The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

I need books both about teachers (for that task) AND the education field because my current job is also a teacher!

I just finished a book called Dead Don't Dance by Charles Martin, which I really enjoyed. The main character was a teacher at a college who taught English. There is also a sequel!

The Woman in White
Villette
Jane Eyre
White Noise
Herzog
What Was She Thinking? Notes on a Scandal A Novel
The Hour I First Believed A Novel
The Professor's House
Pnin
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
The Return of the Native
The Professor
The Abstinence Teacher
Waterland
Timbuktu A Novel
The Crazed

The main character of one of my favorite books, Jonathan Carroll's The Land of Laughs, is a teacher.

Alot of people don't realize this, but Wanderer in Stephenie Meyer's The Host is actually a teacher. Their word is 'storyteller', but she goes on to say that it is the equivilent of a teacher.

thank you for the info candace, i think the host will be my book for teachers! :)

lesley wrote: "thank you for the info candace, i think the host will be my book for teachers! :)"

No problem! It's what I'm using too :)

Teacher Man A Memoir

The father in Plainsong by Kent Haruf is a teacher, I believe.

Candace wrote: "A lot of people don't realize this, but Wanderer in Stephenie Meyer's The Host is actually a teacher. Their word is 'storyteller', but she goes on to say that it is the equivilent of a teacher."

You're a freaking genius. I've been wanting to reread it.... :)

Sara wrote: "Candace wrote: "A lot of people don't realize this, but Wanderer in Stephenie Meyer's The Host is actually a teacher. Their word is 'storyteller', but she goes on to say that it is the equivilent ..."

Lol - yeah I love it so much I re-read it all the time, so the little things like that stick with me :) It took me a bit to remember because I was having a hard time finding a book that has a teacher has the main character, but it just came to me out of nowhere and I think I actually did a little happy dance when I remembered! :D

Does The Historian have a teacher as the main character? I think so from the description, but not a 100% about that.

What Was She Thinking would also work for the apple-a-day task - I remember the edition I read had an apple on the cover.

Notes on a Scandal is about a teacher.

Would Dead Poet Society work here?

Sarah wrote: "Would Dead Poet Society work here?"

Absolutely, the teacher is very important to the story.

El wrote: "Sarah wrote: "Would Dead Poet Society work here?"

Absolutely, the teacher is very important to the story."

I'm not sure if you're aware, but the book Dead Poet's Society is just a novelization of the movie, not an original book. Of course you can still read it and use it for the challenge, I just wanted to give you a heads up.

Cait wrote: "I'm not sure if you're aware, but the book Dead Poet's Society is just a novelization of the movie, not an original book..."

Letters to a Teacher is the real deal. And, FWIW, when I met him, Pickering came across a little bit nuttier than how Robin Williams played him in the movie.

Here's some more:

A Prayer for Owen Meany
The Lake of Dead Languages A Novel
Seduction of Water
The Fiction Class
Wonder Boys
Anne of Avonlea
Reading Lolita in Tehran A Memoir in Books
The Da Vinci Code
Angels and Demons
The Last Lecture
Then She Found Me
On Beauty
Disgrace
The Human Stain
As She Climbed Across the Table

You might have to double check if these are ok:

Olive Kitteridge A Novel in Stories (retired teacher)
Election (I'm not sure if he's a main character - he is in the movie but I haven't read the book)
I Know This Much Is True (former teacher)
Salem Falls (former teacher)

Sam wrote: "Cait wrote: "I'm not sure if you're aware, but the book Dead Poet's Society is just a novelization of the movie, not an original book..."

Letters to a Teacher is the real deal. And, FWIW, when I m..."

You met him? That's awesome! Thanks for the book link too, I've added it to my TBR. Dead Poet's Society is one of my favorite movies.

I went the non fiction route here, my 2nd grader is struggling with math, So I found 2

one is math for the 2nd grade student (something like that)

and the other is teaching math to elemetary students (something like that)

I saw that someone else mentioned the Da Vinci Code so I am assuming that we can use Dan Brown's new book The Lost Symbol since it features the same main character. I have been looking for a place to fit this book in.

Kristen wrote: "I saw that someone else mentioned the Da Vinci Code so I am assuming that we can use Dan Brown's new book The Lost Symbol since it features the same main character. I have been looking for a place ..."

Kristen, you could use it for Cindy's or Cait's tasks (25.7 & 25.8) as well. For Cindy's it could be the 3-word title (that's what I'm using it for :)) or for Cait's, 'symbol' could probably be used a the thing for the third book! I had completely forgotten that Robert Langdon was a professor. I get too wrapped up in the books and forget he's not just an adventuring historian or something, LOL

Teresa wrote: "I went the non fiction route here, my 2nd grader is struggling with math, So I found 2

one is math for the 2nd grade student (something like that)

and the other is teaching math to elementary students..."

Good luck!! I hope the books help!

Thanks Candace! I forgot that Robert Langdon was a professor too until I saw someone else's post.

Jamie wrote: "Teacher Man A Memoir"

This is what I'm using, too.

Kristen wrote: "Thanks Candace! I forgot that Robert Langdon was a professor too until I saw someone else's post. "

No problem! Happy to help :)

Sara wrote: "Teresa wrote: "I went the non fiction route here, my 2nd grader is struggling with math, So I found 2

one is math for the 2nd grade student (something like that)

and the other is teaching math..."

I hope so too : ) She recently told me math is not her friend and will NEVER use it in life, after pointing out many examples( time, driving, cooking, measuring etc) I began to think it is more important than knowing how to read

Cait wrote: "Here's some more:

A Prayer for Owen Meany
The Lake of Dead Languages A Novel
Seduction of Water
The Fiction Class
Wonder Boys
[..."

Cynthia, will former teachers work for this task? I was planning on reading [book:The Hour I First Believed A Novel|3086160] by Wally Lamb.

Jennifer, you might want to post that on the general questions thread too (just to make sure Cynthia sees it).

I read that book for the summer challenge and loved it, so I hope it works.

Although I'm reading The Piano Teacherby Janice Y. K. Lee, I would recommend The Thread That Runs So True A Mountain School Teacher Tells His Story by Jesse Stuart. I had to read it in high school and loved it!

Teresa wrote: "I hope so too : ) She recently told me math is not her friend and will NEVER use it in life, after pointing out many examples( time, driving, cooking, measuring etc) I began to think it is more important than knowing how to read"

That makes me want to cry! I use math ALL THE TIME. Especially while shopping! (EX: If the shirt she wants is regularly $20, and it's 15% off, how much is the sale price?? She must know how to do this math in order to talk you into buying her clothes!!)

Example of a Real Life Story Problem: (from a couple days ago)

Background info: I am a member of an audiobook group here on goodreads. Recently, we came to a consensus that for the "number of pages" for audiobooks, goodreads librarians should enter the number of hours long the audiobook is.

Problem: I'm listening to The Count of Monte Cristo on audiobook, and I'm trying to update my status. If I'm on disc 14 of 35, and the book is 43 hours long, how many hours into the book am I?

I used equivalent fractions (14/35 = x/43), and cross-multiplied to find the answer (35x = 14*43,
x = 14*43/35 = 17.2 hrs).

(Note: I may be a LITTLE BIT biased, as I'm a Civil Engineer with a minor in Math...)

Sara wrote: "Teresa wrote: "I hope so too : ) She recently told me math is not her friend and will NEVER use it in life, after pointing out many examples( time, driving, cooking, measuring etc) I began to think..."

I LOVE math too, can do many problems in my head, so this really pains me,

I do point out every time we use math.

Awwww. I'm a high school math teacher and get frustrated with girls with defeatist attitudes towards math. I try and turn that around by pointing out their successes in class.

I hated math as a freshman in high school until it "clicked" for me. Maybe she'll come around.

Sara wrote: "Teresa wrote: "I hope so too : ) She recently told me math is not her friend and will NEVER use it in life, after pointing out many examples( time, driving, cooking, measuring etc) I began to think..."

I consider myself a little more than math challenged (I constantly transpose and misread numbers) but even I can do your "story problem", Sara. (Do they even call them story problems any more?)

Donna Jo wrote: "I consider myself a little more than math challenged (I constantly transpose and misread numbers) but even I can do your "story problem", Sara. (Do they even call them story problems any more?) "

Probably not. Haha... But that's what it is... a problem within a story. And that's what all real life math problems are.

The Water is Wide, by Pat Conroy.

Christy by Catherine Marshall is another book I loved that would certainly qualify for this task.

Wonder if The Housekeeper and the Professor A Novel would fit.

These Happy Golden Years, by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

What about My Posse Don't Do Homework, from what the movie Dangerous Minds was loosely based on? She also wrote a book that I found (as a new teacher-to-be) pretty informative: Teaching Outside the Box How to Grab Your Students By Their Brains.

Tanja wrote: "Wonder if The Housekeeper and the Professor A Novel would fit."

Ooh, that's interesting. I had it marked to read for the 'Japan' task in the summer challenge, but I didn't get to it. I'll have to take a look at it again.

But I did tentatively have 'The Host' slated for the Teacher task. Darn, so many choices!

Teresa wrote: "I went the non fiction route here, my 2nd grader is struggling with math, So I found 2

one is math for the 2nd grade student (something like that)

and the other is teaching math to elemeta..."

Teresa,
I was going to message you privately, but I don't think I can since we are not "friends"--anyway, if you are interested, I have some other ideas that might also help your daughter--activities/books that help improve math foundational skills/logical thinking that don't feel like math (I teach fifth graders). Send me a message if you are interested. Good luck! It is really hard when they have a hard time really young--you have to work on the skills and the overall feelings about the subject (and I apologize to everyone but Teresa, I know this is not what this forum is for!)

Cait wrote: "Here's some more:

A Prayer for Owen Meany
The Lake of Dead Languages A Novel
Seduction of Water
The Fiction Class
Wonder Boys
[..."

I asked Cynthia on the main feed about [book:Olive Kitteridge A Novel in Stories|1736739] counting as a teacher and she said no....they must be currently a teacher in the book.

Elizabeth (NC) wrote: "Teresa wrote: "I went the non fiction route here, my 2nd grader is struggling with math, So I found 2

one is math for the 2nd grade student (something like that)

and the other is teaching math..."

I just friend requested you : ) I am open to all ideas, and I have a 5th grader too

I was thinking about using this for the book/movie task, but I think I might read it here instead: The Freedom Writers Diary: How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them

Tell me how that is, Sara! It looked interesting.

Sara ♥ wrote: "I was thinking about using this for the book/movie task, but I think I might read it here instead: [book:The Freedom Writers Diary: How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and..."

i'm using this, too, but for the student angle. really looking forward to it!

I have it checked out... I just need to read it now! I've slowed down--I've had a ton of stuff going on!

I know someone mentioned The Historianearlier for this task but I didn't see if it would be ok to use it here. If not I'll use it somewhere else, but I'd like to know.

Thanks