What can a curse, a cup of poison, and a great measure of hate create for anyone’s life? The Hex of Hemlock shows that these things can kill a man’s life or his spirit. What do they have to do with schools in the United States? In case you have not heard the latest condition of the simplified courses, the inept teachers, the shabby buildings, the dated and inaccurate textbooks, the LOW scores of students in the US public schools in the areas of math and science and everything else, you might rush to read this page turner about what’s actually been going on for years in US schools. Joe Bloom, the main character of the book, experiences more unsavory situations about what’s the matter with the schools as anyone ever should. He starts out in Nadir as a teacher and coach and through his continued education and excellent performances moves all the way up the ladder in a school system to understand all facets of running a school system. Joe often wonders whether he’s on a crime detection squad, rather than working as a teacher, principle, and later superintendent of schools. Guns, bullies, sex, violence, uninformed, weak board members—all these things join together to create memorable characters who serve both as defenders and enemies of Joe’s struggle for justice, equality, and excellence in his own performance and those of his students and fellow teachers. The book also deals with the complex subject of evaluating teachers fairly and the question of what part the unions have played in denying students excellences in teachers and courses. You will find this an unforgettable read, and you might even offer to help save our students and schools. We spend more money on prisons in the US than we spend on educating students. What are our priorities? This book also points out that the system needs transmuting at all levels of instruction.

Excerpt from "The Hex of Hemlock"

Mrs. Devaney began at once, “Mr. Bloom, I’m here to tell you that Janie here has been raped by Mr. Gates, the math teacher.”

Shocked, Joe slowly formulated his speech, “Mrs. Devaney, that is a very serious charge to make against anyone-without evidence. Have you any physical proof of this?”

Growing more and more agitated, Mrs. Devaney croaked, “How could I when she didn’t tell me about this till yesterday, and he’s been banging her all year! I noticed something was the matter, and I kept asking her what was wrong. Finally, yesterday, she told me about this Mr. Gates and said she’d asked him for help after school with math problems. So Jane stayed. First, he told her to jump up on his desk, and that creep banged her every time.”

Dumbfounded, Joe could not respond. He had not encountered anything of this magnitude yet. Even Tuck’s peeping at the girls and his messing around with Martha Johnson did not compare to this one. Joe’s mind drifted to his position on better teacher-selection processes-more standards-ethics-but he could not speak for a few minutes.

“Ain’t you hearing what I said! That jerk banged my girl, Janie, and I want something done about it now!”

“Jane, can you tell me exactly what happened?”