Where you live does not define who you are or who you can be. Those were the words of a wise woman who did not know that she was a teacher or that her words would be remembered and passed on to future generations long after she died. However, this wise woman did know that to make her belief come to fruition, education was the key. For many African Americans who travelled life’s highway during the twentieth century, caring teachers were their guiding star, their map, their GPS, and their light through the tunnel. Teachers gave students confidence, hope, determination, knowledge, and a feeling of “yes you can.” In this book, the author rejects the idea that anybody can teach and provides clear, distinct criteria for anyone thinking about teaching as a career. The stories she shares also serve as a thank you to all of America’s teachers. Discover how African-American teachers have inspired students to succeed and pay it forward with the remarkable stories in Teacher Journeys. We must have outstanding teachers in today’s schools. Expectations are key to student performance and teacher success. If teachers have realistic expectations, our kids will try to live up to them. No child wants to be a failure and no good teacher wants their students to fail. —Daisy R. Wright, Teacher Without knowledge and skills, opportunities cease. The burden of developing and imparting the knowledge and skills has been placed squarely upon teachers, regardless of how unfair and lopsided it seems. If anyone is thinking about becoming a teacher, he or she must understand that this profession makes the biggest imprint of any occupation in society. —Verna Cahoon, Principal
Teaching is not just a job, but a life journey. Although your contact with a student may be as brief as a single year, the impact can be felt across a lifetime. Jeffrey and Ellen Kottler help you navigate the typical milestones, challenges, and joys you're likely to face, illuminating the path along the way.
Many teachers discover that in order to teach with more inspiration, passion and power, they need to come to understand more about themselves. This book focuses on teachers as relationally-connected people, their thinking and beliefs, and how these in?uence teaching. It explores different philosophies and approaches toward teaching. Each, in turn, returns the reader to the central notion of seeking authenticity through relational connectedness. This career-long journey constantly reminds teachers of their humanness and humanity, and the need to know and understand more about themselves as well as their students. This book is for all teachers as well as for those who are training to be teachers. It will also appeal to anyone interested in seeking to understand and develop the holistic dimensions of teaching and learning.
“For those of you pondering the question of whether to teach or not, this book will help you figure out whether teaching is for you. For those of you already in the classroom, it can inspire you to remember why you chose to teach in the first place.” —From the Foreword bySonia Nieto, Professor Emerita, University of Massachusetts, Amherst and author ofWhy We TeachandWhat Keeps Teachers Going? “To Teachprovides a wealth of tips, lessons, approaches, and ways to think about thinking. But it also provides a sense of the calling to teach. That is why we need today books like this one, to remind us of why teaching matters.” —From the Afterword byMike Rose, UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies To Teachis the now-classic story of one teacher’s odyssey into the ethical and intellectual heart of teaching. For almost two decades, it has inspired teachers across the country to follow their own path, face their own challenges, and become the teachers they long to be. Since the second edition, there have been dramatic shifts to the educational landscape: the rise and fall of NCLB, major federal intervention in education, the Seattle and Louisville Supreme Court decisions, the unprecedented involvement of philanthropic organizations and big city mayors in school reform, the financial crisis, and much more. This newThird Editionis essential reading amidst today’s public policy debates and school reform initiatives that stress the importance of “good teaching.” To help bring this popular story to a new generation of teachers, Teachers College Press is publishing an exciting companion volume:To Teach: The Journey, in Comics. In this graphic novel, Ayers and talented young artist Ryan Alexander-Tanner bring the celebrated memoir to life. TheThird EditionofTo Teach, paired with the new graphic novel, offers a unique teaching and learning experience that broadens and deepens our understanding of what teaching can be. Together, these resources will capture the imaginations of pre- and in-service teachers who are ready to follow their own Yellow Brick Roads. TheThird EditionofTo Teachoffers today’s teachers: Inspiration to help them reconnect with their highest aspirations and hopes. A practical guide to teaching as a moral practice. An antidote to teaching as a linear, connect-the-dots enterprise. A study guide that is available on-line at tcpress.com. William Ayersis a school reform activist and Distinguished Professor and Senior University Scholar at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Praise for the Second Edition! "An imaginative, elegant, and inspiring book... essential reading for anyone who believes that teachers can change lives."—Michèle Foster, Claremont Graduate University “To Teachis one of the few books about teaching that does not disappoint.” —From the Foreword byGloria Ladson-Billings, University of Wisconsin–Madison “William Ayers creates a wise and beautiful account of what teaching is and might be.... He leaves us with fresh awareness of what the teaching project signifies. He provokes us, each in our own fashion, to move further in our own quests.” —Maxine Greene, Teachers College, Columbia University “No one since John Holt has written so thoughtfully about the things that actually happen in the classroom. Ayers has been there and he knows, and he shares what he has learned with tremendous sensitivity. The book, I’m sure, will be required reading in every school in the nation.” —Jonathan Kozol “Bill Ayers speaks as teacher, parent, and student: as compassionate observer and passionate advocate of his three sons and of all of our children. What is unique is the way in which the personal and professional merge seamlessly.... Ayers is a wonderful story teller.” —Herbert Kohl “Ayers’s riveting description of his unfolding journey as a teacher will be a helpful guide to teachers at all stages of their careers.”
The best teachers are leaders, and the best leaders are teachers. Teaching by Heart summarizes the author's key insights gained from more than forty years of teaching and managing. It illustrates how teachers can both lift people up and let them down. It proposes that the best teachers are also leaders, and the best leaders are also teachers. In examining how to lead and teach, renowned Harvard Business School professor Thomas J. DeLong takes the reader inside his own head and heart. He notes that, as teachers, we often focus more on our inadequacies and missteps than on our strengths and unique talents. He explains why this is so by dissecting and analyzing his own experiences--using himself as a case study. The book's goal is to help readers learn about the intricacies of teaching and managing, and to impart lessons about how teachers can create a unique teaching atmosphere. To do this, the author analyzes the process of creating a curriculum, preparing for an eighty-minute class, managing the fifteen minutes before class begins, and evaluating the nature of the teaching experience after the session concludes. Along the way, he connects specific classroom behaviors with leadership issues--in organizations, in teams, and in personal relationships. He also asks--and answers--some provocative questions, such as: What happens on multiple levels when I teach or lead--with me, students, or professionals? What am I thinking and feeling as I process what students are thinking and feeling? How are my internal conversations affecting how I teach and lead? How do I manage my biases, including having "favorite" students? To what extent can I use teaching methods in the arena of management? Throughout Teaching by Heart, DeLong discusses why empathy and authenticity matter. When teachers embrace this mindset, students have the opportunity to have a unique learning experience. Teachers and managers will learn how to create moments of transformation for students. Whether you're a university professor, a student, a business leader, or just someone fascinated by teaching, this book will instruct, entertain, and--hopefully--inspire.
Robert John Meehan's poetic insight into the heart and soul of both teacher and student tugs at readers' emotions like few writers can. His depth of experience as a teacher in some of the nation's most difficult schools over a period of four decades is deeply embedded in each of his selections of poetry. His ability to share the joy, sorrows, and at times, the horror of teaching in today's inner city schools is brought to the forefront in each of the poems included in his The Teacher's Journey. Meehan has accomplished much over the past decades in encouraging other teachers to share their feelings, emotions, and experiences in working with students. Follow Meehan as he inspires students and teachers alike in The Teacher's Journey to understanding the meaning of being an authentically effective teacher.
Journey from A to Z with Teacher Judy is an adventurous children's alphabet book filled with animals and alliteration. Join Teacher Judy on a rhyme-filled alphabet adventure, visiting places around the world with a cast of beautifully illustrated animals.
This book explores the ideological contexts for the creation and spread of “No Excuses” charter schools. In so doing, Work Hard, Be Hard focuses closely on the Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP) charter school chain as the most prominent exemplar for total compliance “No Excuses” schooling. By way of in-depth interviews, former teachers offer accounts of their “No Excuses” teaching experiences that have not been heard before and that are not likely to be forgotten soon. Work Hard, Be Hard also examines the KIPP organization as a manifestation of modern education reform exemplified in the convergence of neoliberal politics and the aggressive activities of the business and philanthropic communities. As an important corollary to the total compliance charter phenomenon, the book explores, too, the role of Teach for America in supplying the needed manpower and values components required to deal with very high levels of teacher attrition in these schools. Work Hard, Be Hard goes beyond accounts offered in news features, articles, and interviews that focus on “No Excuses” charters’ high test scores and expanded college opportunities for economically disadvantaged children. In short, the book offers a naturalistic antidote to the high profile gloss that mass media provides for “No Excuses” schooling. Work Hard, Be Hard examines new developments in “No Excuses” schooling that focus on psychological interventions aimed to alter children’s neurological and behavioral schemas in order to affect socio-cultural values and behaviors. Fraught with potential for abuse and misapplication by minimally trained teachers, these cult-like practices are examined and contrasted with more humane strategies that hope to reawaken the virtues of teaching and learning within the expansive confines of the sciences and arts of a truly humane pedagogy. This book will: Function as a common reader for parent groups or individuals interested in understanding the inner workings and impacts of “no excuses” charter schools; Serve as a text for education students for courses in pedagogy, social and cultural foundations of education, education policy, and politics of education; Provide deeper appreciation of social, political, and economic issues and incentives associated with total compliance charter schools; Help to ameliorate an absence of teacher perspectives on teaching in “No Excuses” charter schools; Assist the general public in understanding the ideological and economic agendas that drive support of total compliance charter schools; Help to educate policy makers and their staffs in cultural and economic facets of corporate education reform that are relevant to political decisions regarding education policy.
"This fourth edition adds a fresh new voice from veteran English Education professor Ken Lindblom, where expertise in writing instruction, teaching with technology, and teaching informational and nonfiction texts complements Leila's love of literature and vast knowledge and experience across the field."--Back cover.
From Music Student to Teacher: A Professional Approach helps prospective music educators begin their transition from music student to professional music teacher. The text uniquely works to build upon the individual’s personal experience to enhance their approach to the profession. The authors help students first recognize their personal perspectives of the profession, and uncover the assumptions they have concerning learning and teaching. They are then prepared to make mindful informed decisions about their professional education. The topics and activities are deliberately organized to help the reader think as a professional rather than a student. Divided into three parts: (a) discovery of self, (b) discovery of teaching, and (c) discovery of learners; The three parts address the primary stages of teacher development. Within each part readers are connected to the theoretical foundations of the text and the process of becoming an insider to the profession.From Music Student to Teacher: A Professional Approach incorporates online resources and tools that are already familiar to students in their world of networking through social media Features include: Social networking activities to aid self-reflection and discussion ‘Connecting to the Profession’ sections that provide resources which help to bridge the gap between theory and practice. Discussion and glossary that provide a solid base in professional terminology An integrated companion website, including videos of teaching practice and further activities for self-reflection, plus instructor material. Michael A. Raiber is Professor of Music Education at Oklahoma City University David J. Teachout is Associate Professor and Department Head of Music Education at the University of North Carolina Greensboro.
