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krismarley's review
5.0
This landed in my work mailbox with someone else's name on it... so I figured I could read quickly before putting in her in mailbox. I've now decided that probably wasn't very cool of me. Oh well.
Heinemann didn't accept me to their Fellowship program so I'm taking a break from their texts. Take that, Heinemann! hiiiyah
Heinemann didn't accept me to their Fellowship program so I'm taking a break from their texts. Take that, Heinemann! hiiiyah
skylarprimm's review
4.0
Is it self-serving to praise an author for asserting that "Great teachers are great learners." (p. 142)? Those five words sum up one of my own core beliefs much better than I've ever been able to. Earlier, Anderson also states that "Great teachers… are deeply reflective." (p. 136), and I couldn't agree more. In fact, Anderson identifies self-reflection as a secret weapon in helping students make good choices, so reflection turns out to be a through line of the book running parallel to choice.
Though the term doesn't appear in the index, I kept seeing project based learning connections throughout the book. This could just be me projecting my own classroom practices, though, and I think that any teacher would benefit from allowing a little more authentic choice into their classrooms. I'll just quote Anderson one more time on this: "When our students are more fully engaged in learning; when they are learning more; when our classrooms are vibrant, safe, and joyful learning environments; and when students look forward to coming to school each day, we have more fun." (p. 145)
My only criticism of the book is that the planning resources included at the end of the book seem weak and underdeveloped. I would have appreciated a bit more meat there, perhaps along with vignettes of how the choice experiences played out in practice. (It's also pretty expensive for a book of this length, but I received the copy I read from an administrator, and I suspect others will as well.)
Overall, though, I would encourage other deeply reflective learners to pick up this excellent little book from ASCD over the summer. It's a fast read, with a high content-to-fluff ratio, and it's applicable to all grade levels. (Let the record show that it took a lot of willpower for me to refrain from making a strained "choice" reference in this paragraph. You're welcome.)
Though the term doesn't appear in the index, I kept seeing project based learning connections throughout the book. This could just be me projecting my own classroom practices, though, and I think that any teacher would benefit from allowing a little more authentic choice into their classrooms. I'll just quote Anderson one more time on this: "When our students are more fully engaged in learning; when they are learning more; when our classrooms are vibrant, safe, and joyful learning environments; and when students look forward to coming to school each day, we have more fun." (p. 145)
My only criticism of the book is that the planning resources included at the end of the book seem weak and underdeveloped. I would have appreciated a bit more meat there, perhaps along with vignettes of how the choice experiences played out in practice. (It's also pretty expensive for a book of this length, but I received the copy I read from an administrator, and I suspect others will as well.)
Overall, though, I would encourage other deeply reflective learners to pick up this excellent little book from ASCD over the summer. It's a fast read, with a high content-to-fluff ratio, and it's applicable to all grade levels. (Let the record show that it took a lot of willpower for me to refrain from making a strained "choice" reference in this paragraph. You're welcome.)
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