Wilson lets us step into his shoes, giving us a brief glimpse at how much the teaching profession is undervalued by the public and at times politicians. Most of us wouldn’t have the patience or stamina to survive the demands on their time. Being a teacher clearly has some powerful rewards, but the observations that Wilson shares, highlights the unacknowledged challenges that teachers deal with on a daily basis. You will laugh along at his misadventures & amusing anecdotes, share his frustration of the damage that is being done by the funding cuts & constant changes to assessments, and well up at the poignant moments when your heart breaks for the author and his friends.

I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect when I requested this book, but I was very glad that I was given a copy as it was insightful and stirred my emotions, which is always a good response.

I loved the cover design as well, it’s very eye-catching.

If only all teachers could be like Ryan Wilson! This is a wonderful book, I loved it. It should be compulsory reading for any incumbent Education Secretary.
This book has short anecdotes about his teaching career, his pupils and his fellow teachers. At times hilarious, other times utterly heartbreaking, this book was so well written it was a joy to read. Although there were many lighthearted stories about the author's time in teaching, it shone a light on so many serious issues that need addressing in today's educational climate. Brilliant read.

Read and reviewed in exchange for a free copy from NetGalley. I really enjoy these fly on the wall memoirs, and it was good to read one about teaching rather than the usual medical ones. Wilson's book was interesting and entertaining, and was relatively easy and quick to read.

I was really looking forward to reading this book but must admit to being a little disappointed. It started off well but I felt there was something missing, maybe it was that the characters were not developed enough.. I found it a little disjointed.
As a teacher I agreed with all the author had to say about Michael Gove after the first few comments I tended to skip any reference to Gove and policies.
I really wanted to like this book and have given it 4 stars but only for the anecdotes.
Thank you Netgalley and Random House for giving me the opportunity to review this book.

A funny interesting account of a newly qualified teacher, the lows and highs of our education system, students, and parents.
A lighthearted view of the work that teachers undertake daily and how this increases as a teacher takes on more responsibility.

Well worth a read.

Reading this was a bit like a busman's holiday but very relatable. It follows the journey from a student teacher through their teaching career.
It has many laugh out loud moments that are totally relatable to in the classroom. It is a poignant reminder about why teachers teach and how much is given to the profession.
It outlines all that is wrong (and much of what is right) in todays education system and the way Education seems to be a political football that gets constantly changed by those that have never taught in their life.
I am in no way politicising the book but every teacher (and I am sure public sector worker) can relate to the constant changes that are often not for the better.
The changes do not overshadow what is a funny and great book and shows the humanity in teaching and the way students can achieve their best with a great guide.

There are plenty of books from people documenting their experiences in previous professions, I have recently read work from a former midwife and a junior doctor.
But when in the early chapters you learn of students latest chat-up techniques, involving finely cutting up pubic hair and Shakespeare being reenacted with rolled up scripts, I suspected that I was on to a winner.
The book is written in short chapters, perfect coffee table material, it never takes longer than a couple of minutes to read a chapter, my only criticism is that on occasions, I would have liked a little more ‘Meat on the bone’.
The book is mainly humorous, but also has its times when it is both poignant and sad.
My favourite tales involved a projection on a face and a special little girl with a water jet.
This book is extremely easy to read as well as giving an ‘insider view’ in the World of education.
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK, Vintage for providing me with an Advance Reader's Copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

This is now the second memoir of a teacher I have read and I have to say that I loved every word. Growing up, school was such a massively formative experience for me in both good ways and bad, well I'm sure it's the same for most people.

I do have very mixed memories about my teachers but I'll be the first to admit that as students, we were very shielded from the pressures that they faced. We were told about Ofsted, when and why they would be in our classes and how important it was to remain 'normal' as they visited our lessons but it wasn't really a big deal to us.
Little did we know how many hoops there were to jump through and how many seemingly random changes were being made to teaching as a profession.

I know the statement "Those who can, do, those who can't, teach" generally paints teachers in a negative light but I think nothing could be further from the truth in real life. It takes a certain kind of love, passion and determinism to become a teacher and stick with it. For me it'll always be one of the hardest (and probably most rewarding) jobs in the world.

I thought this book gave a very interesting insight into what it is like to be a teacher. I didn't appreciate all the work teachers did outside of the classroom. I expected this book to be peppered with comedic anecdotes of classroom antics, but their were only a few. However the stories were very endearing and a more realistic view of teaching. Wilson is very student centred which made this a pleasure to read and made me reassess my time in school. My only criticism is there were a few grammatical errors I felt. Wilson being an English teacher, I expected better. One example is on page 200 when he said" much less good" at recognising faces. Maybe I'm in the wrong here, but the structure of that sentence didn't sound right to me. Overall I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to others.

Ryan Wilson has always wanted to be a teacher. Teaching isn't his second career choice because he 'could not do' or because 'Teach First' came knocking. Wilson is very clear that teaching has always been what he has been aiming for. This book is full of anecdotes and reflections on his ten years teaching secondary school pupils before he decided that he couldn't take it anymore.

Nobody who knows anything about teaching in the UK will be surprised by the troubles Wilson writes about. The statistics, moving targets and report writing that seem to pervade every moment not spent in a classroom. However, Wilson seems to be able to choose exactly the correct stories from his tenure to illustrate his troubles and leave me thinking about them long after I finished his book. His pithy observations and stories make this a very readable book that is perfect for the odd moments in your day when your first instinct is to check Twitter.

Although I enjoyed this book as an insight into the teaching profession I didn't think there was a lot of information in it that was very new to me. I couldn't help comparing it with Kate Clanchy's book 'Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me' which was very divisive when being reviewed but contained more actionable information and insight into how education and society mix. Wilson has written a very palatable book by comparison, but he is helplessly beating against the waves of the system and by the end of the book it's his overwhelming sense of frustration, rather than passion and ideas for change, that I am left with.

'Let That Be A Lesson' is honest, funny and my favourite non-fiction book this year!
'Let That Be a Lesson: A Teacher’s Life in the Classroom' is written by Ryan Wilson a former and experienced teacher based in the UK. Commencing during his year of teacher training, until his year final as a teacher, Wilson discuss both the highs, lows and the many, many varied moments in between. From classic advice such as "Don't smile before Christmas" (and I can confirm that this is TRUE!) to learning how to set appropriate targets, this book is an honest insight into the life of a teacher. Wilson does not attempt to overly dramatise his work, which would be easy or mock a much maligned profession but instead walks that delicate balance of honesty and humour in difficult situations.
Well worth a read, for everyone - whether you are a teacher, parent or otherwise!

In ‘Let that be a Lesson’, Wilson takes us on a humorous journey through the educational landscape, from his career aspirations through the teacher training phase to his classroom management in a complex, often challenging school. At the heart of this book are, quite rightfully, the many different pupils, sensitive yet challenging, demanding yet appreciative, who pass through Wilson’s classroom and to whom he dedicates his career. The book offers plenty of emotional insights and comedic moments as they occur daily in classrooms up and down the country, but also sets out the background shaped by excessive workloads, unreasonable parental demands and insufficient budgets that will sadly be familiar to some teachers who had wanted to make their daily lives all about children. A snapshot of school life in the twenty-first century, this book is a genuine eye-opener and deserves to be read by politicians, Ofsted inspectors, school managers, parents, pupils and members of the public.

Misses the mark! I thought this book was going to be the school version of “this is going to hurt” , it definitely is not. It reads like a collection of anecdotes from a young teacher and even though a lot of insight is given into the British education system, I lost interest very fast and did not feel any connection to the author/narrator. I am not sure if it is the content or the writing but I felt disappointed and disengaged.

As a former teacher, I could easily relate to these tales from the chalkface. Told with a relentlessly upbeat voice, despite the knocks and swings of the profession, I found the book, charming and excruciating in equal measure.
The self-deprecation and humour - much against himself - guided us through the frustrations and joys of teaching, as his idealistic views are shaken up and tempered with the realities of his pupils' lives and expectations. to say nothing of the fluctuating government interventions and diktats. Though made palatable with the sense of humour all teachers adopt for survival, it is an eye-opener for those outside the profession, if only too real for those within it.

It could feel as if the genre of the ‘workplace memoir’ is getting a bit crowded, so I decided to read this one without much of a sense of expectation. How wrong I was! The author’s experiences in both the classroom and the staff room cover the full gamut from hilarity to tragedy and do so with an excellent writing style, a clear sense of compassion and involvement, and a burning desire to see his students and his colleagues in a position to do their absolute best. As a teacher myself I am fully aware of the stresses of the job and the misperceptions that surround it - this book dispels them all with humour, emotional intelligence and a clear understanding of what is wrong in our education system and what should be done to put it right. I hope this book ends up on the desk of every senior politician who has a stake in the education system, and that they read it from cover to cover.

Working in the education field, a lot of this book was very familiar to me, but the bit I really enjoyed more was about the progression up the line towards being in management. It is very good to read the thoughts of those there trying to implement the constantly changing things thrown at them by politicians from course changes, exam changes to budget constraints.

A very good read and highly recommended!

If you think this memoir will be a polemic about the shortcomings of the Department of Education, or whatever Secretary of State is supposing running it, you'll be disappointed.

Written in a series of short essays each of which gives you an insight into the profession he clearly loves, from humorous anecdotes (I particularly like his Ulster accent taken for being African), to the workload that today's teachers now have to undertake.

The account of trying to teach Shakespeare whilst having Richard III performing fellatio projected upon the novice teacher's face is worth the cover price.

Read it and learn from an inspirational educator. I wish my English teacher was as good.

I am married to a teacher, couldn't resist reading this. A very entertaining look at the life of a teacher. I laughed and cried. Highly recommended.

How can this be anything other than 5*? Witty, hilarious, inspiring, frustrating, downright bizarre - too true of any sort of teaching from Primary 1 to University (albeit with slightly different emphases). Should be compulsive reading and examination for all of those politicians who think that they know what education is, and certainly know better than teachers. Think again PLEASE. Thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK, Vintage for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review

Absolutely fantastic - having worked in schools for years every page of this hit home for me. Self deprecating and inspiring in turn, this is a brilliant memoir and a homage to the profession and the students we all support. A must read for anyone thinking of stepping through the doors of a school either as a job or as a parent.