Are you sick of classroom management advice that doesn’t match your daily existence or address the realities of the classroom? In this helpful new book, renowned educator Larry Strauss provides an honest examination of the challenges we face as high school teachers, not the least of which are the minds and temperaments of teenagers, the kind of empathy that can meet the most daunting teaching conditions, and the commitment required of us to succeed—but also the profound rewards of achieving that success.

Strauss provides meaningful ways for teachers to forge their path to success and have a lasting impact on students. Topics include getting to know and love your kids, even—or especially—in their worst moments; practicing intentional fairness and committing to relentless empathy; understanding who teenagers are; focusing on progress; setting modest goals and a vision of the long term; creating authenticity; encouraging kids to speak up; and making differentiation manageable. He also shows you how to stay committed and prioritize your sanity at the same time by overcoming compassion fatigue, getting support, protecting your time, and keeping your sense of humor.

The book offers hope to educators who feel themselves veering toward surrender but are still looking for a path to ultimate success. With honesty, insights, inspiration, and humorous examples, you’ll have a blueprint for a successful and rewarding career in the classroom.

Larry Strauss has taught thousands of children in South Los Angeles since the early 1990s and has mentored dozens of new and struggling teachers since the early 2000s. A National Board Certified teacher since 2003, he created an AP program and an athletic program at his school and saw both programs blossom—and coached an LA City basketball championship team whose coaching staff included the captain of the school’s very first basketball team 23 years earlier. In his youth, he was a New York subway graffiti writer, a stand-up comic, a disco bouncer, and, for two seasons, a writer on the first-generation Transformers cartoon. Bluesky Handle: @Lstrauss