Up the Stairs by Bel Kaufman The protagonist of this book is Sylvia Barret, she has just graduated and works as a high school English teacher. Sylvia would like to work in a nice private school, like many of her friends. Instead, Sylvia takes a job with the school board, in a vain attempt to reach disadvantaged inner-city children in public schools. Sylvia struggles with so many choices in this book. In the end he gets the right ones. Another important character for this book is James J. Mchabe. Signs his name with Adm. Asst. (Administrative Assistant). Sylvia calls him "Admiral Ass" because he always has her back. It seems that Mr. Mchabe's only purpose in life is to disturb Sylvia and the other teachers. The Admiral always seems to find something wrong with the manor where the teachers hold their lessons. Bea Schachter is another teacher at Calvin Colidge High School. Bea has been a teacher at Calvin Coolidge for a long time and automatically makes Sylvia her friend. Bea shows Sylvia the ropes; what to do, what not to do, where to go, where not to go. That kind of thing. Bea is a good teacher and a good friend of Sylvia. One of Sylvia's students is Joe Ferone. Joe is a rebel and a thug. Joe almost never comes to class. Sylvia really wants to help Joe. Sylvia tries to schedule after-school sessions with Joe, but he never shows up. Towards the end of the story I get the feeling that Sylvia was starting to fall in love with him. This story is set in a New York school in Manhattan, in the 1960s. The book covers the span of a school semester from September to February. Sylvia Barret, a new teacher, is starting her first day in room 304. She discovers that teaching isn't all she thought it would be. Her first friend is Bea, a veteran teacher who helps Sylvia by explaining how Calvin Coolidge High works. The writer takes all the follies of a normal high school and embellishes them; for example, the school guidance counselor always uses big words and thinks that all students need help. And Mr. Mchabe, the administrative assistant who is curious about everything. The janitor who is never available.