Book is the humorous, unpredictable, and transformative first year of a
novice educator teaching in a remote Alaskan village
SEATTLE, Sept. 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — As the new school year gets underway, a new memoir offers a timely, candid look into the overwhelm, self-doubt and profound moments of human connection that define the early days of an educator’s career.
In “Teaching in the Dark: A Memoir,” author Dr. Genét Simone shares an autobiographical look at her first year as a 24-year-old high school teacher in the remote Iñupiat village of Shishmaref, Alaska. Dropped onto a thin barrier island near the Arctic Circle with no curriculum guide, no housing key, and zero prior classroom experience, Simone navigates a steep learning curve that includes unheated portables, a “honey bucket” toilet system, sudden power blackouts, and a wall of student skepticism.
“The experiences in my book occurred almost forty years ago,” said Simone, “but continued to inspire me throughout my career as a teacher educator. A career I chose in order to mentor new teachers in ways I hadn’t been mentored.”
Simone’s experiences in Alaska spearheaded a life-long inquiry into what draws people to follow their calling into the teaching profession and what keeps them there. She is passionate about tending to the often over-looked emotional and psychological impact of being an educator in challenging places, in challenging times.
“Being a teacher is a continuous loop of hope, planning, experimentation, analysis, hope, planning, experimentation, etc.,” said Simone. “You have to be gentle and forgiving of your students, your colleagues, and yourself to stay in the profession. It’s much more of an emotional roller coaster ride that most people make it to be.”
“Teaching in the Dark: A Memoir”
By Genét Simone
ISBN: 9798765244289 (softcover); 9798765244296 (hardcover); 9798765244302 (electronic)
Available at Balboa Press, Amazon and Barnes & Noble
About the author
Genét Simone, Ph.D., has been a teacher and teacher educator for over thirty years. She received her Master’s Degree from Minnesota State University, Mankato, Minn., and a PhD from The University of Colorado, Boulder, Colo.. She lives in Seattle, Washington. Teaching in the Dark is her first book. To learn more, please visit genetsimone.com.
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SOURCE Balboa Press
