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Teaching Stories
When nearly everyone else is telling kids no-"No, do it this way....No, I don't want to hear what you think....No, sit down and pay attention"-Judy Logan says yes, to a child's passions, interests, and hopes. The results have been news-making; her students blossom academically, winning essay
contests, prizes, and entrance to the country's best colleges. Armed with a strong sense of who they are and what they think, her students also blossom personally-resisting peer pressure, understanding racial and gender stereotypes, and connecting to the world in which they live.
Drawing on over thirty years "knee deep in adolescence" as a teacher in a public middle school, Judy Logan shows that it is the very vulnerability of adolescence that makes it a time of tremendous opportunity for emotional, intellectual, and social growth. Uniting creativity and compassion, Logan's
vivid classroom stories bring into focus for all parents numerous effective strategies for working with adolescents.
Above all, Judy Logan is a compelling storyteller who loves and respects her students and the work of learning. Eye-opening and inspirational, the stories she has to tell take the simple human drama of day-to-day classroom life and create an all-embracing vision of the possibilities of public
education in America.
contests, prizes, and entrance to the country's best colleges. Armed with a strong sense of who they are and what they think, her students also blossom personally-resisting peer pressure, understanding racial and gender stereotypes, and connecting to the world in which they live.
Drawing on over thirty years "knee deep in adolescence" as a teacher in a public middle school, Judy Logan shows that it is the very vulnerability of adolescence that makes it a time of tremendous opportunity for emotional, intellectual, and social growth. Uniting creativity and compassion, Logan's
vivid classroom stories bring into focus for all parents numerous effective strategies for working with adolescents.
Above all, Judy Logan is a compelling storyteller who loves and respects her students and the work of learning. Eye-opening and inspirational, the stories she has to tell take the simple human drama of day-to-day classroom life and create an all-embracing vision of the possibilities of public
education in America.
192 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1993
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
June 27, 2019
In the unusual "afterword" in the book Peggy McIntosh of Wellesley College says, ". . . this book 'is not about teaching as most of us know it.' Exactly—which is why 'education as we know it" is in so much trouble."
As a 30 year teacher myself, I found the book confirming the best of what I had learned in my own career in special education. Teaching is weighed down by reforms and a thousand little tasks ('shoulds' and 'oughts') that too often have little to do with teaching. Judy demonstrates how to creatively modify top-down expectations in ways that make students feel seen and cared about. In so doing she is a master teacher despite the top-down administrative directives that too often keep talent teachers from doing what they are capable of doing. At the same time Judy shows us some of the small idiocies that some teachers commit in the name of professionalism which has lost sight of the real hearts and minds of the students they teach.
Reading this book will delight anyone truly interested in the lives of children in schools in America. Published in 1999, it is still extremely relevant despite the continuing onslaught of perpetual school reform.
As a 30 year teacher myself, I found the book confirming the best of what I had learned in my own career in special education. Teaching is weighed down by reforms and a thousand little tasks ('shoulds' and 'oughts') that too often have little to do with teaching. Judy demonstrates how to creatively modify top-down expectations in ways that make students feel seen and cared about. In so doing she is a master teacher despite the top-down administrative directives that too often keep talent teachers from doing what they are capable of doing. At the same time Judy shows us some of the small idiocies that some teachers commit in the name of professionalism which has lost sight of the real hearts and minds of the students they teach.
Reading this book will delight anyone truly interested in the lives of children in schools in America. Published in 1999, it is still extremely relevant despite the continuing onslaught of perpetual school reform.
October 15, 2011
A few of my favorite passages:
“As much as possible, if I control the content, I try to let students control the form. If I control the form, I try to let students control the content. I think of this as the ‘have tos’ and the ‘get tos,’ as in, yes, you ‘have to’ do a quilt patch. Yes, you ‘have to’ do a woman. BUT you ‘get to’ choose the woman you want to honor on this quilt and you ‘get to’ do your patch any way you want to" (18).
“I have planned a Significant Lesson. As I begin to present this lesson, I notice that all of the students are properly attending to what I have to say, with the exception to four girls at one back table who are quietly absorbed in doing something else. I grow annoyed. Here I am being Significant in a well-prepared way, and these four are not captivated" (39).
“Being student-centered doesn’t mean I am against parents or colleagues or administrators. It does mean I can sometimes treat the adolescent as the adult whom the parent does not yet see, the colleague may be still trying to control, the administrator may view as a threat (“What do you mean you don’t want to salute the flag!”). Being student-centered doesn’t mean I have an ‘anything goes’ attitude toward my students. On the contrary, I have very high expectations for them, not only as future professionals, but as creative and moral beings" (xxi).
Overall, I didn't like this book as much as I wanted to like this book. I wanted to like it, but I felt like too much of it was What She Does In Her Classroom - her curriculum - rather than actual teaching stories about struggles, students, colleagues, etc. In this way the book is a lot like Holler If You Hear Me by Gregory Michie: a lot of great curriculum ideas, but I thought I was getting a memoir.
“As much as possible, if I control the content, I try to let students control the form. If I control the form, I try to let students control the content. I think of this as the ‘have tos’ and the ‘get tos,’ as in, yes, you ‘have to’ do a quilt patch. Yes, you ‘have to’ do a woman. BUT you ‘get to’ choose the woman you want to honor on this quilt and you ‘get to’ do your patch any way you want to" (18).
“I have planned a Significant Lesson. As I begin to present this lesson, I notice that all of the students are properly attending to what I have to say, with the exception to four girls at one back table who are quietly absorbed in doing something else. I grow annoyed. Here I am being Significant in a well-prepared way, and these four are not captivated" (39).
“Being student-centered doesn’t mean I am against parents or colleagues or administrators. It does mean I can sometimes treat the adolescent as the adult whom the parent does not yet see, the colleague may be still trying to control, the administrator may view as a threat (“What do you mean you don’t want to salute the flag!”). Being student-centered doesn’t mean I have an ‘anything goes’ attitude toward my students. On the contrary, I have very high expectations for them, not only as future professionals, but as creative and moral beings" (xxi).
Overall, I didn't like this book as much as I wanted to like this book. I wanted to like it, but I felt like too much of it was What She Does In Her Classroom - her curriculum - rather than actual teaching stories about struggles, students, colleagues, etc. In this way the book is a lot like Holler If You Hear Me by Gregory Michie: a lot of great curriculum ideas, but I thought I was getting a memoir.
July 19, 2009
At first I thought, this lady is too hippy, even for me. But I'm gaining some valuable insights, and I keep returning to her ideas throughout the day while I'm not reading, and it's sparking some good ideas for my classroom.
June 25, 2008
This is an amazing book. It really is a quick and enjoyable read. Even if you are not a teacher this heartfelt story to make the curriculum more inclusive will touch you.
May 12, 2011
I loved this book. She presents theory without presenting theory, but rather through anecdotes and stories. It was inspirational and made me want to get back into a classroom.
August 3, 2011
Encouraging stories for teachers.
December 24, 2012
Not what I expected but very interesting. It is so fun to read about the experiences teachers have.
April 14, 2016
This is my second reading of this book and I think it should be required reading for every teacher ... or anyone working with young people. The wisdom in her teaching stories is plain to see.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews