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THE First Days of School: How to Be an Effective Teacher, 5th Edition
Kindle Edition
Published September 21, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 22, 2026
Many teachers apparently find this book to be revolutionary and make a world of difference in their teaching. I find almost all of it to be common sense…
It’s also quite repetitive, and could probably be about 100 pages shorter.
The TLDR version: there are skills/dispositions that effective teachers share that make them so successful, and YOU TOO can have these skills! It’s as simple as having a consistently caring disposition, holding high expectations for student success- for ALL your students- committing yourself to self-reflection and improvement, and collaborating with your community.
That is literally the entire 324 pages. I can’t stress how REPETITIVE the whole thing was… I wouldn’t have wasted the $20 something it cost to buy it if it wasn’t a required text for a graduate education course. The one good thing I can say about this book is that at least the layout of the pages felt more like reading a magazine (a very long one) instead of an overly verbose academic/scientific journal article. Scientific studies in education and psychology are mentioned throughout, but the book overall is laid out and reads more like a magazine.
It’s also quite repetitive, and could probably be about 100 pages shorter.
The TLDR version: there are skills/dispositions that effective teachers share that make them so successful, and YOU TOO can have these skills! It’s as simple as having a consistently caring disposition, holding high expectations for student success- for ALL your students- committing yourself to self-reflection and improvement, and collaborating with your community.
That is literally the entire 324 pages. I can’t stress how REPETITIVE the whole thing was… I wouldn’t have wasted the $20 something it cost to buy it if it wasn’t a required text for a graduate education course. The one good thing I can say about this book is that at least the layout of the pages felt more like reading a magazine (a very long one) instead of an overly verbose academic/scientific journal article. Scientific studies in education and psychology are mentioned throughout, but the book overall is laid out and reads more like a magazine.
July 31, 2025
Could easily be two-thirds or even half the length it is. There is quite a bit of redundancy within and across chapters, and this makes for a jarring effect while reading: one minute speed reading past reiterations, then the next minute having to pump the brakes to catch the new information. With all that said, this is a tremendously valuable book for new teachers (or just anyone in general aiming to be an effective teacher).
August 19, 2024
A worthwhile overview of the basics for the first-time teacher. Helped me crystallize some of my plans so that I can move forward efficiently.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews