Up the Down Staircase
by Bel Kaufmanliterary work· published 1964
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Up the Down Staircase is a novel written by Bel Kaufman, published on January 27, 1965, which spent 64 weeks on The New York Times Best Seller list. In 1967 it was released as a film starring Sandy Dennis. Sylvia Barrett, an idealistic English teacher at an inner city high school, hopes to nurture her students' interest in classic literature (especially Chaucer) and writing. During her first year of teaching, she quickly becomes discouraged and frustrated by the school's bureaucracy, the indifference of her students, and the incompetence of many of her colleagues. The title of the book is taken from a memo telling her why a student was being punished: he had gone "up the down staircase".
Adaptations (1)
Up the Down Staircase was adapted into a 1967 film.
Up the Down Staircase1967 · film · 124 min · dir. Robert Mulligan · IMDb ↗IMDb7.378%Sylvia, a novice schoolteacher, is hired to teach English in a high school, but she’s met with an apathetic faculty, a delinquent student body and an administration that drowns its staff in paperwork. The following days go from bad to worse as Sylvia struggles to reach her most troubled students.
