Up the Down Staircase

infobox Book |
name = Up the Down Staircase
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption =
author = Bel Kaufman
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country = United States
language = English
series =
genre = Novel
publisher = Barker Pub
release_date = 1965
media_type = Print (Hardback & Paperback)
pages = 340 p. (hardback edition) & 368 p. (paperback edition)
isbn = ISBN 0-06-097361-7 (paperback edition)
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"Up the Down Staircase" is a humorous novel written by Bel Kaufman, and published in 1965.

Plot summary

The plot revolves around Sylvia Barrett, a young idealistic high school English teacher who hopes to nurture her students' interest in classic literature (especially Chaucer) and writing. She quickly becomes discouraged during her first year at a large inner-city school. Frustrated by petty bureaucracy (the name of the novel refers to an infraction one of her students was punished for), the indifference of her students, and the incompetence of many of her colleagues, she decides to leave public school to work in a smaller private setting. Her mind is changed by the realization that she has indeed touched the lives of her students.

The novel is epistolary in form: the plot is advanced largely through memos from the office, fragments of notes dropped in the trash can, essays that were handed in to be graded, lesson plans, suggestions dropped in the class suggestion box, and letters written by Barrett to a friend from college, who chose to get married and start a family rather than pursue a career. The letters serve as a recap and summary of key events in the book, and offer a portrait of women's roles and responsibilities in American society in the mid-1960s as well.

Major themes

The novel is set in Calvin Coolidge High School, a fictional New York City school that is more of a microcosm of the New York City school system rather than one resembling any particular high school or neighborhood. Further, while the school's student population comes largely from a low-income neighborhood, the novel's characters include high-achieving students as well as academic ne'er-do-wells, and teachers who inspire their students along with teachers who detest teaching and their students. Likewise, the book's characters are realistic representations of various personalities and roles one encounters in an urban high school. The novel also shows the reversal of roles in high schools; students can teach their teachers some of the most valuable lessons of their lives. Another theme is everyone has a voice; one must make one's own voice heard. Yet another theme is that one person can make a difference in the lives of one, or many, other people.

Film, TV or theatrical adaptations

The novel has been adapted to film and stage. Tad Mosel wrote the screenplay for the 1967 film version with Sandy Dennis. The play is frequently performed in high school drama classes. The film version was parodied in "Mad (magazine)" under the title "In The Out Exit."

External links

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