Be Honest
The newest book from 826 National, the celebrated organization founded by Dave Eggers and Nínive Calegari, co-authors of the bestselling Teachers Have It Easy—a much-needed addition to the current national conversation about our schools
“826 helps young people learn that language can be play, that work can be joyful, and that they themselves can be the inventors and caretakers of their world. I have seen it with my own eyes. 826 is a good thing in a world of bad things, and a good place in a world of hard ones.” —Michael Chabon, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
Be Honest is the newest innovative publishing project from 826 National, the tutoring center founded by bestselling author Dave Eggers, now with branches in eight cities nationwide. Eggers’s co-founder Nínive Calegari, the former CEO of 826 National and a co-author of the bestselling Teachers Have It Easy, presents a riveting book full of surprising insights from young people who have a lot to say to their teachers.
Be Honest presents the first-person stories of dozens of high school students from every ethnic group and financial bracket: a girl from an immigrant family is put in an ESL class even though her English is fluent; an African American boy talks about the social pressures that prevent him from asking his teacher for help; and a privileged private school student describes his transition to public school—and reports that he was able to learn more with the increased freedom it brought.
Through these personal narratives, teachers and activists will learn an invaluable lesson: what the classroom looks like from the other side of the desk.
