Having worked in the education sector this rings lots of bells. Everyone thinks teachers have any easy time. Retraining in your late 50s is a big challenge but yes you bring lots of experience and life to help guide the next generation.
An inspiring and truthful account of leaving journalism to work in education in London.
The frustrations of lock down and still trying to teach via what ever medium works.
It made me smile and reminisce for my days at the front of the classroom.

The premise of this book is explained on the front cover - Lucy Kellaway, the author, does exactly that!
A journalist for the Financial Times for a very long time, she decides to change her life and become a teacher in her fifties. She does indeed buy a house, separate from her husband, let her hair grow out grey and become a teacher.

I didn't know what to expect when I began reading this book, but it grew on me. Lucy has a light hearted, entertaining and pragmatic approach to her life, which makes for easy reading and it is easy to warm to her style of writing. At some points it made me laugh out loud, even though some of the subjects she writes about are thought provoking and also interesting.

She realises that teaching is a difficult and challenging profession, but she rises to the occasion admirably and is happy to share her failures and successes equally. She tells us about the complexities of dealing with a diverse range of students, and how she has to think of issues that she's never had to face before.

She considers how this change of circumstances may have affected her as a person, or not, by canvassing her friends and family for their opinions. Whether or not they feel she may or may not have changed, she eifinitely conveys that her decisions have made her more fulfilled and alive.

This is a good read for anyone who feels the need for a life change! It's uplifting and funny, and I enjoyed it very much.

This was a completely different book from what I normally read and I really enjoyed it. When I read that she threw away her husband’s books that he got sent to review I actually shuddered at the thought. But, this was an interesting book and certainly made me think about things. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

I loved this book. The writing style is really pacey, and it's easy to tell that Lucy Kellaway has a journalism background. The book talks very clearly about the differences in life choices between rich and poor families, and gives examples from the students' perspectives of the factors that effect their lives. It also talks about the realities of being a teacher and how success is measured by exam results. Very moving, and a real eye-opener.

Financial Times journalist Lucy Kellaway changes her life aged 60. She splits up from her husband, gives up her 30-year career and retrains as a maths teacher.
As a 53 year old in a long-term job, I found this endlessly interesting and inspiring.
Not only does Lucy take up teaching, but she marshals other older professionals to give up well-paid jobs and retrain as a teachers too.
Of course her new career isn’t plain sailing: she has to get to grips with new technology and a school where strict discipline is the watch-word for staff as well as pupils.
But Lucy is from a family of teachers and determined to give it her all.
Teaching in a multi-ethnic school, she will have to think about everything from the racist language she carelessly uses to how to deal with parents and poor performance.
Above all, as you might expect, Lucy writes well and this is amusing and full of pathos as well as a fascinating glimpse into a world usually the province of younger staff.
Recommended especially for those who think career changes are for the youngsters!

I enjoyed 'Re-Educated' very much and admire Lucy Kellaway for being brave enough to leave the comfort of the journalist's career she had for thirty years to become a teacher - starting from the very bottom. Her honesty,, humility and humour all shine through in this wonderful book and I would love to have read more of her classroom experiences.

Thank you for the opportunity to read 'Re-Educated'.

An absolute beaut of a read!
I had never heard of the author but I'm glad I read it.
I did very similar myself but in my late 40's and it was fabulous to read about someone else's experience.
It was great.to read.the humour amongst the turmoil ,because it definitely is turmoil, spinning plates.of life.
A great read that I will.recommend.to others and will.read again myself

A very interesting book, and a frightening glimpse into the world of education. The author must be congratulated for hard work and commitment. However, I found her slightly arrogant, and opinionated, which made it hard to sympathise with her. Definitely worth reading though.

In my previous school, I worked with several fantastic Now Teach trainees, teachers who join the profession as a later in life career change. Engineers, journalists, academics, they have a huge wealth of life experience which makes them very different to your fresh-faced twenty something trainee, but no less valued. Due to this, I was fascinated to read Lucy Kellaway's account of not only founding Now Teach but training as a Maths teacher after over 3o years working as a columnist for the Financial Times.

Kellaway documents her changing her life completely: new job, separation from her husband, new house and a new hair cut. We follow her struggles in teacher training, shining a light on what a tough job it can be. Just because she was an incredibly successful journalist, it does not mean she will shine in a classroom with a bunch of disinterested teenagers. It is good to follow her journey and celebrate the small wins alongside her. However, it is incredibly disheartening to see the quality of mentoring in her training year though. (Who gives 23 EBIs for a trainee's first ever lesson?? I doubt anyone's first ever lesson was that great...)

Overall, I enjoyed this and it was a quick read. Ultimately, through, I would have liked slightly more focus on the heartwarming stories of students and their journeys. This is very much centred on Kellaway, but would certainly be inspiring for anyone wanting to find a reinvigorating purpose later in life. 4 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher who provided an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Lucy Kellaway had a comfortable life. For years she had the same prestigious job, the same husband, and the same home. To the casual observer, she was both happy and successful. But one day, Lucy began to realise that the life she had built for herself no longer suited her. Was it too late to start again?

This book is easy to read, funny and hard to put down. I think anyone thinking about changing careers or making a big life decision should read this. This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

An enjoyable read. I found it inspirational and it showed me that getting older doesn't mean losing opportunities - there is always time to make a new start.

I thought this would be interesting as I am a similar age. Apart from learning about what modern day teachers do, I found the book to be somewhat self indulgent. I myself have changed careers and husbands, but would never have thought to write a book about it.

Not for me, but any aspiring teachers of a certain age would, I am sure find it interesting.

I will be honest and never heard of the author before reading this book. I don't buy newspapers and really don't take main stream news as accurate these days. The title of the book drew me in and I really enjoyed the transformation of her life. Very much along the theme of feel the fear and do it anyway, the main body of the book is the transformation and finding joy, the latter part very much trying to understand the UK education.al system. Would generate some excellent discussion and make a good book club choice. Well written, well it should be!, flowed well and a very honest memoir. Thank you #NetGalley and #EburyPublishing for the copy to review.

Like some other reviewers, I loved Lucy Kellaway's columns (and podcast version) in the FT so this was a must-read, as I have been so intrigued by what happened next. I found the book sharp, witty and honest - and it gave me so much food for thought. I loved the mix of personal and professional, and how the author is willing to be self-critical as well as critical of some of the strange, inexplicable policies and experiences she deals with. I'm in my early fifties too and also enjoyed reading about people of my age embarking on a demanding new career.

Back in the day, when I worked at a bank rather than being retired, I used to read the Financial Times six days a week and did so for many years. I considered it the best-written paper in the English language. And the columnist that I enjoyed the most; #1 of the two or three that published columns once a week; and to whom I would turn before reading the rest of the paper, was Lucy Kellaway. If I considered Ms Kellaway the best journalist at the best paper on the planet, did that mean she was the best journalist in the world? Yes, in my opinion. As she writes in this book, she expended “… a prodigious amount of effort in an attempt to make it look effortless.”

I felt bereft when I read her column, announcing her departure from the paper because she had decided, in her late 50s, to become a teacher. Bereft but awestruck – I had recently read that modern teaching in the UK is more akin to crowd-control than it is to the knowledge transfer I received fifty years ago from teachers that we treated with respect.

Ms Kellaway has now written a book about her change of career: how she thought it would be easier than it was; how important teachers are; and how the most important things about teaching are not those she expected. She writes the bitter truth that no-one likes to acknowledge: the most important thing a teacher can do is to help a student pass an exam. “If it’s a teacher’s job to open doors, those doors, under the present regime, are GCSEs.” One would like to think that the teacher has inspired and enthused the pupil; has instilled a lifelong love of the subject. That would be great – but it’s not as important as passing the GCSE because, without the GCSE, the student might be unable to take a particular A-level, Without that A-level, they would be unable to study a specific subject at university – and without that relevant degree, they will be unable to follow the career they desire.

I really enjoyed this book. Lucy’s realisation about how hard it is to teach – and how lucky she is that she has already had a satisfying and financially rewarding career, thus can afford to decline promotions and to only teach three days a week – is gripping. She is brutally honest (as always): “In this new world I’m an innocent and a know-nothing who is stumbling about clumsily.” I also enjoyed the reflective questions: why does one child work and another one doesn’t? Is it possible to change who you are as a result of changing your job?

There is one point that I still find hard to believe: when a teacher is giving a lesson, would a senior teacher really interrupt that lesson and say “You aren’t allowed to teach in backless sandals. Have you got any other shoes in school? Otherwise you must go home and change… Yes, now.” Really? I think “petty-minded and power-mad” are the kindest words that spring to mind.

#Reeducated #NetGalley

Important thoughts on what education means for all of us and the place it should have in our society. Lucy’s decision to change career was brave and inspiring and hopefully this will encourage more people to value the hard work teachers do.

An easy and enjoyable read that I found inspirational - having just turned 40, Kellaway’s story of her later in life transformation certainly gave me the invigorating sense that I have many more chapters in front of me. I didn’t agree with all of her views but the passion behind them is evident and I was willing her on to succeed in her new life. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This is a ripper of a book. It's easy to read, funny and I found it hard to put it down. Although this is focused on making life changes in your 50s and 60s. I think anyone thinking about changing careers or making a big life decision should read this. It's a great account of taking a leap of faith. Although, at times I found Lucy sanctimonious, I wanted her to succeed and enjoyed her self-deprecating, critical and honest account. This is a lesson on self-awareness and belief that things will be okay if you put the effort in.

thoroughly enjoyed this book, even if I did find myself regularly asking my kindle to provide a definition of some of the words. The author was a previous writer for the FT and I left this explained the wide use of vocabulary.

She has written about her own life and the changes she made. This was very interesting reading and provides inspiration that to those thinking of a new career path. It is refreshing that the author acknowledges her privilege and wonderful that she is continually prepared to learn/adapt around subjects such as racism.

This was a book I wanted to keep turning the pages on to find out more about the ladies life and also how she got on when she started teaching and how this progressed.

Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

An engaging and worthwhile read relating the true story of Lucy who decides to have a complete change in her life. Certainly interesting from the point of view of a reader who is a little older than the author and admirable in the route Lucy decides to take, teaching. The book does tackle some more serious issues about the privilege of . class, money and ethnicity. There are some interesting observations about education today including discipline and the 'carrot and stick' approach, plus the inside workings of a modern day academy. Also, that teaching and the curriculum focusses too much on academia and results whereas the country is in much more need of practical skills for life, plumbers and electricians rather than investment bankers. The book would also give some hope of a change of direction that, maybe a more mature person may have to take not through their own choice. Overall, a read that would make the reader think of possibilities