**This book was reviewed for Perseus, Da Capo Press via Netgalley.

Schwartz’ poignant book is a testimony to the impact and power a teacher has. Rather than going through the mere drudgery of teaching, day in, day out, Schwartz went out of her way to really get to know her students. Teachers really play the role of psychologist and sociologist, in addition to their 'job’ of passing along information.

Kids of all ages have myriad problems most people either don't know, or don't care about, but those problems, and lack of a positive outlet of release, can lead to all manner of behavioural issues. Children look up to teachers as mentors, and all it takes is one to pay attention, and genuinely care to make a difference. Throughout this book, Kyle illustrates this again, and again, with many different issues. Specific examples of students’ “I wish my teacher knew…” are given, but if you are expecting the whole book to be that, you are destined for disappointment. There are anecdotal stories I found more fascinating than the kids’ submissions, mainly because of the difficulty I had reading the photocopies of the on the Kindle.

📚📚📚📚 Should be required reading for all teachers.

I read this more for my information than for my students'.

As a teacher of 18 years - I was excited to read this book. I teach secondary education but found this book applicable to teachers of all grades. i can't wait to share this title with our reading coach and possibly using it as a book study next year.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my review. At first glance, this may appear to be a book for teachers-and it is, however, I feel the insights gained in this book would benefit parents as well. Such a simple question led to such powerful profound answers. I have used this question as a journal prompt in my classroom and it has been an eye-opening experience for me. Kudos to Kyle Schwartz for thinking of it!

Such an important read for educators. We live in a world where unimaginable challenges face our kids we teach. I think this is a book I will refer to regularly to remember, as I step into my classroom, the objective is not only to tick off the lessons and push kids academically, but to see them wholly, and seek to meet them where they are with love and support.

This book gives such an honest look at why teaching is so hard. This book hits on so many things and points out where our society has dropped the ball for some of these kids. The author goes into detail about poverty, food and housing insecurity, family and personal loss and grief, abuse and trauma. She brings the statistics to life through the words of her students, as they share their answers to her simple writing prompt. This book is a huge eye opener and makes you think. This is an excellent read for anyone.