Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire: 01/28/08

In the year I started second grade, Rafe Esquith started teaching. Teach Like Your Hair's On Fire contains what he has learned about teaching and why being a teacher is his calling in life.

He divides the book into three parts: There's No Place Like Home, The Method, and finally, The Madness. The first part describes how to earn the trust of students and help them think beyond themselves. Chapter Two, "Searching for Level VI" is especially interesting and useful for anyone who either works with or lives with children.

Part Two, The Method, takes up the bulk of the book. Here he covers the fundamentals of a good education: reading, writing, mathematics, studying for tests, geography, science, art, sports and economics. By the time you finish chapter 11 you may feel overwhelmed by all the things Rafe manages to accomplish with his students but you will also feel exhilarated by his boundless enthusiasm.

Part Three, The Madness, closes out the book with all the extra curricular things he does with his students. These include the Hobart Shakespeareans, the annual trip to Washington D. C., and the Feed of the World project.

Rafe gives concrete examples in each of his chapters. There are plenty of ways for teachers and parents to inspire an teach the children in their lives.

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