Reading the scenarios, I was in their lives-feeling the same feelings of hurt, embarrassment, and anxiety. I was so sad that professionals did these things to young children! Some needed to be locked away (orange jumpsuits)!
I think that many of the scenarios are extreme, things that you would only hear about on the news. I'll be starting year 21 of my teaching career, and I have only ever witnessed two students being paddled. You just don't hear about corporal punishment happening in schools anymore. In my opinion, the author spends too much time explaining these type of scenarios and why they shouldn't have happened and not enough time giving realistic strategies that could be used in the classroom.
I agree with Pam.I'm having a difficult time reading it because it's hard to believe some of these scenarios really happened. As Frick stated, I would love to know what happened before and after.
Pam, well said! I only found two and a half pages (249-251) that have suggested ways to avoid making mistakes, and they are general comments at best. I hope John Q. Public doesn't read this book and think that these are common problems in today's classrooms. The scenerios seem to be extreme situations. I too wondered about the before and after of the situations. But what I felt was missing the most was actual data. All of the "data" are distant perceptions presented in a commentary format. If the teachers had a voice would they offer some insight as well into these situations? I can see the benefit in reviewing the mistakes teachers make, but I guess I just didn't like the format of this particular book.
I agree with those that say the scenarios are extreme and seem to be taken stright from the headlines. I would like to have that before incident and after incident information. These are the teachers that make it hard on those that really care. Holly, I also hope the public does not take this and make it their 'bible' for teacher behavior.
The cruelty that was experienced by these individuals makes me very angry. These people (if they really did these horrible things) don't deserve to be called teachers. It's people like this that give us a bad name.
We work in a school system that has evolved from these scenerios. However, in the past our system has encountered questionable physical punishment administered to students. For those of you who felt the examples were harsh and unrealistic by today's standards, count yourself blessed. I've have witnessed some scary stuff (for lack of a better word) happening around our state.
This is disturbing,depressing book! It is just a laundry list of horror stories. I wish we could have read a collection of uplifting,inspiring stories that people remembered from their school experiences!!!
I have to agree that I am not crazy about this book and it's format at all! While I hate to be negative, I do think it's important to be honest! I, like so many of you, would have preferred a more positive focused book with helpful strategies and uplifting/inspiring information. I agree with Jackie - the unfortunate reality is that there are some bad things that truly have happened and are still happening to students at the hands of teachers. I also agree with Carmen - this book is basically a disturbing and depressing laundry list of those bad things! In my opinion, it is the complete opposite of the book we read last summer - What Great Teachers Do Differently. I loved that last year's book gave specific strategies that lead to success and it really motivated us to want to be the best we can be! Nevertheless, there is an important lesson we can learn from this book: we can never truly know the impact that our words and actions have on others! This book serves as a reminder that we always need to treat our students (and each other) with the utmost respect! Being more aware of the way we felt as a result of the bad choices made by some of our teachers can help us to have more empathy for our students and to be more mindful of the choices we make each day. We can provide a safe and nurturing environment where our children feel good about themselves, love to learn and are motivated to excel which will have a long-lasting positive impact or NOT...the choice is OURS!!! :-)
Carmen, I agree one thousand percent. Several of the examples in the first part of the book seem to come from private catholic schools since the scenarios involve nuns.
Many of these stories make me question what the school atmosphere is like for these teachers. I also wonder about teacher morale and what kind of impact that has on their classroom. I strongly believe teacher morale can make or break school atmosphere.
As I was, I appreciate how many of you acknowledged that you were disturbed by this book. I do agree with Shannon that it can be a reminder to be more mindful of our actions. Although in seventeen years, I have not seen this type of extreme punishment. Like Pam, I have witnessed one child in my teaching career being paddled and that was "how it was handled" back then.
I completed the book and still have questions as to the motive of this author. Were they working on some type of dissertation trying to prove their case. I also feel like more realistic scenarios and teacher insight would have been helpful in understanding the author's motive.
It was intriguing to read some the things that had happened to students and shocking that teachers have done these things to students. After reading the book, I thought some of the scenarios were very extreme and probably happened quite often in schools many moons ago. Although, I do think there were scenarios that are still happening in schools today. Some of the situations still happening in today's schools are minor pitfalls. Pits I want to avoid. While reading, I was reminded of important, yet simple things I need to remember as a teacher to avoid falling into any of these situations.
Reading the scenarios, I was in their lives-feeling the same feelings of hurt, embarrassment, and anxiety. I was so sad that professionals did these things to young children! Some needed to be locked away (orange jumpsuits)!
ReplyDeleteI agree...I was wondering about how these scenarios played out...what happened prior to these examples. Was there retribution??
ReplyDeleteI think that many of the scenarios are extreme, things that you would only hear about on the news. I'll be starting year 21 of my teaching career, and I have only ever witnessed two students being paddled. You just don't hear about corporal punishment happening in schools anymore. In my opinion, the author spends too much time explaining these type of scenarios and why they shouldn't have happened and not enough time giving realistic strategies that could be used in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Pam.I'm having a difficult time reading it because it's hard to believe some of these scenarios really happened. As Frick stated, I would love to know what happened before and after.
ReplyDeletePam, well said! I only found two and a half pages (249-251) that have suggested ways to avoid making mistakes, and they are general comments at best. I hope John Q. Public doesn't read this book and think that these are common problems in today's classrooms. The scenerios seem to be extreme situations. I too wondered about the before and after of the situations. But what I felt was missing the most was actual data. All of the "data" are distant perceptions presented in a commentary format. If the teachers had a voice would they offer some insight as well into these situations? I can see the benefit in reviewing the mistakes teachers make, but I guess I just didn't like the format of this particular book.
ReplyDeleteI agree with those that say the scenarios are extreme and seem to be taken stright from the headlines. I would like to have that before incident and after incident information. These are the teachers that make it hard on those that really care. Holly, I also hope the public does not take this and make it their 'bible' for teacher behavior.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe cruelty that was experienced by these individuals makes me very angry. These people (if they really did these horrible things) don't deserve to be called teachers. It's people like this that give us a bad name.
ReplyDeleteWe work in a school system that has evolved from these scenerios. However, in the past our system has encountered questionable physical punishment administered to students. For those of you who felt the examples were harsh and unrealistic by today's standards, count yourself blessed. I've have witnessed some scary stuff (for lack of a better word) happening around our state.
ReplyDeleteThis is disturbing,depressing book! It is just a laundry list of horror stories. I wish we could have read a collection of uplifting,inspiring stories that people remembered from their school experiences!!!
ReplyDeleteI have to agree that I am not crazy about this book and it's format at all! While I hate to be negative, I do think it's important to be honest! I, like so many of you, would have preferred a more positive focused book with helpful strategies and uplifting/inspiring information. I agree with Jackie - the unfortunate reality is that there are some bad things that truly have happened and are still happening to students at the hands of teachers. I also agree with Carmen - this book is basically a disturbing and depressing laundry list of those bad things! In my opinion, it is the complete opposite of the book we read last summer - What Great Teachers Do Differently. I loved that last year's book gave specific strategies that lead to success and it really motivated us to want to be the best we can be! Nevertheless, there is an important lesson we can learn from this book: we can never truly know the impact that our words and actions have on others! This book serves as a reminder that we always need to treat our students (and each other) with the utmost respect! Being more aware of the way we felt as a result of the bad choices made by some of our teachers can help us to have more empathy for our students and to be more mindful of the choices we make each day. We can provide a safe and nurturing environment where our children feel good about themselves, love to learn and are motivated to excel which will have a long-lasting positive impact or NOT...the choice is OURS!!! :-)
ReplyDeleteCarmen, I agree one thousand percent. Several of the examples in the first part of the book seem to come from private catholic schools since the scenarios involve nuns.
ReplyDeleteMany of these stories make me question what the school atmosphere is like for these teachers. I also wonder about teacher morale and what kind of impact that has on their classroom. I strongly believe teacher morale can make or break school atmosphere.
As I was, I appreciate how many of you acknowledged that you were disturbed by this book. I do agree with Shannon that it can be a reminder to be more mindful of our actions. Although in seventeen years, I have not seen this type of extreme punishment. Like Pam, I have witnessed one child in my teaching career being paddled and that was "how it was handled" back then.
ReplyDeleteI completed the book and still have questions as to the motive of this author. Were they working on some type of dissertation trying to prove their case. I also feel like more realistic scenarios and teacher insight would have been helpful in understanding the author's motive.
It was intriguing to read some the things that had happened to students and shocking that teachers have done these things to students. After reading the book, I thought some of the scenarios were very extreme and probably happened quite often in schools many moons ago. Although, I do think there were scenarios that are still happening in schools today. Some of the situations still happening in today's schools are minor pitfalls. Pits I want to avoid. While reading, I was reminded of important, yet simple things I need to remember as a teacher to avoid falling into any of these situations.
ReplyDelete