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Building A Better Teacher: How Teaching Works (and How To Teach It To Everyone) (2014)

by Elizabeth Green(Favorite Author)

3.87 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

0393081591 (ISBN13: 9780393081596)

languge

English

genre

Nonfiction

publisher

W. W. Norton & Company

review 1: Contrary to the impression offered by the book's subtitle (and, even more so, it's parenthetical sub-subtitle), this is not necessarily a "how-to" book. In fact, it's more of a "how-did" book . . . as in, how did we get to this point in the recent history of public education? If one were looking for an actual how-to on teaching, she is not likely to find it here per se. The book is more like a narrative history of the recent innovations (or disintegrations, as the case may be) in teaching. It tells some of the story behind the NCLB and Common Core movements, but even more important, it tells the story of some innovative and ingenuitive teachers who have been working against the system to bring about a change to American education. If one learns "how to build a better ... moreteacher" from this book, it is through the model of these exemplars. So despite the seemingly misleading subtitles, I found this to be a fascinating read and a book that should be circulating around higher ed's schools of education as required reading.
review 2: A fascinating look at pedagogy. My fear is that many read it as a case for charter schools, which I don't think is the author's intent. She chooses to avoid that larger policy discussion and focus on the daily practice of teachers, which was fine for my taste, but she could get slammed for not addressing the current framework that shifts resources away from traditional public schools. She would do well to address it more directly for a bit. less

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