corva_corva's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
lisaluvsliterature's review against another edition
5.0
This book gives practical realistic advice. I can't wait to try it out. I hope this year will be much better because of it.
bethnellvaccaro's review against another edition
3.0
A lot of this book is laugh out loud funny (but I warn, probably only for teachers) and the advice the author gives is good. As a real classroom management how-to, though, I'm not sure how much this book will help, although I am sure it will comfort.
mimifrancis's review against another edition
4.0
Fun read with some interesting ideas on classroom management.
daydreamer0626's review against another edition
4.0
This was a great book if you are a troubled and struggling first year teacher. It gives some great advice and helps you realize that you are really not alone. He recounts not only his first year but his first couple years and really tries to help you learn through his mistakes. And it is a fairly quick read too (he adds some humor to it as well so you end up getting a good chuckle or two).
I'll let you know though, this isn't a book that is all about advice (and that's not why I bought the book in the first place). Teaching takes a lot of planning and really takes a toll on teachers emotionally and mentally. You really start to believe that "Oh my classes are so bad, I bet no one has classes as bad as mine". Even when other teachers tell you they have been there, you still have doubts. I was really glad to see that a lot of my issues were issues noted in the book (since I'm a grade A softy as well). The book helped me more emotionally than strategically like other books that give advice and that's exactly what I was looking for (I already have plenty of other books to be read that give advice)
So if you are a struggling teacher and are finding your first couple years to be more stress than you bargained for, before you think of quitting, give this book a read. It really helped me :)
I'll let you know though, this isn't a book that is all about advice (and that's not why I bought the book in the first place). Teaching takes a lot of planning and really takes a toll on teachers emotionally and mentally. You really start to believe that "Oh my classes are so bad, I bet no one has classes as bad as mine". Even when other teachers tell you they have been there, you still have doubts. I was really glad to see that a lot of my issues were issues noted in the book (since I'm a grade A softy as well). The book helped me more emotionally than strategically like other books that give advice and that's exactly what I was looking for (I already have plenty of other books to be read that give advice)
So if you are a struggling teacher and are finding your first couple years to be more stress than you bargained for, before you think of quitting, give this book a read. It really helped me :)
runa's review
4.0
I am a struggling new teacher, and I related to SO MUCH of what this book talked about. Only problem? This book was written by a teacher working with secondary students and I'm working with preschoolers. We are in astonishingly similar situations and I loved the humor in the writing, but much of the advice just wasn't applicable. Some of it certainly was. The ideas of being consistent and firm are ones I will be doing a much better job trying to implement. So I highly recommend this book to middle/high school teachers who are struggling, but if anyone has recs for more relevant preschool discipline and classroom management, those would be highly appreciated.
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