The Rooted Classroom

by Monica Genta

People often say education is broken, but I don't think that's true. I believe education is simply evolving into something beautiful. No longer are reading, writing and arithmetic the foundations of learning. Learning is now rooted in relationships, relationships, and most importantly, relationships.

144 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2019

Reviews

[Ashley Huff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Monica Genta’s The Rooted Classroom gives educators a glimpse into her classroom and the relationships she’s built with her students. She talks about hard moments and fun moments, along with stories of teachers from her childhood. Her stories and tips come from a middle school classroom, so not every aspect is applicable or relevant for me. However, I still found many valuable strategies for relationship building that I could bring to my first grade classroom. She emphasizes the importance of social-emotional learning as the foundation for all other learning. Monica Genta believes that student learning is rooted in relationships. Her book tells stories of the ways she has fostered strong relationships with her students and how she encourages relationships between students in her classroom. Through these stories, it becomes evident that her classroom functions much like a family. I think it would have been simple for the author to take all of these tips and experiences and credit them to herself, but I really appreciate that she gives credit for some of these ideas to her colleagues or childhood teachers. In the last chapter, she talks about the importance of your relationships with your staff and how the school needs to operate like a family. I would have loved to have additional content focusing on building relationships with staff members and creating a healthy family within the school building. That is my only hesitation with this book. I know the book is about building deeply rooted relationships with students, but I believe readers would benefit from information about developing relationships with colleagues as well, creating a rooted school community. When she mentioned strong relationships with staff members, I thought yes, that is an area that I would have enjoyed hearing more of her perspective on. The author seems like the kind of person that has great relationships with her colleagues, and I would have liked to hear some of her insight on that front as well.
Monica Genta is clearly a passionate, energetic, and dedicated teacher. I enjoyed reading the wisdom she has to share, and I look forward to implementing her strategies in my classroom.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Rooted Classroom is all about the most important thing you can do with your students...build relationships. Monica gives many tips and ideas to use in your classrooms while also relating things to her own experiences in school. I think we all remember those teachers that built a relationship with their students and I think I better remember the content they taught.

[Tracy TS · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a super-fast, must-read for all teachers.