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OK, Mount Pleasant: My Journey from Creating a Billion-dollar Company to Teaching at a Struggling Public High School by Steve Poizner was a good enough book. It was illustrative, but not at least to me, very moving. There was nothing to get emotionally invested in.
Steve Poizner, white house fellow, multi-millionaire because of two successful companies which he sold, tries to teach high school for a semester and makes a negligible impact on most of the studentry. There’s the short of it. The book is interesting for Poizner’s thoughts on California’s schoolsystem, but not really for the narration about his teaching high school.
He’s teaching high school seniors and because they are already done with school, (he teaches in the spring semester) they are already such bad students that Poisner can only jog there motivation up about half a notch.
He basically admits this, but its still depressing to hear. Few of his students really cared about the material, and the examination of why they didn’t care was interesting, even if Poisner doesn’t come up with anything new to explain student indifference.
Poizner’s attitude is that he is a dog, and his students are the bone. He tries to get them to care about the government of the country they live in. He throws tons of money into his class, sending them on several trips, lining them up notable public speakers, and they remain indifferent. That’s why the book never got really interesting. I’m not saying that Poizner should be faulted for being unable to motivate twelfth graders about four month’s before graduation, but the fact of the matter is that because he failed to have a stand and deliver moment, the book lacks oomph. “Something I Tried to do, and Achieved Modest Success With,” could have been the alternative title of the memoir.
I guess you should read this book if you want to read to Sir with Love, without the racial tension, truly motivational ending, and sense of atmosphere that to Sir with Love contains.
Its an ok read, but nothing special. Its so not special that I’m not going to bother to link to the Author’s web site. He’s too busy running for governor of California to answer you’re fan mail, anyway.

two and a half stars