Book Nook: The Overly Honest Teacher

As both a teacher and school principal, Meredith Essalat has lived the daily challenges of helping children navigate through their young lives. She has seen the struggles that parents have as they balance longer working hours with the demands of home life. I had a chance to review The Overly Honest Teacher, a book in which Essalat offers hard-won pointers, enabling parents, teachers, and students alike to encourage one another while holding everyone accountable for their actions.

The book was easy to read. The chapters are short and pointed, with anecdotes and examples, and the main nuggets of the chapter broken down at the end, and at a graphic somewhere in the middle. It touches on a. variety of tips that aren't always included in other books about getting your kids ready for school, like remembering to filter yourself in front of your child.

As a teacher, a lot of this book encapsulated things I have said to parents, or wish I had said. It's a great book for all parents - or for teachers who want to make sure they aren't overlooking pointers for how parents can best work with teachers for the education of their children.

Meredith Essalat is a K-8 school principal in San Francisco, Calif. and author of “The Overly Honest Teacher.” With a career in academia that has spanned more than 17 years, she started off in collegiate student activities before moving into both elementary and secondary academic communities. She spent nine years in middle school education as both teacher and Dean of Middle School Curriculum. In each of these opportunities, she witnessed the gamut of the scholastic, social, and developmental experiences of today's student. She possesses a BA in Mass Communication, a California-Clear Multiple Subject Teaching Credential, a M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction, and a second M.Ed. in Educational Leadership. Essalat resides in California with her husband, Cameron. Follow her on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for valuable lessons learned both inside and outside the classroom.