Mother Reader's 48 Hour Book Challenge is over for another year.
I had such a nice little stack of books that I thought I might read BUT... it was a "wedding" weekend. As entling no. 1 says, you spend a lot of time investigating, weighing, and pondering items and services that you never get to see (such as the actual dress, flowers, table arrangements) until "the day." You spend a lot of time trying to imagine what everything will look like, fit like, sound like and taste like.
For the Book Challenge I managed to read ...
to quote the immortal Count Von Count ...
"ONE, ONE Wonderful book! AH AH AH AH AH!"
[cue thunder and lightning]
And, that book was Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire by Rafe Esquith, 2007
Rafe Esquith does not claim to be a teaching genius. He is honest about mistakes he has made over the years but his dedication to his students and his principled approach to teaching shine through on every page.
His classroom management skills are centered on Lawrence Kohlberg's Six Levels of Moral Development. As I read about his students accomplishments and challenges it occured to me that a teacher can get a lot of teaching done when students are willing to learn and will forgo disruptive behavior.
One the most moving things about Room 56 to me, was the way former students return there on Saturdays to study and learn. Esquith shares lists and resources that he uses and is brutally honest about faculty meetings and the latest ineffective fads in reading and writing instruction.
The Hobart Shakespearians are the stuff of legends. Their annual play must be something to behold.