And Gladly Teach

by Brian Libby


Formats

Softcover
$11.95
E-Book
$3.99
Softcover
$11.95

Book Details

Language : English
Publication Date : 1/1/2002

Format : Softcover
Dimensions : 5x8
Page Count : 202
ISBN : 9780759654044
Format : E-Book
Dimensions : E-Book
Page Count : 202
ISBN : 9780759654037

About the Book

Prep schools are quite misunderstood by the general public, which usually sees these private boarding schools for the college-bound as musty bastions of wealth and privilege secure behind vast bank accounts and supportive alumni. They are tranquil islands of scholarly calm amidst the turbulence of the public schools.

Well, it ain’t necessarily so.

St. Lawrence Academy, an Episcopal boarding school somewhere in the Midwest, has a few problems. The Headmaster is a dyslexic incompetent, the athletic program is afflicted with megalomania, the endowment is emaciated, the chaplain is a black magician, the consultants planning the school’s future are insane . . . and the food is really bad, too.

And Gladly Teach is funny, sarcastic, poignant, outrageous, light-hearted, serious, and more realistic than you would wish to believe. It is also short and has a happy ending. It is highly recommended for reading on long plane rides, at the beach, and at dull faculty meetings (as long as you sit way in back so the Headmaster can’t see you.) The author, a veteran (and completely burned-out) history teacher, hopes the book sells so well that he can retire early.

http://andiriel.blogspot.com


About the Author

Brian A. Libby was born in Maine in 1949. He was educated at Cheverus High School in Portland (a Jesuit day school), Johns Hopkins University, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and Purdue University. He received his doctorate in History in 1977, his main fields being European military and diplomatic history.

After a year of complete unemployment he began teaching European history at Shattuck-St. Mary’s School in Faribault, Minnesota. He arrived just in time to take a minor part in the revolution which overthrew the Headmaster. In subsequent years he was named department chair, was twice nominated by his colleagues for the ISACS distinguished teacher award, received the Board of Trustees Meritorious Service Award, and was named the first holder of the newly-endowed Cochran-Lang Chair in History. His proudest moment, however, came in 1984, when his students secretly collected contributions and presented him with a Franklin Mint replica of the sword which Napoleon had with him at Waterloo (in his carriage, intending to wear it upon his triumphal entry into Brussels, but something went wrong.)

By 1998 Dr. Libby’s career has reached such a height of success and accomplishment that he suspected he was approaching a nervous breakdown, so he went part-time and began to write. If enough people buy his books (or should he win the state lottery), he will be able to realize his current dream of leaving the educational profession completely.

Brian Libby’s avocations include computer gaming and classical music. His favorite composer is Handel. Both he and Handel are unmarried.