By Meagan Gillmore
Ed Boland wishes he’d read his book before he began teaching. After more than 20 years in educational administration, much of that time spent helping students from low-income situations improve their education, he decided to help in a more direct way. He wanted to teach. In 2006, after years of juggling work and graduate school, he joined the ranks of public high school teachers in New York City.
Boland chronicles his experiences in his 2016 memoir The Battle for Room 314: My Year of Hope and Despair in a New York City High School (Grand Central Publishing). He spoke with TEACH about reaction to the book, effective classroom management, the limitations and challenges of teaching and the unexpected teachers in his life.
Meagan Gillmore is a freelance writer in Toronto, ON.
