Following the success of the first edition, this revised second edition, brings the reader up-to-date with what it is like to be a teacher in a difficult class, and regularly faced with apathy, defiance and aggression.

Following the success of the first edition, this revised second edition, brings the reader up-to-date with what it is like to be a teacher in a difficult class, and regularly faced with apathy, defiance and aggression. Sadly, numerous government initiatives since the 1998 publication of the first edition have not transformed the situation for teachers in difficult classrooms. Here, Paul Blum explores the impact and consequences of the changes made in the intervening years. Like its predecessor it offers sensible, practical advice, for all classroom teachers, on how to survive and succeed in the face of tremendous difficulty, and this updated edition includes new sections on teaching pupils with low reading ages, and on making the most effective use of teaching assistants.

'[This book] is a treatise offering a coherent, thoughtful and convincing argument bemoaning aspects of our education system that gets in the way of good teaching and giving sound advice about working in that system. It is also a handy reference text which can be dipped into. Used like this, it will become a key and much used component of a teacher's survival kit that will ensure survival and success.' - TES