Narrator: What happens when a teacher is asked to stop using a title that makes her feel regal? For Esme Raji Codell, a first-year teacher in the Chicago public school system, the title was "Madame Esmé." Her principal, Mr. Turner, found it distracting and unacceptable, sending her a memo demanding she use something more conventional. Esme refused. She explained to her students that the title made her feel special, like a queen, and in a moment of playful honesty, one student remarked, "You look like a giraffe." This small act of defiance, this insistence on bringing her own unique personality into the classroom, set the stage for a year of conflict, creativity, and profound connection. This journey is chronicled in her memoir, Educating Esme: Diary of a Teacher’s First Year, which offers a raw, unfiltered look at the chaotic, frustrating, and ultimately miraculous world of a teacher determined to work for the children, not the bureaucracy.

Narrator: From her first interview, Esme Codell established that she was not a conventional educator. When asked about her discipline style, she stated simply, "It means I say what I mean and I mean what I say." This direct, no-nonsense philosophy was rooted in the mentorship of a veteran teacher named Ismene, who taught her that sometimes unconventional methods are necessary to reach students. However, this approach immediately put her at odds with the school's administration.

Her proposal for a school-wide "Fairy Tale Festival," a creative and engaging way to promote literacy, was met with skepticism and bureaucratic roadblocks from colleagues and administrators who saw it as unrealistic and too much work. The most telling conflict was the "Madame" controversy. The principal's attempt to strip her of this self-appointed title escalated to threats of legal action. Esme, undeterred, contacted the ACLU, reinforcing her belief that teachers should have the autonomy to express their individuality. These early battles illustrate a central theme of the book: the struggle of a passionate, creative educator against a system that often prioritizes conformity over genuine student engagement. Esme’s core belief was that she worked for the children, a principle she defended even when it meant directly challenging her superiors.

Narrator: In a school with limited resources, Esme demonstrated that a teacher's greatest tool is their imagination. To make history come alive, she constructed a "time machine" from an old refrigerator box, aluminum foil, and a police car light. She built anticipation for weeks, leaving the machine in the classroom with mysterious signs. When it was finally time, the students were captivated. The first student to use it, JoEllen, spent thirty minutes inside and emerged breathless, describing a medieval joust in vivid detail. Soon, every student was eager for their turn, and for the rest of the day, they traveled through time, their belief in the machine absolute.

Esme’s creativity also extended to discipline. When a student named Billy Williams was constantly defiant, whining, and disrespectful, she offered him a choice: be suspended, or become the teacher for a day. Billy reluctantly chose to teach. With Esme’s guidance, he prepared lesson plans and struggled to manage his peers. The experience was transformative. He gained a new perspective on the immense challenges of teaching and the importance of respect. These stories show that Esme’s methods went beyond the standard curriculum; she created immersive experiences that fostered not just academic knowledge, but also empathy, accountability, and a genuine love for learning.

Narrator: Educating Esme does not shy away from the immense emotional toll of teaching in an under-resourced urban environment. Esme’s diary reveals her daily struggles with frustration, anger, and self-doubt. In one entry, after a series of minor classroom infractions culminates in her students failing to do their homework, she loses her composure and threatens to rip a student's tongue out. She immediately recognizes her failure, reflecting on the emotional burnout that can lead teachers to misdirect their anger.

The book also shows how Esme empowered her students to navigate their own social conflicts. When a student named Kyle made an inappropriate comment to a girl named Zykrecia, Esme facilitated a conflict resolution meeting. Instead of imposing a punishment, she created a space for Zykrecia to confront Kyle directly. "I didn’t like it when you said you were going to take me doggy style," Zykrecia stated calmly. "It made me feel angry and upset." The class listened as she explained her feelings, and Kyle, faced with the real-world consequences of his words, was held accountable by his peers. This incident, along with her difficult conversations with the principal about his prejudiced views on Black students, demonstrates that a teacher's job extends far beyond academics. It involves confronting issues of poverty, race, and violence, and requires a deep well of emotional resilience and empathy.

Narrator: While Esme fought constant battles with the administration, her focus remained on her students' progress. This dedication yielded remarkable results. At the end of the year, the school counselor revealed that her class had the best Iowa reading and math scores in the school, with nearly every student jumping at least one grade level. Yet, for Esme, the true measure of her success was not in test scores, but in the small, personal moments of growth.

This is poignantly illustrated when she learns why one of her students, Latoya, is consistently late. Instead of scolding her, Esme pulls her aside and asks what is wrong. Latoya explains that she is living in a shelter and must take her younger sister there first before taking the train to school. Humbled, Esme realizes the immense hurdles her students overcome just to be in her classroom. She learns that understanding a student's individual circumstances is paramount.

Years later, attending her former students' eighth-grade graduation, Esme reflects on a lesson from her mentor: "The difference between a beginning teacher and an experienced one is that the beginning teacher asks, ‘How am I doing?’ and the experienced teacher asks, ‘How are the children doing?’" Watching her students on stage, she feels an almost psychotic connection, realizing that their futures are intertwined with hers. Everything they become, she also becomes. This profound realization captures the essence of her journey—from a defiant newcomer to an experienced educator who understands that the real legacy of teaching lies in the lives it shapes.

Narrator: The single most important takeaway from Educating Esme is that teaching is not a science of standardized practices but an art of human connection. Esme’s story argues that the most effective educators are not those who follow the rules, but those who are willing to break them in the service of their students. You cannot test for the ability to build a time machine out of a cardboard box, to turn a discipline problem into a lesson in empathy, or to see the potential in a child that the system has written off.

The book challenges us to reconsider what we value in education. Is it quiet compliance and high test scores, or is it the messy, unpredictable, and miraculous process of inspiring a child to learn? Esme’s first year is a testament to the latter, leaving us with the powerful idea that behind every closed classroom door, a teacher’s passion and creativity have the power to create, at best, miracles.