Product Description: The author arrived at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego ill-prepared for the training and abuse that awaited him in boot camp. At the time, he would have done anything to escape; only upon reflection years later did he realize that the self-confidence instilled in him by his drill instructors had probably saved his life in Vietnam...read more

When Phil Ball left university with a workmanlike English degree to his name, he wasn't entirely sure what to do next. So like many before him he thought he'd giving teaching a go. Why not? This is the comic story of one man's painfully slow metamorphosis into a teacher and his encounters with other remarkable teachers and pupils along the way.