Peggy Mastel

What if, in order to survive, you were thrown into a teaching job with young children and no training? Recess Is My Best Subject tells the true story of a professional woman who, after a family tragedy, plunges into the world of substitute teaching in the public schools of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. A far cry from the nun-run Catholic school of her childhood, this new world is one shaped by special needs, poverty, and new immigration.

Both heartbreaking and heartwarming, Peggy Mastel’s debut memoir follows her as she dives into the most challenging job of her life and, against all expectations, finds that she is the one doing most of the learning.