Bel Kaufman (1911–2014)
Author of Up the Down Staircase
About the Author
Bella Kaufman was born in Berlin, Germany on May 10, 1911. In 1922, she emigrated to the United States with her parents. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Hunter College in 1934 and a Master's degree in English from Columbia University in 1936. She worked as a teacher and sold the show more occasional short story to magazines. Her first novel, Up the Down Staircase, was published in 1965. There was a film version of the novel made in 1967. Her other works included Love, Etc. and a collection of short stories entitled La Tigresse. She died on July 25, 2014 at the age of 103. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Works by Bel Kaufman
The Down Stair Case 1 copy
Augšup pa lejupejošām kāpnēm 1 copy
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Kaufman, Bella (born)
- Other names
- KAUFMAN, Bella
- Birthdate
- 1911-05-10
- Date of death
- 2014-07-25
- Gender
- female
- Education
- Hunter College
Columbia University (MA - English) - Occupations
- teacher
lecturer
novelist
short story writer - Organizations
- Columbia University
- Relationships
- Aleichem, Sholem (grandfather)
Kaufman, Lyala (mother) - Short biography
- Bella "Bel" Kaufman was born in Berlin, where her father was studying medicine, but raised in Odessa and Kiev. Her family emigrated to the USA in 1923 when she was 12 years old, settling in New York City, where she first began learning English. She attended Hunter College and then earned a master's degree in literature from Columbia University. Her grandfather, the famed storyteller Sholem Aleichem, encouraged her to write at an early age and she had published her first story by age 7. After graduating from Columbia, Ms. Kaufman became a teacher in the New York City public schools. Her experiences formed the basis for her 1965 best-selling novel “Up the Down Staircase.” She also published several other works and in her nineties taught a class on Jewish humor at Hunter College. In 1940, Ms. Kaufman married Sydney Goldstine and the couple had two children; they divorced in the 1960s. She married a second time, to Sidney J. Gluck, who runs the Sholem Aleichem Memorial Foundation.
- Nationality
- Germany
USA - Birthplace
- Berlin, Germany
- Places of residence
- Odessa, Ukraine, Russian Empire
Kiev, Ukraine, Russian Empire
Bronx, New York, USA - Place of death
- Manhattan, New York, USA
Members
Reviews
I can NOT believe I have missed this 1964 classic until now. But... I know that I have an appreciation for this book after five years of teaching under my belt that I never would have before. Wow. Just wow. This book started out as a short story entitled "From a Teacher's Wastebasket," and the author was nudged to turn it into a book at the urging of an editor. What emerged was the correspondence, student contributions, administrative memos, board of education communications of Sylvia show more Barrett, a first year high school english teacher in New York City. The style of the book ("weird-looking typographically") was groundbreaking in the 1960s, but could be any book's today: a collection of typed and handwritten -- complete with doodles and embellishments -- notes and directives. While the style doesn't seem all that odd to a 21st century reader, unfortunately neither do teaching conditions and the state of education. OMG, truly not much has changed in the 60+ years since the book was written. The only thing that truly dates it is a broken foot, which lands the sufferer in the hospital for some weeks!
From Ms. Kaufman's preface:
Some reviewers paid me the ultimate compliment: They thought I had merely collected and arranged the material in the book. But the novel is invented -- except a few directives from the Board of Education, which I had to tone down for credibility (emphasis mine). I made up reports, memos, notes, records, forms, announcements, confidential files of the school nurse and the school psychologist, class minutes, lesson plans, administrative circulars, and comments from the kids themselves. All of it sounded so authentic that I was delighted to learn that when the assistant principal of my former school sent directives to his teachers, he would add in red pencil, "Do not show this to Bel Kaufman."
I loved it. LOVED it. I laughed frequently, cried a lot (sometimes because the book was sad), and fell in love with the students. Ms. Kaufman absolutely "got" them, and their voices, channeled through her, were brought to glorious life by Barbara Rosenblat in one of the best narrations I've ever heard. show less
From Ms. Kaufman's preface:
Some reviewers paid me the ultimate compliment: They thought I had merely collected and arranged the material in the book. But the novel is invented -- except a few directives from the Board of Education, which I had to tone down for credibility (emphasis mine). I made up reports, memos, notes, records, forms, announcements, confidential files of the school nurse and the school psychologist, class minutes, lesson plans, administrative circulars, and comments from the kids themselves. All of it sounded so authentic that I was delighted to learn that when the assistant principal of my former school sent directives to his teachers, he would add in red pencil, "Do not show this to Bel Kaufman."
I loved it. LOVED it. I laughed frequently, cried a lot (sometimes because the book was sad), and fell in love with the students. Ms. Kaufman absolutely "got" them, and their voices, channeled through her, were brought to glorious life by Barbara Rosenblat in one of the best narrations I've ever heard. show less
Way back in the mid-1960s, Bel Kaufman's unorthodox novel “Up the Down Staircase” (1964) was the hottest book in America. Does it hold up more than 60 years later? Well, yes it does, I discovered.
Kaufman, herself a New York City school teacher, imagines Sylvia Barrett as an idealistic young English teacher in her first semester at Calvin Coolidge High School in New York. What's unorthodox is the author's telling of her story without any narrative whatsoever. The novel is simply a show more collection of memos, announcements, notes, blackboard scribblings, student excuses, etc.
The frustrations Sylvia endures comes as much from the school's administrators as from her students. She writes in a letter to a friend, "We have keys but no locks (except in the lavatories), blackboards but no chalk, students but no seats, teachers but no time to teach."
Humor stays plentiful, as when one of her students leaves her a note saying, "You are my most memorial teacher, you teach a subject as fast as it can enter and stay put in my brain." Yet there is as much bitter as sweet, as when a girl attempts suicide and a surly boy corners her in a dark room after school.
Sylvia is pretty — nothing wrong with that, certainly — but Kaufman reminds us of this over and over again until it gets annoying. But perhaps this just helps reveal the immaturity of her students, both boys and girls, who can't resist mentioning it.
Really good books stay good with the passage of time, and I think “Up the Down Staircase” passes this test. show less
Kaufman, herself a New York City school teacher, imagines Sylvia Barrett as an idealistic young English teacher in her first semester at Calvin Coolidge High School in New York. What's unorthodox is the author's telling of her story without any narrative whatsoever. The novel is simply a show more collection of memos, announcements, notes, blackboard scribblings, student excuses, etc.
The frustrations Sylvia endures comes as much from the school's administrators as from her students. She writes in a letter to a friend, "We have keys but no locks (except in the lavatories), blackboards but no chalk, students but no seats, teachers but no time to teach."
Humor stays plentiful, as when one of her students leaves her a note saying, "You are my most memorial teacher, you teach a subject as fast as it can enter and stay put in my brain." Yet there is as much bitter as sweet, as when a girl attempts suicide and a surly boy corners her in a dark room after school.
Sylvia is pretty — nothing wrong with that, certainly — but Kaufman reminds us of this over and over again until it gets annoying. But perhaps this just helps reveal the immaturity of her students, both boys and girls, who can't resist mentioning it.
Really good books stay good with the passage of time, and I think “Up the Down Staircase” passes this test. show less
From the book jacket: Never before has a novel so compellingly laid bare the inner workings of a metropolitan high school. This is the funny and touching story of a committed, idealistic teacher whose clash with school bureaucracy is a timeless lesson for students, teachers, parents – anyone concerned about public education.
My reactions
This is written in a kind of epistolary style – notes in the suggestion box, memos from the school principal or nurse or clerk, letters written to a show more college friend, messages from fellow teachers, items posted on the bulletin board, etc. There are misspellings and doodles (where the kids are writing in the suggestion box or school assignments), ALL CAPS (memos from the “all important” vice principal), and bureaucratic gobbledygook psychobabble (from the school counselor who fancies herself a Freudian psychoanalyst). Guess we can be thankful that Kaufman wrote this before texting abbreviations! It makes for a fast and very engaging read, and lends an air of verisimilitude.
The novel crams much truth into this wild ride of a semester’s experiences for this brand new teacher. It’s interesting to watch Sylvia Barrett come to recognize her students’ hidden talents, aspirations and needs. It’s also interesting to witness her growth as a professional educator, how she learns the ins and outs of the system, whom to trust, where to seek mentoring, and determining where her future lies.
I loved the way her students interpreted the classics! Some were hilariously off the mark. But many were poignant and reflected their modern-day experiences.
Some of these students have heartbreaking back stories. Children having to take on responsibility for ailing parents and younger siblings, or fearing for their own safety. Kids facing homelessness, tempted by gangs, or struggling with prejudice or bullying. Girls worrying about their appearance; boys concerned with looking tough. As in real life, this good teacher managed to connect to a few of these students, and tragically lost others.
Hard to believe this was written in the ‘60s and still stands up today. I’ve never seen the movie, but am tempted to track it down. show less
My reactions
This is written in a kind of epistolary style – notes in the suggestion box, memos from the school principal or nurse or clerk, letters written to a show more college friend, messages from fellow teachers, items posted on the bulletin board, etc. There are misspellings and doodles (where the kids are writing in the suggestion box or school assignments), ALL CAPS (memos from the “all important” vice principal), and bureaucratic gobbledygook psychobabble (from the school counselor who fancies herself a Freudian psychoanalyst). Guess we can be thankful that Kaufman wrote this before texting abbreviations! It makes for a fast and very engaging read, and lends an air of verisimilitude.
The novel crams much truth into this wild ride of a semester’s experiences for this brand new teacher. It’s interesting to watch Sylvia Barrett come to recognize her students’ hidden talents, aspirations and needs. It’s also interesting to witness her growth as a professional educator, how she learns the ins and outs of the system, whom to trust, where to seek mentoring, and determining where her future lies.
I loved the way her students interpreted the classics! Some were hilariously off the mark. But many were poignant and reflected their modern-day experiences.
Some of these students have heartbreaking back stories. Children having to take on responsibility for ailing parents and younger siblings, or fearing for their own safety. Kids facing homelessness, tempted by gangs, or struggling with prejudice or bullying. Girls worrying about their appearance; boys concerned with looking tough. As in real life, this good teacher managed to connect to a few of these students, and tragically lost others.
Hard to believe this was written in the ‘60s and still stands up today. I’ve never seen the movie, but am tempted to track it down. show less
I'm not usually a big fan of the epistolary style, but Kaufman makes it work beautifully in Up the Down Staircase. I'm always (this is my second read? third?) startled by how much I connect with Sylvia's students even though we only see them through little snippets of their writing and through Sylvia's letters to her friend. The final moment with Joe Ferone is heartrending. Excellent depiction of the hardships and the joys of teaching, with a predictable but believably-rendered outcome. I show more boggle at administrative life before the advent of electronic mail (I date myself as a young'un, I know)--imagine sending a conventional memo to several hundred people that says only "Ignore the bells." And then sending several more memos to all those people later in the day. And then again tomorrow. And the next day. I mean, the paper. show less
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