Think back to the funniest teacher that you ever had. Now imagine if they made a book featuring you and your peers’ most confusing, acne-scarred mishaps from the formative years of your adolescence. That’s how former teacher, comedian and podcaster Paul Bae added author to his list of accolades.

Bae’s debut novel You Suck, Sir: Chronicles of a High School English Teacher and the Smartass Students Who Schooled Him first started as hundreds of entries in his teaching journal, which he eventually turned into a blog to share with his fans, friends and former students. The book features the best of these conversations from his teaching career, while serving as a window into how generational differences have shifted dynamics between teachers and students in recent years

Bae first started teaching locally in 1995, after a stint as an evangelical youth pastor. The change was motivated by a desire to work with young people, coupled with a desire to harness his love of storytelling. The later  skill has defined his career across several disciplines, and pursuing a career in comedy was always in the back of his mind.

“My parents had preferred that I pursue standup, which is weird for Korean parents,” says Bae. “They didn’t want me to be a teacher, they wanted me to be David Letterman.” He says that his parents believed all comedians were rich—or at least more so than the overworked, underpaid teachers that they viewed as undervalued in Canadian society.

Bae taught in Vancouver for seven years. During this time, he often found himself wrestling with the same questions of “who do I want to be” that he was asking his students. Several years into his career, while giving a lecture to his Grade 11 students and encouraging them to chase their passions, Bae heard a barely stifled “bullshit” from the back of the class. 

“You can’t convince me that this was your dream, to teach,” the student said. “I think this is one of many dreams that you have, sir.” 

So, Bae followed his own advice. In 2002 he quit teaching to pursue comedy full time touring stages across the country, with sets at high-profile events such as Montreal’s Just for Laughs Festival. 

However, after eight years of comedy, Bae felt a renewed desire to return to the classroom. He returned for a second stint (with some freshly sharpened crowd-control skills).

When the teachers of British Columbia went on strike in 2014, Bae found he had no time for extracurricular activities, and saw this as a sign to leave teaching for good the following year.

Bae has since entered the world of podcasting co-creating the spooky docudrama The Black Tapes and the anthological science fiction series The Big Loop. The success of these podcasts has allowed him to explore new avenues, like writing. 

 While You Suck Sir offers a trip down memory lane, back to the awkward in-between years of high school, it's more than a collection of funny anecdotes. It is a rallying cry that good teachers are more important now than ever. Bae’s students, and the students of today face a dizzying set of challenges only exacerbated by the pandemic.

“We don’t need teachers, we need societal models,” Bae says. “That’s what you are when you walk into the classroom as an adult. You are an example of how a person engages with other citizens.”

He doesn’t say this to disparage current teachers, rather underscores the importance of the profession. His forthcoming book fulfills the same purpose. Teaching isn’t a big joke to Bae, but with every smart-ass response from his students comes a chance to prepare them for the world they’re about to enter. 

Whether you are an educator, or you just want to reminisce on high school memories that have remained locked away far in memory, You Suck Sir is surely worth a read.