Synopses & Reviews
Everyone agrees that a great teacher can have an enormous impact. Yet we still don't know what, precisely, makes a teacher great. Is it a matter of natural-born charisma? Or does exceptional teaching require something more?
Review
"Both a history of the research on effective teaching as well as a consideration of how that research might best be implemented. What emerges is the gaping chasm between what the best teachers do and how we go about evaluating what they've done." Kate Tuttle Boston Globe
Review
"We romanticize teachers, and we vilify them, but we don't do much to help. This beautifully written, defiantly hopeful book points the way to a better future for American teachers and the children they teach." New York Times Book Review
Review
"In this fascinating and accessible book, Elizabeth Green tells the story of the country's leading researchers on the all-important questions of what makes for an effective classroom teacher and how teachers can be trained to do their jobs better. That the story feels completely fresh is testament not only to Green's skill as a reporter and writer but also to how beside-the-point much of the national conversation about education is.
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"Elizabeth Green reveals, in cinematic detail, what makes great teaching such a dazzling intellectual challenge--and why it has taken us so unforgivably long to care. A must-read book for every American teacher and taxpayer." New York Times Book Review
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"In vivid detail, Elizabeth Green chronicles the long, uncertain, but ultimately promising efforts, based on research, to improve teaching in American schools." Amanda Ripley, author of The Smartest Kids in the World
Review
"Great education is the foundation of a flourishing society, and it depends on great teachers. illuminates how we can develop gifted educators who prepare children for a brighter future. With strong evidence and compelling cases, Elizabeth Green has written an important book that every educator ought to read." Howard Gardner, coauthor of The App Generation and author of Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences
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"[Green] makes the case through thoughtful details that great teachers are made, not born... she brings hope and renewal to the field." Adam Grant, Wharton professor and best-selling author of Give and Take
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"Elizabeth Green draws upon years of interviews and research as an education writer and CEO of Chalkbeat to make the case for why teaching is a craft and that it can be taught to anyone. Her excellent book should be read for a detailed account of the history of teacher education, an international context, and an entertaining narrative." Angela Leeper Bookpage
Review
"Green has spent years looking at what makes a great teacher--and whether the teachers we remember most fondly were born great or simply learned key skills." Sebastian Stockman New York Times Book Review
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"At the heart of Green's exploration is a powerfully simple idea: that teaching is not some mystical talent but a set of best practices that can be codified and learned through extensive hands-on coaching, self-scrutiny, and collaboration." New York Times Book Review
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"Peek[s] into real classrooms, allowing readers to observe what great teachers do and how." Sara Mosle The Atlantic
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"[S]hould be part of every new teacher's education." Kate Tuttle Boston Globe
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"Everyone who cares about teaching should read []. Right away." Michael S. Roth The Washington Post
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"Timely... Elizabeth Green shows herself to be a talented young journalist." Judith Shulevitz
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"Couldn't be better timed...exhilarating." Sara Mosle
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"Moments of educational theater enliven and illuminate the history." The Atlantic
Synopsis
We've all had great teachers who opened new worlds, maybe even changed our lives. What made them so great?
Synopsis
Launched with a hugely popular New York Times Magazine cover story, Building a Better Teacher sparked a national conversation about teacher quality and established Elizabeth Green as a leading voice in education. Green's fascinating and accessible narrative dispels the common myth of the "natural-born teacher" and introduces maverick educators exploring the science behind their art. Her dramatic account reveals that great teaching is not magic, but a skill a skill that can be taught. Now with a new afterword that offers a guide on how to identify and support great teachers, this provocative and hopeful book "should be part of every new teacher s education" (Washington Post).
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Synopsis
A Notable Book "A must-read book for every American teacher and taxpayer." --Amanda Ripley, author of
About the Author
Elizabeth Green is cofounder, CEO, and editor in chief of