if i can do it, you can. >> mr. smoot, i guess i want to give a pitch for good teachers, not great teachers. and i think a public school situation where somebody might have a class with 150 students a day and they are struggling and trying to be the best teacher there can. and maybe they have moments where their great teacher but on the whole they can be a good teacher and maybe we can create an environment where instead of classes with 80 students than they could make it as a good teacher, not to kill themselves, the time grading papers, not to spend their life always evaluated on test scores. and if we could create this environment were a good teacher could be successful, i think this is what like a public school system would need. what is your response to that? >> well, i think that's very well fed. and it ain't your point is deeply true about teaching and about many things in life. i mean, it's true. we can't all be martin landau or ron washington. and i do think that in some ways the function of being able to admire

if i can do it, you can. >> mr. smoot, i guess i want to give a pitch for good teachers, not great teachers. and i think a public school situations where somebody might have five classes, 150 students a day, and that they are struggling and trying to be the best teacher they can, and maybe they have teachable moments where they're great teachers, but on the whole, they are a good teacher. and that maybe we could create environments where, instead of five classes, maybe for classes with 80 student, and they could make it as a good teacher, not have to kill themselves, you know, with time grading papers, not spend a life being always if i'd waited on test scores, and that if we could create this environment where a good teacher and be successful, i think this is what, like a public school system would need. what is your response to that? >> well, i think it's very well said. and i think your point is, is deeply true about teaching, and about many things in life. i mean, it's true, we can't all be martin landau. or ron washi

mr. smoot spoke at books inc in berkeley california. >> thank you for coming. and i would like to thank books books inc for having me. independent bookstores are a very important part of every community, so come back often. i want to start by just saying a word about how i wrote this book. its origins go far back into the 70's when i was a graduate student at chicago and i discovered the works of studs terkel. how many of you have ever read in yet studs terkel's books? great. so as you know, he was this wonderful radio journalist who started doing books of interviews with people. the one i referred to think was division street and soon after that, his book borking interviews with people about their jobs. and at some points over the decades, i remember thinking i wish he would do a book of interviews with teachers. i was a teacher, my mother was a teacher and i thought it would make a great book. and sometime a few years back, i read in the paper that he was in failing health and obviously would do no more books and he's since passed away. and so at some point -