Kylene Beers

Simply written, a short easy read in two afternoons at the park with kids. Chapter 10 is a gem, about being willing to take risks and be a leader in developing new strategies to engage students, despite pushback from all corners. I disagree with the authors that relevance means discharging classics (see chapter 12). Dig deeper! What made them classics? What values do these old books convey that are needed today? It is arrogant to assume that there is nothing of value in the old stories. What do they tell of the human condition? Human nature? Do they illuminate a period of time when assumptions about the natural world were different than we now believe? Dig deep! You are teachers--expand and become archeologists and anthropologists and philosophers and scientists--and use both fiction and nonfiction to expand your students' understanding of history, of others, and themselves.… (more)

4.5 stars.

“But an educated citizenry, a populace who expects and demands clear and honest discourse, may be able to reject those who would use language to mislead, inflame, or enslave.”

This professional development book is well-researched and provides lots of real classroom dialogues as the basis for its arguments. There is an underlying message that we are failing students by forcing them to read for details and monologic facts instead of opening up the conversations surrounding reading to our students. This is a pretty great book— not 5 stars because there are some repeated ideas from other current professional development books.… (more)