Real Talk For Real Teachers

This book provides a practical methodology that helps education professionals build rapport with students at-promise while creating learning experiences that are relevant - and life-changing. Teaching with transparency, authenticity, creativity, and grit will lead to higher achievement, student engagement, and graduation rates and fewer discipline problems.

For students at risk, Real Talk means real results! Developed by a nationally-awarded educator and former at-risk student, Real Talk builds rapport with students while creating learning experiences that are relevant…and life-changing. The results are transformed classroom and school environments, engaged students, and higher achievement. The Pedagogy of Real Talk guides readers through every step of implementation. They will Develop an understanding of the substantive education theories that underlie the Real Talk approach Learn the how-to’s for implementing Real Talk with any group of learners Understand key approaches for training teachers in Real Talk methodology Benefit from case studies and lessons learned

Gain more productive time in each day! Real talk about managing time, reducing stress, and avoiding teacher burnout. Effective time management skills transform teacher confidence and morale, energize and engage students, and improve the learning climate of a classroom—for both you and your students. Weaving wellness research with classroom-tested tips, Real Talk About Time Management helps you improve your classroom learning environment and your mental health. It includes · 35 practical, teacher-proven strategies for saving time and setting personal boundaries · Stories from educators about proactive time management adjustments that worked · “Your Turn” questions that invite personal reflection and strategic planning

The New York Times–bestselling author and world-renown teacher offers no-nonsense wisdom for teachers of all ages There’s no one teachers trust more to give them classroom advice than Rafe Esquith. After more than thirty years on the job, Esquith still puts in the countless classroom hours familiar to every dedicated educator. But where his New York Times bestseller Teach Like Your Hair’s on Fire was food for a teacher’s mind, Real Talk for Real Teachers is food for a teacher’s soul. Esquith candidly tackles the three stages of life for the career teacher and offers encouragement to see them through the difficult early years, advice on mid-career classroom building, and novel ideas for longtime educators. With his trademark mix of humor, practicality, and boundless compassion, Esquith proves the perfect companion for teachers who need a quick pick-me-up, a long heart-to-heart, or just a momentary reminder that they’re not alone.

Describing effective, creative strategies for talking with students in ways that enhance literacy learning, this book offers a window into the classrooms of four exemplary teachers. Principles of productive classroom discussions are illustrated with detailed case examples. The book shows how—and explains why—"real talk" can enhance student engagement, foster critical thinking, promote mastery of literacy concepts, and instill a lasting love of reading. It offers ideas for selecting children's literature and fitting a range of interactive literacy activities into the school day. The authors draw on current knowledge about the connections between oral language and literacy development across the elementary grades.

Year after year, Rafe Esquith’s fifth-grade students excel. They read passionately, far above their grade level; tackle algebra; and stage Shakespeare so professionally that they often wow the great Shakespearen actor himself, Sir Ian McKellen. Yet Esquith teaches at an L.A. innercity school known as the Jungle, where few of his students speak English at home, and many are from poor or troubled families. What’s his winning recipe? A diet of intensive learning mixed with a lot of kindness and fun. His kids attend class from 6:30 A.M. until well after 4:00 P.M., right through most of their vacations. They take field trips to Europe and Yosemite. They play rock and roll. Mediocrity has no place in their classroom. And the results follow them for life, as they go on to colleges such as Harvard, Princeton, and Stanford. Possessed by a fierce idealism, Esquith works even harder than his students. As an outspoken maverick of public education (his heroes include Huck Finn and Atticus Finch), he admits to significant mistakes and heated fights with administrators and colleagues. We all—teachers, parents, citizens—have much to learn from his candor and uncompromising vision.

This handy guide offers 50 proven best practices for managing today′s classroom, complete with just-in-time tools and relatable teacher-to-teacher anecdotes and advice.

Read Rafe Esquith's posts on the Penguin Blog. The New York Times bestseller that is revolutionizing the way Americans educate their kids-"Rafe Esquith is a genius and a saint" (The New York Times) Perhaps the most famous fifth-grade teacher in America, Rafe Esquith has won numerous awards and even honorary citizenship in the British Empire for his outstandingly successful methods. In his Los Angeles public school classroom, he helps impoverished immigrant children understand Shakespeare, play Vivaldi, and become happy, self-confident people. This bestseller gives any teacher or parent all the techniques, exercises, and innovations that have made its author an educational icon, from personal codes of behavior to tips on tackling literature and algebra. The result is a powerful book for anyone concerned about the future of our children.

An inspiring account of teachers in ordinary circumstances doing extraordinary things, showing us how to transform education What School Could Be offers an inspiring vision of what our teachers and students can accomplish if trusted with the challenge of developing the skills and ways of thinking needed to thrive in a world of dizzying technological change. Innovation expert Ted Dintersmith took an unprecedented trip across America, visiting all fifty states in a single school year. He originally set out to raise awareness about the urgent need to reimagine education to prepare students for a world marked by innovation--but America's teachers one-upped him. All across the country, he met teachers in ordinary settings doing extraordinary things, creating innovative classrooms where children learn deeply and joyously as they gain purpose, agency, essential skillsets and mindsets, and real knowledge. Together, these new ways of teaching and learning offer a vision of what school could be—and a model for transforming schools throughout the United States and beyond. Better yet, teachers and parents don't have to wait for the revolution to come from above. They can readily implement small changes that can make a big difference. America's clock is ticking. Our archaic model of education trains our kids for a world that no longer exists, and accelerating advances in technology are eliminating millions of jobs. But the trailblazing of many American educators gives us reasons for hope. Capturing bold ideas from teachers and classrooms across America, What School Could Be provides a realistic and profoundly optimistic roadmap for creating cultures of innovation and real learning in all our schools.