Category Archives: Books

Here s a list of books written for teachers that are worth reading. Enjoy!

Author Sharon Flake Gives Urban Boys a Distinctive Voice

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$RRL6CXGAward-winning author Sharon G. Flake gives urban youths a distinctive voice in her unique book You Don’t Even Know Me: Stories and Poems about Boys. The volume includes ten very moving portraits of African American boys, with free-verse poems interspersed, all written in the street language of inner-city African American teens.

The haunting characters and the pathos of their life circumstances will tug at your heart strings. There’s the story of sixteen-year-old Tow-Kaye, who is getting married because his girlfriend is pregnant. He wants to do the right thing, but he’s scared to death. There’s the story of the youngster who is wrestling with the violent murder of his beloved grandfather, and his impulse to get revenge. Then there’s James, who keeps a diary detailing his plans to commit suicide. And the story or La ‘Ron, who must write a letter to his family revealing that he has been infected with the HIV virus. Despite the complex and demanding situations these boys find themselves in, there is always a note of optimism at the end of each story.

This easy-to-read volume has been recommended for students in grade eight and above, and has been recommended by School Library Journal. You can find You Don’t Even Know Me at amazon.com.

If You Don’t Feed the Teachers They Eat the Students

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9780865304574_p0_v1_s260x420[1][1]If You Don’t Feed the Teachers They Eat the Students. So says educator and author Neilia A. Connors, Ph.D. She ought to know, she’s had an extensive career as a teacher at the elementary and middle school levels, an administrator, a university professor, and a consultant.

Connors’s humorous book, which presents her message through using cooking analogies and acronyms, dishes up practical advice for classroom teachers and administrators who hunger to create a positive school environment. Her goal is to share some simple kitchen-tested recipes for creating a climate of success and high moral throughout any campus.

Highly acclaimed, the book boasts a rating of  #24 on amazon’s best-seller list. If You Don’t Feed the Teachers They Eat the Students is available through amazon.com.

Educating (Chalkboard Champion) Esme: Diary of a Teacher’s First Year

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9781565122796[1][1]A great read for any teacher regardless of number of years of service is Educating Esme: Diary of a Teacher’s First Year. This hilariously funny book, first published in 1999 but revised and republished in 2001, was recorded by 24-year-old Esme Raji Codell, a first-year teacher in an inner-city public school in Chicago.

The diary shines a spotlight on a real-life classroom from the perspective of a beginning teacher. Codell presents her daily battles with bureaucrats, gang members, abusive parents, and her own insecurities, but in the process she reveals what it takes to be an exceptional teacher.

This highly-acclaimed book is recommended by School Library Journal and Publishers Weekly. You can find the volume on the web site of Barnes and Noble at the following link: Educating Esme.

Teach Like Your Hair’s On Fire

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9780143112860[1][1]Chalkboard champion Rafe Esquith teaches in a Los Angeles community infested with gang activity, guns, and drug abuse. The fifth graders in his classroom are the children of immigrants who live in poverty and who speak English as a second language. These students also perform Shakespeare, play Vivaldi, score in the top 1 percent on standardized tests, and go on to attend four-year universities. How does Esquith teach in ways that foster these accomplishments? He explains his strategies and techniques in his 2007 book Teach Like Your Hair’s on Fire!
In his book, Rafe Esquith reveals that the two mottoes in his classroom are “Be Nice, Work Hard” and “There Are No Shortcuts.” His students voluntarily come to school at 6:30 in the morning and work until 5:00 in the afternoon. Among the lessons Esquith teaches his students are learning to handle money responsibly, traveling the country to study history, reading the American classics, and pairing Hamlet with rock and roll.
Teach Like Your Hair’s on Fire! is an inspirational read for any classroom teacher. You can find this wonderful resource on amazon at the following link: Teach Like Your Hair’s On Fire!

Actor Tony Danza: The Unexpected Chalkboard Champion

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9780307887863_p0_v1_s260x420[1]It seems to me that in every teacher’s career, there comes a desperate moment in which we just want to be understood. We fervently wish that the public, the parents, and the media comprehended just how dedicated we are to our students, and just how hard we work on their behalf, and just how tough the job is. Tony Danza goes a long way to build this understanding in his 2012 book I’d Like to Apologize to Every Teacher I Ever Had: My Year as a Rookie Teacher at Northeast High.
Having already earned his degree in history and  his teaching credential, Danza accepted a position as a first-year teacher in an inner-city school in Philadelphia, partly because he had always wanted to teach and decided now would be a good time in his career to explore that option, and partly because the experiment could be turned into a reality show that, Danza hoped, could accomplish some genuine good by turning an empathetic spotlight on our nation’s over-worked, over-criticized, and under-paid teachers.
Throughout the book, Danza provides an insider’s perspective on many of the topics that dominate political discussion in the media and professional conversation in the teachers’ lounge, including such topics as funding cuts, high-stakes testing, high absenteeism,  student apathy, and lack of parental involvement. It’s amazing how he hit the nail on the head with every chapter.
I loved this book, and how Danza eloquently voiced the frustrations of practically every teacher in America. Most importantly, I loved how much his genuine affection and respect for his students, and his strong commitment to do right by them, shines through the frustrations. It’s an inspirational book I recommend you read before going back to the classroom in the Fall. You can find it on amazon at I’d Like to Apologize to Every Teacher I Ever Had.