by Todd Whitaker
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Book Description
This book describes the beliefs, behaviors, attitudes, and interactions that form the fabric of life in our best classrooms and schools. It focuses on the specific things that great teachers do ... that others do not. It answers these essential questions:
- Is it high expectations for students that matter?
- How do great teachers respond when students misbehave?
- Do great teachers filter differently than their peers?
- How do the best teachers approach standardized testing?
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Average Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 More Principal "Pep-Rally", 2008-07-21
This is a quick & easy read, but unfortunately, it's just more of the same old "pep-rally" type of advice: be positive, be prepared, always smile, & remember that all your students really want to learn a lot & really look up to you, even when it doesn't seem like it! This type of stuff doesn't do much good when teachers get into the midst of the inevitable problems that come up during the school year. To me, one of the most telling chapters was Chapter 6 "Who is the variable," which is a sort of "everyone should take responsibility" chapter. The author begins the chapter by discussing teacher responsibility, then goes on to tell about his meeting with some business leaders who were concerned about the quality of high school graduates. He ultimately put the responsibility on the business leaders for not having called the school to get specific reports on graduates they hired. In short, the only one he assigns no responsibility to is himself. Some might say he was somewhat responsible for giving the same degree to well performing students & to slackers & trouble-makers--that his signing of the diploma was in fact his recommendation, & that therefore he does bear some responsibility. He complains about teachers who complain about working conditions, but does not seem to feel that it is his responsibility to better those conditions.
I like teaching, & actually like the challenges that keep coming up--but then that's probably because teaching is a second career for me & I know I can quit any time I want. I know there is a shortage of resources & that as teachers, we need to work with that environment (which, to me, is amply rewarded by the long vacations). But it irks me to read these books that try to gloss over all the problems & just provide a superficial, Rah-Rah pep-rally, so-called "motivational" solution. I feel that teachers who get sucked up into this sort of thing are getting set up for a fall.
- JB
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 What Great Teachers Do Differently, 2008-06-26
This book was good, except that it is pretty much exactly like "What Great Principals Do Differently" I wish I had read a review about it prior to buying BOTH of them..A good read for teachers.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
 Do Teachers Aspire to Greatness?, 2008-06-06
In these early weeks of summer break I have still been thinking about teaching and what has gone before, along with what will present itself in 'the fall' (which for us means the end of July!). This book reminds me what I want to be as a teacher: respectful of all, motivating and challenging, in charge and yet (gasp!) nice!
Teaching is the most wonderful profession in all the world: the opportunity to truly make a difference in the lives of not just students, but their families as well as our colleagues and even our own families. Why not aspire to greatness? And does it really come as a big surprise that the qualities of a great teacher vs. one who is good, fine, or even mediocre may lie in actions and choices rather than in methods and superior knowledge? Why is it that we are taught the importance of repetition in teaching to an objective, and yet we ourselves get cranky if we feel something is "repetitive?"
I am very glad I bought and read this book, and plan to share it with my fellow teachers and administrators.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
What Great Teachers Do Differently: Fourteen Things that Matter Most, 2008-03-04
What a fabulous book to use as a book study with teachers of all levels and experiences! It is a quick-read with ideas that can be implemented as soon as the chapter is done being read. The book lends itself to deep, thought-provoking conversation between staff members whether you are a first year teacher or a "well-seasoned" teacher. Teachers don't want to put the book down once they start reading it. Whitaker draws his readers in by consistently talking about "great" teachers and the effective practices they use. A "must read" for every educator!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Redundant and too idealistic blah blah blah, 2008-02-13
If you're an education student or already a teacher this book is mildly inspiring, however it does not offer anything you haven't already heard or read. Most advice is practical and common sense i.e. "form relationships with your students" "don't yell or demean them" "make it 'cool to care'"
There are many more books out there with more substance. The bulk of the author's career is as a school principal (he only taught for a couple years) so the text is written from an administrator's point of view, therefore there are idealistic philosophies and it lacks applicable classroom strategies or solid case scenarios. I do not recommend this book. Although a short read, it is mostly fluff.
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