Summary

In “Bettering Myself,” the narrator is identified as Miss Mooney. Miss Mooney notes how she was often still drunk when she arrived at school in the morning to teach. She kept a sleeping bag in her room so she could take naps between classes. Sometimes she got a drink at lunch. She was supposed to be preparing her students for the SAT, but she often ended up talking about her sex life.

Miss Mooney had a boyfriend who wore the same clothes every day. His chest hair and nipples were visible through the shirt. He bragged that many girls at college wanted to date him. Miss Mooney’s ex-husband paid her alimony. Even though he was remarried, Miss Mooney called and talked to him regularly.

Each year, Miss Mooney’s students had to take a test to determine how...