An excellent collection of observations of the education system. Anyone considering going into education needs to read this book. It was a good reminder for me to question my teaching practices. Baker's observations on how we teach, what we teach, and why we teach resonated with me. Reading the negative reviews, in which there are many, especially from teachers, was surprising. I feel these reviewers have missed the point of the book. His observations are there to see the system from an outsider, a person with zero adult experience in the education system. His observations are enlightening. The numerous examples of the failings of technology, an iPad for every student, being the supposedly saviour of education, needs to be shared widely.

I wavered back and forth between 2 and 3 stars, and ultimately I guess it would be a 2.5. Interesting idea, but very repetitive.

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In sore need of editing and a sensitivity reader. I love the subject, but was weary about a 700+ page book of it. For very good reason.

I liked this at first because it details school from the perspective of a substitute teacher/teachers assistant, and it gave me a glimpse of other teachers’ classroom expectations etc. But that’s all the book is, literally 700+ entire pages that are just descriptions of day to day school activities and conversations. No reflection other than school sucks, over medicating kids sucks, everything sucks. Like if you’re gonna write this many pages at least include some research or analysis and try to understand things from teachers’ perspective too

A very authentic account but without any unifying theme. Through the descriptions of the 28 days I recognized many of my own experiences teaching and as a substitute, but after the first few chapters was left thinking "more of the same."

I had mixed opinions about this book. Part of me was very intrigued by the inside look at a variety of classrooms which gave privy to the conversations that transpire in the course of an average school day. However, I was also frustrated that the author felt the need to document such trivia as every time he took a bite of an sandwich or apple; I'm not sure how that provided context for what was happening in the classroom. I was also frustrated by the inconsistency with which the author provided commentary on his experience: at times his feelings and attitudes were quite clear; other times he appeared as a totally neutral observer.

1.5 stars
I'm a big Baker fan, and was very excited when I heard about this book.
What a disappointment.
It is 28 days worth of journal entries that offer little insight, analysis, or structure.

Many of his implied critiques are the direct result of him being a sub, and not a teacher. ("I wondered if I even taught anything today." Of course you didn't. But that's not an indictment of our schools. That's what happens when a sick person has to make plans for a complete stranger. And the constant comment on worksheets!)

I was also taken aback by the numerous ways he undermined the teachers he was filling in for.

I was very hopeful such a keen observer of the quirks and thoughts of folks would have interesting things to bring to light here. Nope. Just transcripts of what the kids said. And a guy who thinks he knows how to educate kids best because he was a (less than ideal? bad?) substitute for 28 days.

There are interesting, informative, evocative moments. ("I suck at everything.") But far too few to justify over 700 pages.

This book's strength and weakness are pretty much the same thing. You can dip in and out of the story, enjoy a couple of days of teaching and entertaining stories and then go read something else.

What of course stands out in the story is how little training substitute teachers get in Maine and, no, I don't imagine that it's the only state doing this. Everyone's just trying to get through the day and maybe teach the kids a little something in the meantime. Nicholson Baker is open to whatever he needs to do, he listens, he asks the kids questions about curriculum, scheduling, homework because there's a shortage of adults to let him know what's next. The kids are pretty helpful, and he buzzes along. It seems that Baker is a big guy, and his class days with second graders and their tiny desks are pretty funny. I'd forgotten how together many second graders are.

I'm still dipping in and out of this book, and I recommend "Substitute" for just that. Baker's a good writer and the students and faculty are immediately real and relatable even in the brief time he spends with most of them.

Public school where I live has little in common with what Baker encounters. There's something a little nostalgic about this trip, and for awhile, it was good to be back in the classroom again.

Didn't care for it. Too long by at least several hundred pages, and missing any of Baker's usual mind-expanding digressions into the minutiae of his environment. The book is almost literally just a log of his time as a substitute over the course of a month, detailed day by day, practically down to the minute, with his word-for-word interactions with students and other faculty, descriptions of their inane assignments, etc.

I wanted to laugh more. I wanted to learn more. I wanted to be asked to think about the American school system more and in new ways. But instead I got what amounted to nothing more than in-depth diary entries detailing the ways in which kids can be chaotic toward a substitute in the classroom.