Losing My Faculties: A Teacher's Story

by Brendan Halpin

Book Overview

I am just one of those rare and probably defective people who really enjoy the company of teenagers. Brendan Halpin's "It Takes a Worried Man"--a memoir of how he and his family dealt with his wife's battle against breast cancer--was praised for its can-dor, raw humor, and riveting voice. Halpin now turns his unique talent to an unforgettable account of the pursuit of his true calling: teaching. "Losing My Faculties" follows Halpin through teaching...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0812969510
• ISBN13: 9780812969511
• Release Date: August 2004
• Publisher: Random House Trade
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.46 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.2" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

Listen to the Experts - Ask a Teacher

Losing My Faculties By Brendan Halpin Hardly a day passes that we don't read an article or hear a story about schools. Most often, we hear what's wrong with schools. Reports of promised reform and fix-it-once-and-for-all solutions are commonplace. And one has to wonder after a while, if these magical solutions are finally going to fix things, then why do we continue to hear about how bad schools are year after year after...

pegs annoying types as hilariously and truly as sedaris

... this is book is funny and so honest. oh, everyone says "funny" and "honest" about brendan halpin's writing. it's true!i love the way he is able to show us so sharply the kinds of irritating people we all know in our workplaces, and the way he can show how he loves his students without being at all self-aggrandizing.my favorite bit is when brendan is calmed by one colleague's extreme rage, as if there were only a certain...

Recovering Your Faculties

Brendan Halpin's second book is another anguished, hilarious, fast-paced, smart, and brutally honest memoir. The subject this time is his life's work-teaching high school-and the frustrations and joys he experiences teaching in a variety of schools in the Boston area over a nearly ten year period. There is nothing maudlin in his writing, although, if you read between the lines, you quickly realize he is a very compassionate...

Thank you.

I am officially on page 60 and looking forward to the rest of this book. I am 11 years into a career in education, and what I like most about the book so far is that the book is supporting the things that go on in my head and it makes me feel I am not alone. Thank you, Brendan Halpin, for putting a voice to these realities.

Witty/sad musings from a teacher who cares

I don't know how Brendan Halpin does it. Over a period of ten years, working as a high school English teacher in at least three very different educational systems in and around Boston--and faced with occasionally disruptive students, frequently disgruntled fellow staff, and sadistic-and/or-stupid administrators--he nevertheless keeps his cool (for the most part), enjoys his work, and (perhaps most impressive of all) successfully...