In the Name of Sarah Pogford Author:Jon Edward Jordan Everyone knows Tucker Harding practically raised himself. They also know he's brighter and more imaginative than his fellow students. What no one understands is why he's now getting into fights, not keeping himself clean and having trouble communicating even with his old friends. Has puberty just finally set in, or is he becoming a danger to his... more » fellow students?
Joanne Davies, Tucker's English teacher, is part of a new breed of teachers who would be willing to forgo a bit of discipline in exchange for real growth. When Joanne is sent on medical leave due to a difficult pregnancy, she asks specifically to be replaced by Elda Graf, an old substitute teacher that she has met recently. As a young woman, Elda had also been a cutting-edge teacher with radical ideas; but, she stopped teaching 30 years ago when she was wrongly blamed for the death of one of her students. The tragedy and the accusations may have killed Elda's hope for the future, but nothing could destroy her love of children and education. However, in order to survive the trauma of what she's been through, she has retreated into a fantasy life where everything seems to be just like it was before her fall: complete with her dark blue teacher's uniform and a beehive hairdo, which she takes great care to keep vertical.
With Tucker facing a violent end and Elda's life withering into nothing but a reflection of the past, perhaps only the two of them have what it will take to save the other the two of them and a mysterious little girl named Sarah Pogford.« less