TEACHING
- A Boy I Once Knew: The Story of a Teacher and Her Student
by Elizabeth Stone (Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, PO Box 2225, Chapel Hill, NC 27515; 208 pp., $19.95 hardcover).
Relates how a teacher was unexpectedly willed the personal diaries of a high school student she had taught 25 years before. The author describes the process of fulfilling Vincent’s last request: to turn the diaries into a book about his life, and she examines the way writing the book affected her own life and her feelings about death.
- At the Elbow of Another: Learning to Teach by Coteaching
by Wolff-Michael Roth and Kenneth Tobin (Peter Lang,275 Seventh Ave., New York, NY 10001; 340 pp., $29.95 paperback).
A discourse on how educators can learn to teach from other teachers and why this practice can provide new and different understandings of teaching. The authors’ focus is on “teaching and learning to teach at different stages of the career ladder,” and their book, they say, is an exploration of “different ways of conceiving the roles of researchers, supervisors, evaluators, cooperating teachers, and ‘new teachers.’”
- The Great Curriculum Debate: How Should We Teach Reading and Math?
ed. by Tom Loveless (Brookings Institution Press, 1775 Massachusetts Ave. N.W., Washington, DC 20036; 360 pp., $18.95 paperback).
An examination of the public debate and conflicting values that surrounded the teaching of reading and math throughout much of the 1990s. Various authors address forces that ignited these controversies and clarify the adversarial positions. They analyze the politics of the disputes, as well as “how curricular conflicts may have affected policy and practice.” Contributors include Diane Ravitch, E.D. Hirsch Jr., Catherine E. Snow, Michael T. Battista, and Richard L. Allington. The essays are drawn from papers and discussions at a conference organized by Harvard University’s Program on Education Policy and Governance.
- From Isolation to Conversation: Supporting New Teachers’ Development
by Dwight L. Rogers and Leslie M. Babinski (State University of New York Press, 90 State St., Suite 700, Albany, NY 12246; 135 pp., $17.95 paperback).
Presents an inquiry-oriented form of professional development, known as the New Teacher Group, that can provide beginning teachers with the ability to engage in discussions with other first-year teachers about difficulties they face in their professional lives. The authors’ approach mixes school psychology and teacher education to form “a consultee-centered consultation model” applicable to real problems encountered in the classroom, and to many types of school systems. The authors, both professors of education, outline step by step the process of building a problem-based discussion group for first-year teachers.
- The Jossey-Bass Reader on Gender in Education
foreword by Susan M. Bailey (Jossey-Bass, a Wiley Company, 605 Third Ave., New York, NY 10158; 784 pp., $25 paperback).
A comprehensive anthology of essays examining gender issues in teaching and learning. Topics covered include the nature/nurture debate, gender achievement gaps, testing and teaching bias, the cultural context of gender, and sexual harassment. In addition to the foreword by Ms. Bailey, the executive director of the Wellesley Centers for Women, the book includes articles by Carol Gilligan, Christina Hoff Sommers, William Pollock, and Michael Gurian, among others.
- The National Board Certification Handbook
ed. by Diane Barone (Stenhouse Publishers, 477 Congress St., Suite 4B, Portland, ME 04101; 118 pp., $15 paperback).
More than a general description of National Board for Professional Teaching Standards certification, this guide details each step in the board-certification process. Chapters are written by teachers and teacher-educators who have been through the process, and the contributors share not only examples from their own portfolios, but also their feelings about the process.
- Reclaiming Caring in Teaching and Teacher Education
by Lisa S. Goldstein (Peter Lang,275 Seventh Ave., New York, NY 10001; 163 pp., $29.95 paperback).
A plea for considering the act of caring as “a crucial factor in the teaching-learning process and as a powerful professional stance for teachers.” The book’s new model of teacher education, the Cornerstones of Caring, identifies commitment, community, and passion as the vital components of caring teaching.
- Stories of the Courage to Teach: Honoring the Teacher’s Heart
by Sam M. Intrator (Jossey-Bass, a Wiley Company, 605 Third Ave., New York, NY 10158; 400 pp., $23.95 hardcover).
Inspired by the letters and true stories of teachers who responded to the author’s 1997 book, The Courage to Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teacher’s Life, this work honors teachers in their efforts to remain committed to the practice of classroom teaching.
- Teachers With the Courage to Give: Everyday Heroes Making a Difference in Our Classrooms
ed. by Jackie Waldman (Conari Press, 2550 Ninth St., Suite 101, Berkeley, CA 94710; 280 pp., $16.95 paperback).
A paean to selfless acts of professional devotion. The volume’s stories of 42 teachers who made a difference in the lives of their students include those of teachers who taught despite severe illnesses such as Lou Gehrig’s disease and cancer, as well as those who aided their own sick or embattled students, including one teacher who donated a kidney to save a student’s life.
- Teaching In Mind: How Teacher Thinking Shapes Education
by Judith Lloyd Yero (MindFlight Publishing, PO Box 1738, Hamilton, MT 59840; 276 pp., $18.95 paperback).
Explores the subjective experiences of teachers and the way these unconscious thought processes affect behaviors and choices. The book examines educators’ beliefs about teaching, the dangers of labeling, and the way values may create conflicts in the educational setting, while demonstrating how reflective thinking by professional educators can help in reform efforts.
- The $100,000 Teacher: A Teacher’s Solution to America’s Declining Public School System
by Brian Crosby (Capital Books, 22841 Quicksilver Drive, Sterling, VA 20166; 302 pp., $24.95 hardcover).
Outlines a plan for attracting and retaining qualified teachers by increasing their salary potential. The writer, a high school English teacher, proposes how to pay for increased salaries without raising property taxes, and considers such topics as pay for performance, creating a private-sector-like pay schedule with a “tiered” career ladder, and the use of peer evaluations in assessing teacher performance.
More information on these books is available from the publisher or your local library or bookstore. Some may be ordered at (888) 887-3200 or www.edweek.org/products/book shelf.htm.
