My Teacher Flunked the Planet

I just re-read this book after not having read it for about ten years. I used to read this book ALL THE TIME when I was a kid--I probably read it more than 15 times when I was between the ages of 11 and 13 or so.

Reading it just now, I began to wonder if this book has anything to do with why I am fairly social justice-oriented today. It deals with some pretty heavy stuff for a kids' book--famine, wars, poverty, the human condition as a whole--and has some pretty graphic images (though nothing I would say that kids shouldn't know about). One particular image that takes place in a refugee camp in Africa has been firmly etched in my mind since the first time I read it, and is an image that still comes to my mind every so often, even after show more I hadn't read the thing for ten years.

Reading it today, I enjoyed looking at the story through my older, more enlightened eyes. Having my own personal opinions on why humanity is screwed up to the degree that it is, I was surprised by some of Coville's ideas. For example, I tend to chalk up our wars and violence to an evolutionary "eat or be eaten" kind of instinct--one that we as sentient beings can certainly overcome, as we've overcome other instincts, but one that exists in our genes nonetheless. Coville, though, seems to believe (if we take this book as an indication of such) that this tendency in humans is unnatural, and that if there is life on other planets, they would have surely evolved differently. It definitely puts a new spin on things I haven't reconsidered recently. After all, who is to say that this IS natural?

The ending is great, very deep for what you typically get out of a kids' book. It delves into some pretty abstract ideas that you definitely don't encounter a lot in mainstream Western culture, like telepathy and interconnectedness. The buildup to this ending spans throughout the series, though most of the substance and philosophy is in this book, which makes it a very interesting, enjoyable read. Highly recommended, to kids and adults alike. show less

Seventh-grader Peter Thompson and his friends, Susan Simpson and Duncan Dougal, have had some pretty startling experiences over the past year. For instance, several of their teachers have turned out to be aliens, on Earth to investigate our species and our culture. Along the way, they've experienced some pretty weird effects of the aliens' technology first-hand. Now they've been kidnapped by the aliens, and learned where all this has been headed.

The alien are trying to decide whether it's safe to let humans continue to advance our technology and emerge into the galaxy, or whether it would be the safer and wiser choice, given how violent we are even towards each other, to destroy us now before we can do any damage outside our own system. show more The consensus is tilting pretty heavily toward "wipe them out now."

Peter, Susan, and Duncan, plus three aliens in disguise who have been their teachers, are assigned the task of doing a last in-depth survey of Earth and, if possible, making the case to the galactic council that Earth should be spared. As they travel to some of Earth's worst hotspots of war, poverty, famine, and disease, they see horrors that it's several times observed really shouldn't be seen by children.

One of their discoveries is that, for all their non-interference stance, at least one alien has meddled in Earth's development in a way that had major consequences.

But they are children old enough to understand the issues involved, while still young enough, unlike adults to be open to seeing that things can be different. And at each of these terrible sites, they also see people trying to make things better.

They also each individually have experiences that shake up their understanding not only of their world, but of their own understanding of their individual lives.

The question is, can they both believe in their own world's capacity to grow, and make a convincing case to the galactic council that it should be allowed to?

It's an exciting, fun, enlightening story, well-performed by the Full Cast Audio narrators. show less

My Teacher Flunked the Planet is the last book in the My Teacher Is an Alien series. I don't have the earlier books, but that did not prove to be a significant impediment to enjoying this book due to the concise summary of previous events at the start of the book.

Peter, the human protagonist of the book, having previously uncovered the fact that reasonably benign aliens have replaced some of his teachers, left Earth to learn from the aliens, had his brain removed, studied and replaced, learns that the Intergalacatic Council of aliens has come to believe that humans are too dangerous to allow into space, and will either have their technology cut off, or simply be eliminated. Peter, and two other human children from earlier books - the show more smart and sweet Susan, and the former bully turned supergenius Duncan - are sent to Earth with three aliens to find a way to prove to the council that humanity doesn't deserve to be eliminated.

At this point, Coville lays on some fairly heavy handed social commentary, as the kids are whisked about the world to witness the worst humans can offer - war, famine, cruelty, indifference, and so on. Duncan is found by the police and taken away from the group, triggering nasty anti-alien riots. (One oddity in the book is that apparently making Duncan a supergenius also made him nicer, which I don't think follows. Sure, the book gives lip service to the idea that making someone smart doesn't necessarily make them nice, but Duncan, in practice, seems to have been reformed by his brain enhancement. Of the messages contained in the book, I'm least comfortable with the idea that smarter people are nicer).

Just when everything seems lost, Coville throws in what seems to be a deus ex machina ending, as the root cause of humanity's violence and anger is revealed - and it turns out it really isn't our fault. This, to me, undermines the plot of the book: humans aren't redeemed by anything we do, we are redeemed because we have special powers that were previously undiscovered. The message of the book, showing the human costs of violence and indifference, and that humanity is (or should regard themselves as) interconnected, is laudable. Oddly, for a book that deals with such a serious subject, the book is quite humorous too. But the clumsy execution at the end of the book reduces what could have been an excellent book to merely an average one.

This review has also been posted to my blog Dreaming About Other Worlds. show less

I read this book a long, long, long time ago as a kid. The most distinct thing I remember about this book is the cover, which is how I knew I had read this book. I think I got this book as a present or hand-me-down as a kid, and I'll be damned if I remember any more details about this book other than one of the kids (maybe both of them) being shown things that were really good and really bad.

I am giving this book 4 stars because one thing I DO remember is that I didn't get any negative impressions or was bored/hateful of this book. I hope to come across it again some day so I can read it and appreciate it from an adult perspective.

Gonna be honest here, I did not see the ending conclusion they made about humans coming. An interesting end to a kid's SF series.

This is a sci-fi sequel to My Teacher is an Alien. Seventh-grader Peter, travels around with two of his friends and three aliens. The aliens are apparently decideing whether or not to leave earth alone. In the end, Peter asks he council to send teachers to earth.

I am not a big science fiction fan anyway, but this book almost repelled my attention. I could not get into it at all.

I would probably not use this in the classroom, but if I did I would have students illustrate a scene from the book.

IS THIS STILL A CHILDRENS BOOK?? wtf