The Art of Being a Brilliant Teacher

by Gary Toward, Chris Henley, Andy Cope

Teaching is an art. With the right techniques, guidance, skills and practice, teachers can masterfully face any situation the classroom could throw at them. With their fresh perspectives, Teaching is an art. With the right techniques, guidance skills and practice, teachers can masterfully face any situation the classroom can throw at them. With their fresh perspectives, sage advice and humor, Andy, Chris and Gary show teachers how to unleash their brilliance. For any teacher who has had a classroom full of angels who suddenly turn into devils for some unknown reason, or who realize too late that their best-laid lesson plans will go nowhere, or who is that teacher who has had their energy sapped by a negative colleague, this book will help rescue them. These problems and many others can be helped by reading this book which contains an enormous amount of practical advice, tips and ideas to make anyone brilliant.

Genres: Teaching, Nonfiction

200 pages, Paperback

First published March 13, 2015

Reviews

[SHAMIM · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Art of Being a Brilliant Teacher
By Gary Toward, Chris Henley and Andy Cope
Genre : Self Help


As a teacher with years of teaching experience and change of umpteen schools, kind of complacency sets in and anything novel only raises eyebrows and a question as to what more? This is just what happened when I set my eyes and hands on this book…...... ‘The art of being a brilliant teacher!’
Initially I picked up the book to kill time but as I surfed through a few pages I realized the book is not meant for casual reading and is likely to add value to my existing reservoir of knowledge or at least bring in a new perspective towards teaching, a job that becomes mundane as years flyby.
Every experienced teacher feels that she has mastered the teaching nuances and it is her birthright to write a book and enlighten those with struggles in the field, however the writers' intentions are clear from the very beginning. The book is not meant to preach but an attempt to replenish the dying sense of passion amongst teachers that comes with age.
Everything about the book is quirky... The language, the style, the content and the writers themselves .....Oh my god three of them!
The book is packed with tips, techniques and plenty of anecdotes. Especially worth a mention are the snippets, the phrases and quotes. More so ,the handy ‘In a nutshell' columns before the start of every chapter are inviting and give you a peek into what will follow and whether to proceed or skip. Interestingly I never skipped a chapter because I found a reason worthwhile in each.
The writers with a huge 90 years of teaching experience among them know precisely a teacher's journey that is full of apprehensions, joys, frustrations and sweat and this makes the book readable, relevant and fun.
Acronyms such as HUGG (huge unbelievably great goals), VAK (visual auditory kinesthetic) W II F M (what's in it for me) THUNKS(thought grenades) tickle your senses and bring alive the heavy content.
Classroom management strategies such as mini conversations, consistency in discipline, seating plans, Matthew effect, engaging introductions and plenary, correct spellings and correct pronunciations of students names, error less jottings in the register, detailing of the lesson, changing displays, multiple class layouts, welcome and see off of students, differentiation, bounce back ability, entropy ,mood hoovers, nutters, 7 p's of teaching, creative mood lifting games and positivity are beautifully touched upon and leave you with a feeling of wanting to do more.
The earnestness and excitement of the writers rubs onto you as you read. I strongly believe that the book is a must read for freshers bursting with enthusiasm as well as the seasoned veterans. It should find a place in every teachers home as a charger when one is contemplating quitting the profession.
The book seems a little intimidating and makes a teacher's job look herculean and maybe a little idealistic as well but definitely definitely worth a read...

P.S. : The book is a must for every teacher who dreads Mondays.

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[Finn O'Callaghan-Doyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who is in the process of applying for teacher training, this book has been helpful in terms of how to approach various different aspects of teaching and scenarios that may pop up in the classroom.

I really liked the authors' ethos of writing simply, clearly and with humour. Their avoidance of jargon really helped make this a very easy read, for me as a newbie to the profession but equally, I would think, to a seasoned teacher with little time to spare.

My only issue with this book was the fact that the authors complain over and over again about political correctness. This gets very tedious very quickly and the fact that it was published in 2012 is very clear too (I can't imagine anyone in their right mind writing in 2024 using quotes from TerfFace McMagic-School and the Wotsit man who was unfortunately president of the US 2016-2020) and their attempts to be "down with the kidz" come across as cringeworthy in places.