Full Description
One year out of college, James Nehring landed "accidentally" in teaching and soon discovered his love for the profession. But he was surrounded by a school system consumed with order, efficiency, rules, and punishment. He wanted to change the system. So began a quest that became a career. Why Teach? Notes and Questions from a Life in Education is a journey inside American education and a story of self-discovery. Why Teach? is the perfect introductory text for an aspiring teacher, a source of reflection for fellow educators, and a compelling insider critique of the system from pre-school to graduate school. In an age dominated by social science, Why Teach? makes the case for a humanistic approach to schooling.
Contents
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Foreword
Debbie Meier
Introduction
Part I: Entry
Chapter 1
Ditch of Distinction
Time to Move On
Holding Kids Hostage
Reflection Questions
Suggested Reading
Chapter 2
Teaching and Telling
Student Will Be Able To...
Real Students
Reflection Questions
Suggested Reading
Part II: Beginner
Chapter 3
What Are Kids Like?
Losing My Way
Finding My Way Back
Choosing Who to Become
Reflection Questions
Suggested Reading
Chapter 4
Teaching and Coaching
Two Boys
Three Girls
Reflection Questions
Suggested Reading
Chapter 5
A Pleasant Routine
How Do You Ask a Question?
A Life Raft Appears
Pretty Much It
Reflection Questions
Suggested Reading
Chapter 6
Mystery and Results
Pitching Stories
Unmapped Territory
Reflection Questions
Suggested Reading
Part III: Resist
Chapter 7
Uppity Teacher
Photo Shoot and Phone Jack
Copy Room Encounter
Hall Duty Debate
Reflection Questions
Suggested Reading
Chapter 8
Scheduling Will Not Be a Problem
Go Bigger, Not Smaller
Ready, Set, Go! Sort of...
Reflection Questions
Suggested Reading
Chapter 9
Circuit Test
Our Scary Visitor
A Reason They Call Us Lab Rats
Back to Camp
Learning "A Lesson"
A Rainbow Appears
Reflection Questions
Suggested Reading
Part IV: Deeper Learning
Chapter 10
Born for this Job
First Day
One Tumbleweed
A Day in the Life
A Role Model, Please?
Reflection Questions
Suggested Reading
Chapter 11
Listening and Reloading
The Art of Thinking Together
Mediating
Collision with Z
You Can't Make Me
A Culture of "Yeah, but..."
Reflection Questions
Suggested Reading
Chapter 12
Six Months Later
A Dream Coming True
Growing Into Your Own True Self
Café Wednesday
Unnatural Behavior
Standardized Children
Chew Gum and Don't Stay with the Group
Reflection Questions
Suggested Reading
Chapter 13
A Backyard Cookout
Bad Review
Lifer
Reflection Questions
Suggested Reading
Part V: Evolve
Chapter 14
Twenty-Six Again
Rookie
Six Years Later
My New Schooling
Reflection Questions
Suggested Reading
Chapter 15
It's Okay to Ask a Question
Anguished English
Whatever you say, Prof
Reflection Questions
Suggested Reading
Chapter 16
Skillful Teaching
Being Blunt
The Idealist Realist
Migrating Online with Video and Audio
Reflection Questions
Suggested Reading
Chapter 17
Messing with Peoples' Beliefs
Beliefs Fight Back
Three Steps Forward
Two Steps Back
Reflection Questions
Suggested Reading
Chapter 18
Trouble
Not on the Test
Reflection Questions
Suggested Reading
Part VI: Big Picture
Chapter 19
Beat Goes On
School as Contested Space
Do the Math
Reflection Questions
Suggested Reading
Chapter 20
Corner Bar
Endless Fields of Corn
Balance?
Reflection Questions
Suggested Reading
Chapter 21
Ladder Up a Wall
Ready Enough
Anxiety Dream
Reflection Questions
Suggested Reading
