Synopses & Reviews
Wisdom to reenergize teachers of all ages and at all stages, from the New York Times bestselling author of Teach Like Your Hair’s on Fire If Rafe Esquith’s Teach Like Your Hair’s on Fire was food for a teacher’s mind, Real Talk for Real Teachers feeds the teacher’s soul. In this inspiring book, the genius behind the triumphs in Room 56 and on the stage with the Hobart Shakespeareans returns with words of wisdom and advice for those who struggle day to day in the world’s hardest profession.
After thirty-plus years in the job, Esquith still puts in the countless classroom hours with which any dedicated teacher will be instantly familiar. He recognizes that new teachers and veteran educators need different kinds of nourishment, whether it’s encouragement to see through a teacher’s difficult early years, advice on midcareer classroom building, or novel ideas for how longtime educators can put their expertise to work.
Mixing his trademark offbeat humor and no-nonsense maxims with instructive stories and useful in-class advice, Esquith proves the perfect companion for teachers who need a quick pick-me-up, a long heart-to-heart, or just a momentary reminder that they’re not alone. Real Talk for Real Teachers is from-the-hip advice to help teachers of every stripe cope with the overwhelming challenges of the classroom and beyond.
Review
"Passionate and inspiring....With anecdotes that are alternately amusing and disheartening, Esquith details the joys and frustrations of teaching and offers valuable insights to parents and teachers alike." Booklist
Review
"Esquith is a modern-day Thoreau, preaching the value of good work, honest self-reflection and the courage to go one's own way." Newsday
Review
"Rafe Esquith is my only hero." Sir Ian McKellan
Synopsis
From one of America's most celebrated educators, an inspiring guide to transforming every child's education.
In a Los Angeles neighborhood plagued by guns, gangs, and drugs, there is an exceptional classroom known as Room 56. The fifth graders inside are first-generation immigrants who live in poverty and speak English as a second language. They also play Vivaldi, perform Shakespeare, score in the top 1 percent on standardized tests, and go on to attend Ivy League universities. Rafe Esquith is the teacher responsible for these accomplishments.
From the man whom The New York Times calls "a genius and a saint" comes a revelatory program for educating today's youth. In Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire, Rafe Esquith reveals the techniques that have made him one of the most acclaimed educators of our time. The two mottoes in Esquith's classroom are "Be Nice, Work Hard," and "There Are No Shortcuts." His students voluntarily come to school at 6:30 in the morning and work until 5:00 in the afternoon. They learn to handle money responsibly, tackle algebra, and travel the country to study history. They pair Hamlet with rock and roll, and read the American classics. Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire is a brilliant and inspiring road map for parents, teachers, and anyone who cares about the future success of our nation's children.
Synopsis
Read Rafe Esquith's posts on the Penguin Blog. The New York Times bestseller that is revolutionizing the way Americans educate their kids-"Rafe Esquith is a genius and a saint" (The New York Times)
Perhaps the most famous fifth-grade teacher in America, Rafe Esquith has won numerous awards and even honorary citizenship in the British Empire for his outstandingly successful methods. In his Los Angeles public school classroom, he helps impoverished immigrant children understand Shakespeare, play Vivaldi, and become happy, self-confident people. This bestseller gives any teacher or parent all the techniques, exercises, and innovations that have made its author an educational icon, from personal codes of behavior to tips on tackling literature and algebra. The result is a powerful book for anyone concerned about the future of our children.
Synopsis
Wisdom to reenergize teachers of all ages and at all stages, from the New York Times bestselling author of Teach Like Your Hair’s on Fire If Rafe Esquith’s Teach Like Your Hair’s on Fire was food for a teacher’s mind, Real Talk for Real Teachers feeds the teacher’s soul. In this inspiring book, the genius behind the triumphs in Room 56 and on the stage with the Hobart Shakespeareans returns with words of wisdom and advice for those who struggle day to day in the world’s hardest profession.
After thirty-plus years in the job, Esquith still puts in the countless classroom hours with which any dedicated teacher will be instantly familiar. He recognizes that new teachers and veteran educators need different kinds of nourishment, whether it’s encouragement to see through a teacher’s difficult early years, advice on midcareer classroom building, or novel ideas for how longtime educators can put their expertise to work.
Mixing his trademark offbeat humor and no-nonsense maxims with instructive stories and useful in-class advice, Esquith proves the perfect companion for teachers who need a quick pick-me-up, a long heart-to-heart, or just a momentary reminder that they’re not alone. Real Talk for Real Teachers is from-the-hip advice to help teachers of every stripe cope with the overwhelming challenges of the classroom and beyond.
Synopsis
A revolutionary reappraisal of how to educate our children and young people by the New York Times bestselling author of The Element and Finding Your Element
Ken Robinson is one of the worlds most influential voices in education, and his 2006 TED Talk on the subject is the most viewed in the organizations history. Now, the internationally recognized leader on creativity and human potential focuses on one of the most critical issues of our time: how to transform the nations troubled educational system. At a time when standardized testing businesses are raking in huge profits, when many schools are struggling, and students and educators everywhere are suffering under the strain, Robinson points the way forward. He argues for an end to our outmoded industrial educational system and proposes a highly personalized, organic approach that draws on todays unprecedented technological and professional resources to engage all students, develop their love of learning, and enable them to face the real challenges of the twenty-first century. Filled with anecdotes, observations and recommendations from professionals on the front line of transformative education, case histories, and groundbreaking researchand written with Robinsons trademark wit and engaging styleCreative Schools will inspire teachers, parents, and policy makers alike to rethink the real nature and purpose of education.
Synopsis
Award-winning teacher and high-profile public speaker John Hunter offers insights into conflict resolution and collective problem-solving gleaned from his many years teaching kids through the "world peace game," an innovative global systems simulation he created.
Synopsis
In John Hunters classroom, students fearlessly tackle global problems and discover surprising solutions by playing his groundbreaking World Peace Game. These kids—from high school all the way down to fourth grade, in schools both well funded and underresourced—take on the roles of politicians, tribal leaders, diplomats, bankers, and military commanders. Through battles and negotiations, standoffs and summits, they strive to resolve dozens of complex, seemingly intractable real-world challenges, from nuclear proliferation to tribal warfare, financial collapse to climate change.
In World Peace and Other 4th-Grade Achievements, Hunter shares the wisdom hes gleaned from over thirty years teaching the World Peace Game. Here he reveals the principles of successful collaboration that people of any age can apply anywhere. His students show us how to break through confusion, bounce back from failure, put our knowledge to use, and fulfill our potential. Hunter offers not only a forward-thinking report from the front lines of American education, but also a generous blueprint for a world that bends toward cooperation rather than conflict. In this deeply hopeful book, a visionary educator shows us what the future can be.
About the Author
Rafe Esquith has taught at Hobart Elementary in Los Angeles for twenty-two years. He is the only teacher to be awarded the president's National Medal of the Arts.
Table of Contents
Teach Like Your Hair's On Fire
Prologue: Fire in the Classroom Part One: There's No Place Like Home
One: Gimme Some Truth
Two: Searching for Level VI
Part Two: The Method
Three: Reading for Life
Four: Writing
Five: Add It Up
Six: We Won't Get Fooled Again
Seven: What a Wonderful World
Eight: Rocket Man
Nine: Art Lover
Ten: Put Me In, Coach
Eleven: Taxman
Part Three: The Madness
Twelve: Think for Yourself
Thirteen: Celluloid Heroes
Fourteen: Goin' Mobile
Fifteen: It's Only Rock 'n' Roll (but I Like It)
Sixteen: Do They Know It's Christmas?
Seventeen: Will Power
Epilogue: Rest in Peace
Acknowledgments
Appendixes