Small Victories - by Samuel G Freedman (Paperback)

About the Book

Small Victories is the story of one incredibly dedicated teacher and the struggles she and her students face both inside the classroom and out. is a book with important lessons for anyone concerned about the quality and state of education in America today. Nominated for the National Book Award for nonfiction for 1990.

Book Synopsis

Small Victories is Samuel Freedman's remarkable story of life on the front lines in the sort of high school that seems like a disaster with walls--old, urban, overcrowded, and overwhelmingly minority. Seaward Park High School, on Manhattan's Lower East Side, has been ranked among the worst 10 percent of high schools in the state--yet 92 percent of its graduates go on to higher education. The reason is dedicated teachers, one of whom, English instructor Jessica Siegel, is the subject of Freedman's unforgettably dramatic humanization of the education crisis. Following Siegel through the 1987-88 academic year, Freedman not only saw a master at work but learned from the inside just how a school functions against impossible odds. Small Victories alternates Jessica's experiences with those of others at Seaward Park, and as we cone to know intimately a number of the astonishing students and staff, Small Victories reveals itself as a book that has the power to change the way we see our world.

Review Quotes

"Vivid, powerful prose...a book of major significance."-- Robert Coles, "Chicago Tribune""A powerful tale, beautifully and subtly told...splendid."-- Aric Press, "Newsweek""An upbeat book about triumphing against the odds...The victories seem large indeed.""-- Time"