The English Teacher

<p><strong>If his classroom lessons were distilled into commands they would be: observe go deeper be empathetic. His parenting lessons: love pay attention be patient and forgive... [a] moving engaging book. I loved every page. </strong>Debra Spark author of <em>Discipline</em></p><p>Jim Zervanos a seasoned high-school English teacher and father of two embarks on a mission at the cusp of a new school year. He realizes that today's youth are thrust into a tumultuous world and burdened with saving it. To chronicle this extraordinary period in America he assigns himself a unique task: keeping a journal.</p><p> Within its pages we witness his kids grappling with pressing issues like identity politics gun violence and political uncertainty. A sophomore prodigy wrestles his demons onto the pages of his fiction before entering a psychiatric hospital. An estranged junior posts ominous threats on Snapchat while a principal sabotages a student walkout. Meanwhile in his classroom Jim prepares a hiding space for an active shooter event and back home finds solace in the eulogy of his young sons' pet fish sent on its final journey with a flush.</p><p>By year's end Jim unwavering in his determination to inspire hope in his students discovers that it's the youth who inspire hope <em>in him</em>. Their creativity and ideals paint a vivid portrait of an evolving America seen through the kaleidoscope of Generation Z. <em>The English Teacher: A Year on the Brink with Generation Z</em> is an intimate exploration of the challenges resilience and unwavering hope of today's youth in a turbulent world.</p>