Crash Course: The Life Lessons My Students Taught Me

     After hearing Kim Bearden's touching story at the Ron Clark Academy last week, I had to buy her book.  I started it on the plane and finished it yesterday.    
     Each chapter name is a different lesson that she learned from her students, such as "optimism" and "tenacity."  In that chapter she shares stories about her students that tie in with that lesson and how it helped her become a better person and teacher.  Each chapter ends with a summary of the key points and the homework for you to do as you implement that lesson into your own life.
     I enjoyed the book, but it wasn't my favorite.  The stories were interesting and inspiring, but were not developed fully enough to truly feel for her or the students she wrote about.  I would have liked fewer lessons with more complete descriptions that made them more memorable.  While I liked the stories, I could only retell one or two without needing to look back into the book.  I also disliked the key points and homework at the end of each chapter.  I know she was going with the school theme and helping me internalize the points she made, but it seemed heavy handed.  After the first chapter, I skipped the other pages at the ends of the chapters.
     It is worth reading if you are an educator, fan of the Ron Clark Academy, or of Kim.  But her personal stories are much more powerful when you hear her speak, which I highly recommend.   

Bull Run

     In honor of the anniversary of the Battle of Bull Run yesterday, I read Bull Run by Paul Fleischman.
     This book can be read as a novel or as a reader's theater.  Each chapter is told by a new character with a different perspective on the battle and the war.   Each character has four or so chapters throughout the book.  The chapters are just over a page long, so it is a quick read for kids.
     Teachers could divide students into groups and give each group a character.  After reading the chapters written by that character, they could do a hot seat activity to share their findings with the rest of the class.
     I enjoyed this book.  I am definitely glad I am not living through the Civil War.  

Clock Watchers

     I just read an awesome book for teachers called Clock Watchers by Stevi Quate and John McDermott.  I picked this book thinking it was written by one of my favorite teachers - Cris Tovani.  It turns out she just wrote the introduction, but I am glad I decided to read it anyway.
     This book has six steps to motivate disengaged students.  The authors call them the six Cs:  Caring Classroom Community, Checking In and Checking Out, Choice, Collaboration, Challenge and Celebration.  A chapter is devoted to each of the steps.  The authors give examples from their own classrooms and then give you specific ways you can implement that step in your classroom.  You can choose to implement any or all of the steps, but they work best together.  The last chapter explains how the steps can be implemented together.
     This book had lots of great strategies and examples that I plan to use in my classroom this fall.  It is a great book for teachers of all ages - from preschool to college.   I highly recommend it if you have any clock watchers like I do!

The Wave

      The Wave by Todd Strasser is an awesome book for reluctant adolescent readers, if they have enough background knowledge on The Holocaust and Germany in WWII. 
      This book is based on a true story of a high school history teacher in California in 1969.  He is teaching his class about WWII and the Holocaust.  His students have mixed reactions to the lesson.  Some students are horrified at what they saw in the video.  Other students felt it was a sad event, but it had no bearing on life today.   Still others question how the German people could allow this to happen.
      Their teacher decides to set up a simulation to show his students how people could fall into this type of thinking.  His simulation is a shocking success and is soon spreading around the school.  The teacher and the students begin to lose themselves in The Wave.  The Wave gets out of control fast and shocking parallels to Nazi Germany occur.
     My students love this book and it has led to amazing discussions and connections in class.  We have learned about WWII, the Holocaust, and Hitler's Youth.  We have looked at the editorial cartoons from Dr. Seuss during WWII and learned to evaluate propaganda posters from all the countries involved in the war.  They have made intriguing connections with current events in the middle east and with bullying in our school.
     I highly recommend this book to all teachers.  It is scary to see the power we weild in our students' lives.  I also recommend this book to anyone with an interest in WWII or for teachers teaching a unit on The Holocaust.