Rafe Esquith the author of Teach like your Hair’s on Fire, always seems to put the children he teaches first. He has been referred to by the Washington Post as “the world’s most famous teacher” (Deloza, 2014). He is known for his incredible dedication and commitment to the children he teaches (Deloza, 2014). From the very beginning, his book allows you to experience, both Esquith’s love of teaching and his journey with Room 56, a classroom, in a struggling neighborhood in Los Angeles. The book is insightful and inspiring, as it connects us with an award winning, selfless and talented teacher, Rafe Esquith and his grade 5 students.
Great teaching requires sacrifice and consistently puts the development of the child first Esquith, after teaching for over 30 years and writing several award winning books, exemplifies this child centered philosophy of teaching. His purpose is to share his dedicated and selfless approach to teaching with teachers, in the hope that they too, will be inspired ‘to teach like their hair is on fire.’ He believes that commitment to each individual student is essential. As a role model, he stresses the importance of being dependable and providing an atmosphere that is safe and that promotes the love of learning. He focusses on values and teaching his students to respect themselves and others, to be kind and to always work hard (Esquith, 2007). With Esquith’s simple motto of, “be nice, work hard and there are no shortcuts, in the classroom” (Esquith,2007), it is easy to see why his students are so happy and successful.
In the first section of Esquith’s book, There’s no Place Like Home, Esquith focuses on how Room 56 creates a safe haven, and provides children with shelter from t...
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...ulman, 1987).
One can’ t help but be inspired when Esquith states, “If we ask great things of our children, we must show them we believe great things are possible” (Esquith, 2007).
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In a society where kids must go to school up to the collegiate level, teaching is an impactful career choice. Teachers help contour the minds of future leaders of the world. Furthermore, teachers play a crucial role in guiding students to the knowledge, skills, and abilities they need to succeed in life, and teachers lead students to make informed decisions on any topic the meet in the future. As a teacher, a person must relinquish their knowledge onto students. Finally, they must prepare their students for all the obstacles they will face later in life.
Ron Clark began his teaching career in a small town in North Carolina, but after five years teaching there, he wanted to take his career to new heights. Clark moved to Harlem, New York and began to teach a tough middle school class, in which none of the students were excited to learn. He knew that he had to get their attention somehow, so he came up with a new set of classroom rules, which he wrote about in his first book The Essential 55: An Award-Winning Educator’s Rules for Discovering the Successful Student in Every Child. He had strange rules like “When asked a question, ask a question in return”, and “Say thank you within 3 seconds of receiving something”. While these rules were unusual and different, they got the point across (Essential). But his students were still having trouble with their class work, so he fought harder. He started making learning exciting for the children by doing things like jumping on the desk...
Cohen, L. Manion, L. Morrison, K. and Wyse, D (2010) A guide to teaching practice. London: Routledge.
Zuckerman, M. B. (2005, October 10). Classroom Revolution. U.S. News & World Report. p. 68. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Touching lives and affecting the outcome of so many futures a teacher is the epitome of a leader. Just as a leader has his or her own style, a teacher’s way of motivating his/her students, also plays an important role for a students success. Spending more time children then most parents do, a teacher is crucial in shaping with children of the future. If teachers are poor leaders then children suffer. When they shine as leaders, children blossom and the universe is wide open. As a teacher must fine tune their leadership skills and find the best style of teaching for the students who they are teaching. The intrinsic characteristics of a teacher can be categorized into a few main teaching styles or leadership styles. Directing, participating, delegating, and combined styles are the main forms of teaching and leading. The qualities associated with these styles are necessary to any teacher. The purpose ...
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Along these two weeks we have been prompt to make a recall to our own way of learning and why we became a teacher: Was it because coincidence, due to life circumstances, maybe because family tradition, was it a conscious decision or because someone influenced us? Whatever the answer is, we have to face reality and be conscious that being a teacher does not only means to teach a lesson and asses students learning. It requires playing the different roles a teacher must perform whenever is needed and required by our learners, identify our pupils needs and preferences, respecting their integrity and individuality but influencing and motivating them to improve themselves and become independent.
Senge, P., Cambron-McCabe, N., Lucas, T., Smith, B., Dutton, J. & Kleiner, A. (2012). Schools that Learn (pp. 32-69). Boston: Nicholas Brealey Publishing.