Today it is my immense pleasure to kick off the tour for ‘Crazy Is Normal’ by Lloyd Lofthouse. I have been a fan of his since he published his award winning ‘My Splendid Concubine’. Now with ‘Crazy Ins Normal’, he shares his experience as a high school teacher.

Publisher: Three Clover Press (June 14, 2014)
ISBN: 978-0986032851
Category: Biographies and Memoirs, Educators
Tour Date: October, 2014
Available in: Print & ebook, 386 Pages

Multi award winning author, Lloyd Lofthouse kept a daily journal for one-full school year and that journal became the primary source of this teacher’s memoir.

“Readers who envision eager students lapping up learning led by a Tiger Teacher will be disappointed. Lofthouse presents us with grungy classrooms, kids who don’t want to be in school, and the consequences of growing up in a hardscrabble world. While some parents support his efforts, many sabotage them—and isolated administrators make the work of Lofthouse and his peers even more difficult.

Throughout this memoir, though, Lofthouse seems able to keep the hope alive that there’s a future for each student that doesn’t include jail—thanks in large part to his sixth period journalism class and its incredible editor, Amanda.” – Bruce Reeves

Watch the Interview:

My Thoughts:

Lloyd Loftouse was a teacher in a Los Angeles inner city high school called, Nogales.  This was one of the toughest neighbourhoods in LA with some children who didn’t know where there next meal will come from and street gangs.

Lofthouse kept a detailed journal of his time teaching their and is what his memoir ‘Crazy Is Normal’ is based on.  He had a lot to deal with and tried to help studens learn, even the ones who didn’t want to.  He encountered a lot of behavioural problems in students and the school’s protocol  what to write them up and send the to BIC (Behavior Improvement Center), a in-house suspension center. He was also required to phone parents each time their child was sent to BIC.

When he called parents many were not home and didn’t call back.  There were a few he was able to talk to.  Yet, it seemed like only a few took an interest in their child’s education.

The same kids kept getting sent there for all kinds of infractions.  It seemed like Lofthouse spent more time dealing with behavor problems than teaching.  This really was unfair to the few kids who really wanted to learn, yet he had no choice.  From reading his memoir I had no hope for most of those kids who made no attempt to learn and who spent most of their time in BIC.

Yet Lofthouse did give us hope for some of the kids.  He was also the supervisor of the school newspaper, Scroll.  The kids that worked on the paper were mostly the cream of the crop.  Take the newspaper’s editor, Amanda.  A senior who took her job seriously.  Lofthouse was able to leave just about everything to her and knew that she would talk with him if their were any problems.

Working as a school teacher is hard work and long hours, especially in an inner city school setting.  Lofthouse took a lot of work home, such as grading papers.  He also volunteered with the school hiking club, taking kids on hikes.  You could tell he was a teacher who really cared about the future of his students.

It is apparent the Lloyd Lofthouse has big opinions of what is wrong with today’s education and how to fix it.  I encourage anyone interested in reading his opinions to follow his website: http://crazynormaltheclassroomexpose.com/ and join the discussion.

‘Crazy Is Normal’ by Lloyd Lofthouse is a well written and engaging expose’ of a high school teacher.  I highly recommend reading ‘Crazy Is Normal’ to get a real taste of what it is like to be a school teacher in an inner city school and all the bureaucracy  that comes with it.  I believe that knowing what a teacher is up against is a first step in solving the problem with education.

5/5

I received the ebook version for my honest review.

About Lloyd Lofthouse:

Little did Lloyd Lofthouse know in 1999, when he married Anchee Min, that he was beginning a journey of discovery. His first trip to The Middle Kingdom was on the honeymoon with his bride, who introduced him to China and Robert Hart (1835-1911), the main characters in Lloyd’s first two novels, My Splendid Concubine and Our Hart. The next decade was a journey of discovery. Lloyd now lives near San Francisco with his wife–with a second home in Shanghai, China.

Lloyd earned a BA in journalism in 1973 after fighting in Vietnam as a U.S. Marine. While working days as an English teacher, he enjoyed a second job as a maitre d’ in a multimillion-dollar nightclub. His short story, A Night at the ‘Well of Purity’ was named as a finalist for the 2007 Chicago Literary Awards.

Lloyd has won 15 awards for My Splendid Concubine and 5 awards for Running With the Enemy.

Website: http://lloydlofthouse.org/
Author’s Den: http://www.authorsden.com/lloydlofthouse

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lflwriter
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lloyd-Lofthouse/168775989838050
Google+: https://plus.google.com/116728680363586998839/posts

‘Crazy Is Normal’ will be on sale for only $0.99 from October 1-November 15, 2014 on Kindle!

Buy ‘Crazy is Normal’:

Amazon

This book giveaway is open internationally however only the U.S. and Canada qualify for print.  An international winner will receive ebook.  This giveaway ends on November 12, 2014.  Please use Rafflecopter to enter.

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Follow the Tour:

Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus Oct. 1 Review & Giveaway
Inspire to Read Oct. 2  Guest Post & Excerpt
Cassandra M’s Place Oct. 6 Review & Giveaway
Pinky’s Favorite Reads Interview & Excerpt
Dr Bill’s Book Bazaar Oct. 8 Review
Being Tillys Mummy Oct 9 Guest Post & Excerpt
Unselfish Oct 13 Review
Back Porchervations Oct 14 Review, Interview, & Excerpt
Sincerely Stacie Oct. 15 Review           
Heck Of A Bunch Oct. 17 Review & Giveaway
Books, Books & More Books Oct 21 Review
Rockin’ Book Reviews Oct 22 Review, Interview, and  Excerpt
The Book Binder’s Daughter Oct. 23 Review & Interview
The News in Books Oct. 29 Review & Guest Post
M. Denise Costello Oct. 30 Review & Excerpt
DWD’s Reviews Oct 31 Review
She Treads Softly Nov. 3 Review          
CelticLady’s Reviews Nov 4 Review      
My Devotional Thoughts Nov. 5 Review & Excerpt
Manic Mama of 2 Nov. 6 Review & Excerpt
Deal Sharing Aunt Nov 7 Review, Interview, & Excerpt
What U Talking Bout Willis? Nov 10 Review & Excerpt
From Isi Nov 11 Review