Mtg. 4: Jan-Feb

Summary: Esme turns the tables and has a disruptive student assume her teaching duties. A few entries later, her students stab a substitute teacher in the back - literally. The war between Esme & her nemesis-principal escalates. She ends the month by teaching kids the "distributive cha-cha."

Meeting #4: Tuesday, March 17

Read the entries for January-February, pages 73-115.

Mtg. #2: November-December

Esme tells us of her classroom activities: Halloween, a visit from an author, and her Cajun Christmas assembly skit. Esme tries to stop her classroom library books from disappearing by requiring that kids leave her a shoe when they want to read a book.

We get an insight into Esme's chilhood as she tells us the origin of her moniker, "Madame Esme." We find that Esme was raised in a text-rich environment, which was not always appreciated by those around her.

Throughout these pages, Esme's nemesis-principal escalates his harrassment and disapproval of Esme's methods. On page 52, Esme says to Mr. Turner, "'I don't work for you, I work for the children.'"

...what a great place to start our discussion! See you Tuesday, Feb. 17, in the Board Room.

Meeting #2: September & October

Esme sets up her first classroom very creatively and discusses her feelings and words to students on the first day of school. She tells us about some of the personalities in her class as well as their parents. She deals with the theft of classroom books and tells us abou her 'secret favorite.' Esme starts an after-school book club.

What did you learn about Esme's teaching style as you rad about how she sets up her classroom and introduces herself to her students?

How would you have handled the theft of classroom materials? Do you agree or disagree with the way she disciplined her class?