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In a Los Angeles neighborhood plagued by guns, gangs, and drugs, there is a 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% on standardized tests, and go on to attend Ivy League universities. Rafe Esquith is the teacher responsible for these accomplishments. Here, he reveals his techniques. The classroom's mottoes 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 pair Hamlet with rock and roll, learn to handle money responsibly, tackle algebra, and travel the country to study history. This is an inspiring road map for parents, teachers, and anyone who cares about the future success of our nation's children.--From publisher description.… (more)
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Is his
What is truly remarkable is how much time Rafe (as his students call him) spends on teaching life skills like balancing a checkbook or even how to fly on an airplane. He is not just preparing his students for a test, or even for high school -- he is preparing them to go on to college (for many, the first in their family to do so) and become productive adults.
He continues, “It’s thankless and it doesn’t get easier. When you glance at your mental ledger, the red ink completely dominates the black. For every reason to believe, for every child you may
In Esquith’s 242-page book titled, Teach like your Hair is on Fire, these are the only words he allows himself to write which convey empathy towards his fellow teachers. Otherwise, the man generalizes the heck out of over-worked, over-wrought, just-teaching-for-the-test colleagues and it makes me mad.
How could anyone work around this egotistical know-it-all as he insinuates every teacher he comes in contact with is bad, lazy and/or ineffective? No wonder he loathes staff meetings where he must face those very teachers he has been so unkind to. Matter of fact, go back and reread his words in the second paragraph, replacing the words you, your, and our with I, me, and my, and this is Esquith’s personality in a nutshell.
Otherwise, I found his book to be inspiring and thought provoking. Between the self-congratulatory stories, there is a wealth of ideas from which to utilize. Esquith teaches the basics to fifth graders who consider English a second language in Los Angeles, California. A fact he says places them at a disadvantage when it comes to learning.
Okay, I can agree with this statement, but I think Esquith has an advantage Mississippi teachers do not. His kids are motivated to learn. His kids accompanied family members to the United States in order to pursue the American Dream. Most of our kids no longer harbor that hope and are generally less motivated.
Here’s my suggestion for reading this book. Skip over the first two chapters and concentrate on the specific subjects, such as reading, writing, and arithmetic, he covers per chapters three through eleven. Incorporate these ideas into your class, if you haven’t already, and then tackle chapters 12 through 17 as extracurricular activities.
Teaching is a hard enough profession without the constant negatives from self-anointed professionals. There is no need to put-down others, let the accomplishments do the talking.
The strength of the book is the inclusion of concrete teaching ideas that are practical and replicable in any classroom. While many of his activities (field trips to Washington DC for example) are not going to be as applicable to the average classroom teacher (yes, he does describe the how and why they should be) Part Two "The Method" does have many excellent lesson ideas. This book should be read by all teachers, to show the possibilities out there, outside the box, beyond the usual and the mundane. It belongs on all educational bookshelves. I know I already took it to school to share with others. He also blasts (as well he should) the ridiculous lengths the standardized testing craze of NCLB has caused. He is not loathe to point out what is not working in current educational methodology.
He brags, boasts and crows his success. But he also gives the facts that support his claims. I would not want to be the teacher who works in the classroom down the hall from him but I would be pleased to have him as a consultant in my classroom.
This man is very dedicated to his students, but has not a good word for any other member of the teaching profession, and even less that is positive to say about administrators. Moreover, he has an ego the size of mainland China that completely obliterates the message he thinks he is sending. He spends A LOT of print talking about teaching humility in his classroom, but his boasting and bragging contradict the very definition of the word.
He is known and appears on T.V. for the extra time he puts in with his students. His fifth graders perform Shakespeare plays (in their entirety) set to rock music (performed by students) each year. He spends hours before and after school helping these students with extra math, music, and the lessons needed for fifth graders to comprehend Shakespeare. He takes his students on frequent road trips that we all wish we could afford (without chaperones—how does he get away with that????). I can’t fault his dedication, in spite of his self-promotion, but all of this good stuff is done BEFORE and AFTER school, and during vacations.
And the grand revelations that make him the world’s greatest classroom teacher: ho hum….1. Start the day with grammar warm-ups right away, because “We do not waste time in Room 56.” Um…walk around most schools each morning and you’ll find much the same in the upper level rooms. 2. He uses Novel Ties for students to respond to literature. So did my teaching team—until we created something better than canned questions. (also—why are fifth graders reading To Kill a Mockingbird and other high school level texts when there is SO much great literature aimed at younger readers? TKaMockingbird is probably my favorite book, but would not have meant so much to me at 10!) 3. Here’s a newsflash for you: Science instruction should be HANDS ON!!!!!! Wow—I wish someone would have told me that years ago!
This book would have been so much more effective with more details on what goes on during the SCHOOL day, and without the condescending attitude toward the rest of the education profession, who are by and large, dedicated and hardworking.
A wonderful read, and well paced. Esquith has many years of experience behind him, but never loses the reader. You are guaranteed to have flashbacks, and wants of a better educational experience (if yours was lacking).
The audio version is nothing special, unfortunately. It apparently does not include the Appendices. The narrator reads with a rather utilitarian style as if only those seeking professional development would pick up the audiobook. Which may be the case, but if I'm going to listen to a memoir that's not amazingly narrated, I'd much rather hear the author read it. I guess between all his classroom work Rafe probably doesn't have time. Understandable, certainly, but also regrettable.