A Lamb to the Slaughter: Hope and Defeat in a High School Classroom

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There are few places as perfectly suited to crush idealism and hope as a high school classroom. Yet, every year when September rolls around, another young graduate will face a class of ninth graders, confident that she can “tame the beast.” Ms. Annette Kalin, a young teacher, leaves the relative security of her midwestern community to take on the challenge of teaching in New York City. From day one, a student named Leon challenges her for control of the class. Day after day she comes to school armed with a lesson plan, hoping to make a breakthrough, but each day her hopes are dashed by a class that has mastered the art of the “lesson kill.” The end of the semester approaches, and almost all the students are failing. Annette clings to the naive belief that by making a home visit to talk with Leon’s mom, who never made the scheduled parent-teacher conference, she could change the dynamic in her favor. Instead, she walks into a trap, with tragic consequences.