, as her students explore their new school.

Esme has a refreshing voice and I'd love to see any of her future memoirs. (

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AmyLynn | Mar 17, 2010 |

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ckachelmuss | Sep 12, 2009 |

I was assigned to read this book for one of my education classes, and never bothered to read more than the first few pages. However, recently, in an attempt to go through some of the books I have yet to read, I decided to try once again to read this one.

I must say, I was thoroughly impressed. The book is written as a diary, with most of the witting actually coming from the authors journal. Esme begins as a new teacher in a brand new school. However, she manages to do great things, motivating her class, creating new projects and doing the amazing thing all teachers wish they could accomplish. She does all these things working for a man who could easily be one of the most incompetent administrators in the history of schools and surrounded by burnt out or disillusioned teachers.

Esme at times can be a downright cruel in her judgment of her fellow teachers and extremely condescending to those who don't share the insane level of passion and work ethic as her. However, with her students she accomplished great things. It is a must-read for anyone wanting to become a teacher, or a teacher who is just fresh out of ideas. (

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Kordo | Jun 9, 2009 |

A must-read for any school educator! Both funny and moving, this book provides both practical teaching tips and inspiration for teachers and librarians anywhere. A new favorite of mine! (

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rbuerkett | Feb 28, 2009 |

Educating Esme: Diary of a Teacher's First Year is smart and funny. It's a journey inside the mind of a young, fresh-minded educator hell bent on doing things her way. Her lessons and style of teaching are engaging. They allow students to be themselves and in the process learn something. The students are not bribed or cajoled into lesson plans. Codell disguises education in a safe, fun environment. This is not to say she doesn't have her share of problems. Chicago has it's gang culture, it's broken homes, it's drug addled families; not to mention a difficult hierarchy within the school system. Codell encounters it all with grace and strength. (

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SeriousGrace | May 6, 2008 |

Esme is pretty much the most awesome person I have read about in terms of balancing sheer moxie with drive, honesty, and perpetual fun. I think this really should be required reading of any individual wishing to educate children because it is a true no-nonsense guide to how a first year of teaching is. It doesn't paint an overly pessimistic view, but it certainly does not sugarcoat any of the reasons why teachers often quit in their first couple of years. (

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aidenn | Apr 24, 2008 |

This is a fantastic book that EVERY new teacher should read. Esme is inspiring, and I am a better person for reading this book. (

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kellyoliva | Apr 23, 2008 |

I thought I would love this book. I didn't. I couldn't relate to the cynicism of the main character. (

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km6673 | Feb 18, 2008 |

This is a true day-by-day account of a teacher’s first year at school. Codell is an extremely creative and caring teacher. In one chapter, she had a student that was behaving badly and she put him in charge of the classroom and she took his place as the misbehaving student. She builds a time machine using a refrigerator box and a shelf of old books. (

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kewpie | Jan 4, 2008 |

This was a quick read. It's a teacher's diary of her first year teaching fourth graders in a new Chicago school. Some of the realities she (and the kids) are faced with are pretty awful, but on the whole she keeps up her good attitude and a sarcastic sense of humor that I liked.

Lindsayg | Oct 9, 2007 |

Easy read - a day or two. Uplifting, inspirational, full of teaching ideas, and makes you say, gosh, I wish I were as brave, creative, and could make as much of a difference in people's lives as "Madame Esme." (JAF)

nbmars | Nov 11, 2006 |

Esme Raji Codell is basically my hero. She's a funny, prolific teacher/librarian/writer. This particular book chronicles her first year of teaching at an inner-city Chicago school. Esme demands her students call her Madame Esme, to her principal's dismay, and roller skates in crazy outfits into her classroom. To interest her students in school, she changes subject titles, like "Math" becomes "Puzzling." She also builds a time machine out of a refrigerator box and a snake light in order to illustrate to her students that reading can transport you to another place and time. She also gives advice through experience on how to handle hostile, misbehaving, or abused children with humor, grace and compassion. The book also has occasional tidbits in the form of letters written by fifth graders to new teachers. They give cute, hilariously misspelled advice that ties the book together and lets you see the fun side of the students. I love this book and it's a big reason behind why I want to be a teacher. (

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