"In early 1995, quite deliberately, I stepped down as CEO of H&R Block, where I was making nearly a million dollars a year. I had decided on a higher calling: teaching math to inner-city kids. This is the story of how that decision changed my life and the lives of kids I tried to help." --From the Introduction
Tom Bloch was the successful CEO of H&R Block, the groundbreaking tax organization. The son of the company's founder, he was a happily married 41-year-old executive, but something was missing from his life. After a nineteen-year career at the company, Bloch resigned his position to become a math teacher in an impoverished inner-city section of Kansas City. Stand for the Best follows Bloch's struggles to make a difference for his marginalized students and how he eventually co-founded a successful charter school, University Academy.
But Stand for the Best is more than a memoir of one man's journey; the book also includes lessons learned from Bloch's experience, winning strategies from teachers he has known, valuable approaches for educating students no matter what their circumstances, and a unique model of education for teachers working with inner-city students. Most of all, it shows what can be accomplished when teachers, students, and the community all stand for the best.