This is the second book I received from Transworld as part of the Transworld Book Group Reading Challenge.
Teacher, Teacher! is an intriguing insight into the life of a small village school during one acedemic year. Ragley School is situated in North Yorkshire and when the post of headmaster comes up, Jack Sheffield has no hesitation in applying, and is respectfully offered the job.
This book is written in the first person and although not my normal kind of reading material, I have to say I did rather enjoy it. Due to it being based around such a small school, you quickly become familiar with the characters and are able to empathize with them. As in all schools, kids vary both in looks and behaviour as proven in this book. There are those who are fluent readers and writers and those who can barely read a word and whose language is colourful to say the least, but that all adds to the simple humour causing me to laugh out loud on many occasions.....drew a few strange looks from the neighbours when I was reading it in the garden!
It's not until you read a book like this that you realise just how much work is involved in being Head of a school. Jack Sheffield manages extrememly well considering what he's up against. A broken down boiler during winter, irate parents, school plays, a singing caretaker, a school log and an unexpected position in the Ragley Cricket Club all combine to make this a great light-hearted read.
All in all I found this really enjoyable, although I did struggle with the dialogue a little as it was written in Yorkshire eg "Well, ah'll go t'foot of our stairs! An' what y'doing dragging young Mr Sheffield down 'ere t'look at y'blessed carrots" (as quoted from book).....took a bit of getting my head round I can tell ya!
I found myself having to say them out loud but soon got the hang of it.
Full of laughs and short tales, I would recommend this to anyone looking for a light read as it doesn't make your head tick too much but is very enjoyable.
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