Hennepin County Library paperback 197 pages
genre: Non-fiction advice
At first, I *loved* this book and thought about buying lots of copies for teachers. She uses humor and "straight talk" to communicate both the joys and frustrations about teaching. But some of her advice is horribly out-dated (or I just work at too progressive of a school). This edition was published in 2013, but still has advice on taking phones away from students, behavior management whose goal is to keep kids quiet and still, etc. With the personalized learning we're doing, the vast majority of the book just doesn't fit our school culture. Her tone and humor kept me reading to the very end of the book, though!
Page 3 - "Acting like a hard job can be done easily is a sure way to do it wrong. The knowledge teachers need is complicated, it's important, and it's way more than anyone can learn in one year. The great teachers of the future know they're not great yet. They know they're making mistakes, and some of those mistakes are big. They're sorting through a million pieces of advice, each starting with the words 'All you have to do is . . . ,' until they want to lie on their backs in the school hallway and yell, "This is all the time and energy I have! Can someone please tell me what I should really spend it on?"
Page 31 - "You will realize that some parts of teaching make you very happy, while others make you very unhappy. You have the right to focus on the parts you love as often as possible, forgive your mistakes, and give yourself credit for what you're doing right. It's also okay to accept that some things are not under your control and to focus your efforts on the things that are. Wen all else fails, cursing into a cabinet works surprisingly well." (referencing an earlier paragraph)
Page 40 - She's writing about being at a workshop on getting organized. "I slumped farther down in my chair every time I heard the words color-coded or of course you have already. By the end of the presentation, only my neck and shoulders were touching the seat. I was no more organized, but I was fully convinced I had no business being a teacher - or maybe even alive - at my current organizational level." She later made another joke about the color-coded people . . . very funny!
Pages 52-55 - She writes about everyone having strengths and how important it is to capitalize on your personal strength areas. Here are the ones she references: patience and understanding, perseverance, knowledge of your subject matter, knowledge of the neighborhood, sense of humor, organization, large size, loud authoritative voice, energy, good people skills, work ethic, stage presence, confidence, character, creativity and problem-solving skills, ability to stay calm and think clearly under stress, sassy attitude, kids of your own, ambition, and a positive attitude and a passion for teaching. I like how she emphasizes positives, but acknowledges the negatives for each of us.
Page 94-95 - She advises teachers to have students write their own failure notices. Sadly, I accidentally deleted page one off my phone instead of uploading it. I don't necessarily like her script, but I love the idea of it. Here's the second page of content on this topic:
She included a poem she wrote (Roxanna Elden) titled All of the Above. I'm including it here because it's easily available online. It definitely makes a point about teaching (and standardized testing . . . ).
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