Reddit mentions: The best education theory books

To be honest this doesn't sound like the best homeschool environment. But: Many (if not most) homeschoolers of kids who were pulled out of public school take a sort of "detox" period when the kids are taken out of school. This kind of gives them a chance to relax, put the public school environment really on the back burner, and kind of reset to get ready for homeschooling.

The kinds of programs you are describing are basically "school at home." This is fine for many kids. For a kid who obviously hates school and "learning" as he perceives it (i.e. what he has been forced to do at school all his life,) this is probably not a good option.

There are as many different ways and methods of homeschooling as there are families who homeschool and that's really what is so exciting and effective about it. Now is a great time to start exploring these methods WITH HIM. He is certainly old enough to have a vote in how he learns.

For a kid who is resistant to book learning I would read up about unschooling, free range learning, project-based homeschooling. It goes by different names but the basic premise is the same: people learn best when they are interested and engaged and making their own choices about what to learn and when.

He needs to start taking an inventory of his interests and abilities. Is he mechanically inclined? He obviously doesn't like to read but what about math? Video games? Does he want to learn how to code? What about animals? He could become involved in a program that trains dogs to become service dogs for people with various disabilities. The possibilities are really endless and bounded only by his own imagination.

This could be a very exciting time for your brother (and the rest of your family); fighting about sitting in front of a computer all day and reading about the civil war or whatever is not going to help anything. He has decided he doesn't like to learn. This is a potential tragedy but he is still young and there is still time to change his mind.

It is important that when you begin his interest inventory (I would suggest doing this as a family) that there are no disparaging comments made. If he says he is interested in video games, it goes onto the list. If he loves to play guitar, it goes onto the list. There are plenty of ways to work those interests into valuable projects, you just have to get creative.

On another note: he is old enough to start learning about trades; if he thinks that's where his interests may be. You could track down electricians, plumbers, any kind of tradesman in your area and I'm sure any one of them would be thrilled to explain their career and necessary education to a 14-year old.

It looks like you live in Texas? I am also in TX and the state has some of the most liberal homeschool laws in the nation. Unschooling is definitely possible here.

I noticed that you said your parents are high school dropouts and that they can't teach your brother. This does not have to be a barrier to his education; at the high school level most parents aren't actually "teaching," anyway, they are acting more as mentors. It is important that they are on board in supporting his projects and interests but they don't have to teach him trigonometry; there are plenty of other ways to go about getting that information when he needs it.

I hope this helps. The most important thing you can do right now is to get him excited about learning something. ANYTHING.

Congratulations! ! I'm a second grade teacher and absolutely love the age. They're old enough to learn to work independently but they're still young enough to engage in imaginary play. So much fun!

I would highly recommend getting this book to help you start off your year. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1892989816/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1466540252&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=the+first+six+weeks+of+school&dpPl=1&dpID=41CWPyLbqNL&ref=plSrch Really helpful in pacing and teaching routines. Also, even if you don't use the Daily 5 structure, I would highly recommend reading the book to give you an idea of how to teach routines for independent work and to build stamina. Those strategies for teaching routines really helped me establish a routine for independence that lasted all year. Slow down in the beginning so you can cruise the rest of the year. You'll also need to get really comfortable with beginning and transitional reading stages. I'd recommend On Solid Ground by Sharon Taberski and Jennifer Serravello's The Reading Strategies book.

You are going to love this age group! ! Best of luck and feel free to pm me if you have any questions!

I'm in the UK, so your mileage may vary on this, but personally I find comparing the US way with British methods quite interesting. We are definitely NOT allowed to just shout any more, and when I changed schools a few years ago I went from one that allowed it to one that absolutely didn't. Overnight, I found virtually all my classroom management techniques swept away from me and had to start from scratch.

I teach in a tough school in a deprived seaside town in the UK, with a high number of kids who have English as an additional language. It has the reputation as the hardest school to teach in in a 100-mile area. It's a comprehensive school in a selective area, which means the 25% brightest students go to a grammar school, leaving our kids - often with a sense of failure that they are "thick", and with a wealth of social problems - to come to us. There's a lot of poverty and drug use. Over here we merge Junior High and High School so the school is for 12-18 year olds (seven school years). There's a strong focus on vocational rather than academic subjects. I teach Modern Languages, which is on the National Curriculum (Common Core?) and therefore has to be taught even though it is an academic subject and most of the kids struggle with English in the first place. They don't want to learn my subject. I have to make them...

You've hit the nail on the head about engagement. Even my toughest classes get pulled in by presenting the right subject matter in the right way. I have a class of seventh-graders who I only see late in the afternoon - they're very low ability and disengaged. But by presenting the subject matter in the right way, especially at the start of the lesson, I can get them achieving what I want when I want it. Carefully structuring the activities, making sure there's a mixture of teacher-focussed activities with independent activities, and making sure you've differentiated appropriately, is absolutely critical. Looking at the material from left-field to see how you can introduce a difficult topic almost by stealth is the way I've managed to get this right so far.

Equally, giving regular feedback (and praise) to build up self-esteem works really well, even if it's going round with "well done" stamps or stickers, or using raffle tickets, or whatever. Works a treat.

Routines, as well - don't change up how you do things. If you want equipment out on the desk at the start, TELL THEM, get it right once (it might take a while) and then do that EVERY SINGLE TIME, EVERY LESSON. Hand signals, or a countdown, when you want them to be quiet and listen. That sort of thing.

With a 105 minute lesson you've got your work cut out to keep focus going, but I always find with my double lessons which are similarly lengthy, if you approach it as a series of smaller lessons (roughly, say, 20 minutes) with a small learning outcome for each it keeps the pace up and allows clear progress to be made. That said, it also gives you an opportunity for extended independent work with you circulating to keep focus and motivation going. But I always feel roughly 30 minutes of independent work is more than enough before they all grind to a halt - I would always aim for smaller, more structured tasks to be worked through.

Talking regularly to parents works well - especially positive phone calls, but of course negative ones too.

And finally, absolutely being a stickler for the rules of your classroom, enforcing them clearly and fairly and building that crucial atmosphere of leadership and learning and collaboration that all administrators over here are looking for. Use a classroom seating plan to dictate who sits next to who and enforce that. Give out 100 detentions if you have to. It works, not because the sanction actually does much to modify their behaviour, but it takes the balance of power away from them and towards you, and they know you mean business.

One of the books I always recommend to any of my team (I'm a Head of Department) struggling with classroom management is Getting the Buggers to Behave and I warmly recommend it to you also. But, if you have a Head of Department (Maths?) who is supportive then get them to do an informal observation of you to see if they have anything they can offer. Also see if you can observe anyone else in your school to see how they do it.

Classroom management is one of the toughest things about this job, but get it right and you're 3/4s of the way there. Hope it works out for you.

deepcleansingguffaw linked to a short essay, but I might also suggest reading the entire book The Homework Myth, as it is chock-full of analysis of homework-related studies. It is amazing how very little of the research supports homework at that age, and yet people recommend it anyway. Take Harris Cooper, the most famous homework researcher - his own research shows little to no positive effect on elementary-level kids and yet he is a big proponent of homework and the 10-minute rule anyway.

A 5th grade teacher friend of mine read the book and decided to slowly ramp down his homework level year over year to see what would happen. He's now on the second year of not assigning any homework whatsoever with no ill effect.

There really is very, very little support for the idea that homework does anything useful for kids at the elementary level. Reading, on the other hand, is very powerful - encourage reading! Play and socialization are also incredibly important; it's pretty much guaranteed your kid already spends more time on her butt than is healthy, so get her outside rather than doing homework.

Yes, we got some, including some specialist behaviour sessions from an expert! But the most numerous and useful tips I got are from the excellent "Getting The Buggers To Behave" by Sue Cowley. It should also be available from the US. In short, there's no one way to "do discipline", but there are certain things you can always be sure are not good ideas (e.g. humiliating a student in front of class), and some that are almost always the right thing to do (e.g. talking to them on their own after the lesson).

It is normal for new teachers, and especially subs, to feel like they have trouble. You don't know the systems, you don't know the kids and they don't know you. The best foundation for discipline as I've found it is a reputation, which takes time to build. If the kids know you aren't a soft touch, they won't try as much. Appearance is an issue at first, but stops being one once they know you. This doesn't help a sub much, sadly. Although this point from another comment is also excellent:

> I discovered pretty quickly though that it doesn't matter what you know or what skills you have, the students respond to your attitude and your display of confidence. They have no idea how old you are or how good at your job you are, so they essentially take you at your word the minute you open your mouth. You have exactly as much authority as you think you do, and as long as you stick with that you will be fine. Just imagine yourself as an actor on the stage playing the role of a master teacher. Being yourself is for going on dates, not teaching.

What I would like from any subs is that they give the work to the students, think about what I've really asked the students to do, and help out as much as they can bearing in mind they're probably not experts in the subject. If there are any students who refuse to do the work, get their names and let us know. I don't expect you to be able to get Lazy McSleeperson in the back row to do his work if I can barely get him to do it anyway, but I've sometimes come back and asked "So did you do the work I sent you? Did they play the video?" and been told that all the teacher did was put the email I sent up on the board.

Good luck in your career! I really do recommend that book.

Taught Fifth for one year, first year as a teacher in my own right. It was an amazing experience and I learned a TON. Brace yourself, lots of text incoming! Please feel free to PM me if you want to talk more.

Get to know your students, particularly what they're interested in. It sounds like a no-brainer, but you'd be surprised what lessons you can generate if you use their interests as a spring-board. It shows them you care about them, too, which will go a long way toward keeping them invested.

Not sure if you like Minecraft, but don't underestimate it as a teaching tool! My fifth graders used it when we talked about Colonial America--built their own village with each of them doing different colonial jobs they'd researched. Minecraft could also lend itself well to math, though I didn't have a chance to utilize it that way.

Google Classroom is also an amazing tool to use with them, particularly if you're going to have them do any collaborative writing. Speaking of collaboration, don't be afraid to connect with the teachers on your team. See if you can tie what they're reading in someone else's class to what they're learning in social studies. Check if the science units have connections to Math. I was a one-woman show and the only teacher for my grade--I know for a fact that if I had other teachers on a team with me, the year would've been MUCH smoother.

Start strict, loosen up later. (I didn't and had to play catch-up with classroom management which wound up costing me lots of instructional time.) "Setting Limits in the Classroom" (amazon link here: https://www.amazon.com/Setting-Limits-Classroom-Revised-Discipline/dp/0761516751) was a life-saver and really helped me to shape up my classroom management. I'd HIGHLY recommend buying and reading it.

I know this is a lot of text...I'm happy to talk more if you want, just PM me!

You might as well ask 'Which religion is the one true religion'.

Some people strongly believe that the only way to end sexism is to stop treating people differently based on their sex, to the degree that is permitted by our physical/biological differences. That means you'd just have opportunities and people would apply. Male, female, trans, other, etc....would be irrelevant. You should treat everyone equally and choose candidates based on their merits.

Other people strongly believe that the only way to end sexism is to ensure 'equality'. That usually means something like, 'If a less dominate group is under-represented in a beneficial field, it's sexist for us to not work at achieving equal representation'.

I think there are strong arguments to be made on both sides. When I was in college, I was firmly in the first camp. "Just treat everyone the same" but there is a reasonable amount of evidence that suggests everyone isn't the same (for a lot of different reasons that people will largely debate).

Without getting into it too deeply, it seems that most people (even those who say they'd treat everyone equally) don't. It's not an intentional thing, but it seems to be a real thing.

In one example, they gave scientists a bunch of job applications to review, containing equally qualified male and female students. The female students were evaluated less favorably than the male students. But these were fictional students with identical qualifications.

>...which Yale researchers found to be prevalent when scientists were asked to review job applications for identically qualified male and female students

There are also students that seem to show that, despite people generally being polite and friendly, we still treat women worse than we do men.

> Indeed, several studies have shown that when women do speak, they’re more likely to be interrupted, they’re likely to speak for shorter periods of time than their male classmates, and it’s less likely that instructors will listen to what they have to say

Now you might say, 'Hey - it's not my fault women speak for shorter periods of time than men!' but if I were interrupted often and felt like the Prof wasn't really listening, I'd be a lot less verbose too.

I actually tried to get one of my past employers to anonymous resumes before sending them to the devs to evaluate. It was a small company and we didn't have like a dedicated HR team. So, HR did a very initial, just friendly level phone chat, and if they seemed alright, our dev team would look at the resume.

I wanted to remove the name and anything that would state or imply gender. Again, I had good intentions, but if we know that people evaluate men and women differently, let's just remove that from the equation. The problem was that too many other people objected on the grounds that, basically, we wanted to promote diversity and that if we didn't know a candidate was a woman, we'd pass on them....but if we knew it was.....we might bring them in for an interview.

So yeah, I got nothing. Except, no matter what you do, someone will think you are sexist.

I second the motion to wait a year and get to know the kids and program. Also, it's good to get to know the political climate a bit and to build some networks of support with people who will be willing to put in a good word for you. Build a rapport with the kids who will tell their friends about you.

Meanwhile, use your year, which might be fairly easy, to do the following:

Here are the ELA state standards for OK. Get to know them like the back of your hand. Know which years are generally the same, and which years take a jump forward in expectations.

Read some books about how to teach in an English classroom. Write Like This and Deeper Reading from Kelly Gallagher will give you concrete strategies you can use for any grade. Some of them you could even do with mixed groups of mixed ages. Jim Burke's English Companion is also good.

While you have time and a fairly mild workload, plan, plan, plan. Put things on paper. Look into how LMS's work (my personal fave is Schoology, and I've tried at least a dozen different ones over the years) and what they can do for a classroom where kids have computer access.

Don't get discouraged if, after all this, they say no. What you have then is everything you need to walk into any regular classroom 6-12 if you decide to look for a new job. Good luck!

This is a great book for guiding parents in supporting kids to "go deep" with their interests. It is really hard to give them the right kind and amount of support to encourage them without killing the fun with your "support".

http://smile.amazon.com/Project-Based-Homeschooling-Mentoring-Self-Directed-Learners/dp/1475239068/

Although this is targeted towards homeschoolers, it is actually written for anyone, even people who want to do it as an "after school" activity.

The author offers great support in her facebook group and forum.

Good luck

Personally, I've never had the chance to take a CELTA course, but I have heard many good things about it. I haven't heard of the other programs you mentioned.

BTW, If you would like to pick up some general TEFL tips in advance of taking a course, I'd recommend investing in a comprehensive text like Learning Teaching.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0230729843/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1393974279&sr=8-1

There's a fair amount of information in the text on lesson planning as well as teaching listening, reading, writing and speaking.

Cheers.

I'm not a moderately granola mom yet (couple weeks to go) but I'm a librarian, and I saw some books that caught my eye the other day, called loose parts and loose parts 2 that look fascinating and super fun with great ideas for diy toys. You can always ask your local library if they do interlibrary loan if they don't have it.

Whether or not you're going all the way to homeschooling or finding alternatives such as Montessori or Waldorf, here's my two cents as well. Read up on it. I'll probably come off as bit of an ass, but it's your kid, what more relevance do you need to find and buy lots and lots of manuals(so to speak). Kids're pretty complicated, or so I've heard.

I'm not an expert, but I have a few titles I'll promptly lay on whatever friend of mine starts to procreate first. In my opinion these aren't 'crazy' books, and I sincerely hope you'll take them seriously.

How Children Learn

How Children Fail

Punished By Rewards

The Homework Myth

John Taylor Gatto has written some stuff as well, but Google can find that for you. Read and read more. I couldn't begin to describe my time in the famous twelve years without plenty of cussing.

Take an interest, is my advice.

Yes. I've been there, and I've gotten out of it, too. The anxiety comes from having more things on your to-do list than you have time to get done, and not knowing if it's even possible to do them. Check out the book The Together Teacher for the answer to your anxiety. You might not be able to get everything done, but you can sure become a lot more organized and effective, which means that you can honestly say, "There was just too much. I worked hard and it didn't all get done, but that's okay," and feel good about it. I started using it over winter break last year and it has literally changed my life from where you are at to where I am at now. At least that helps with the "feeling swamped" bit.

My go-to resources are:

Baby Led Weaning

Loose Parts and Loose Parts 2: Inspiring Play for Infants and Toddlers

For discipline I prefer the Parenting with Love and Logic.

I'm a big believer in the Reggio Emilia philosophy of teaching and early childhood development. R.E., loose parts, and outdoor classroom theories all work really well together to create a natural, child-led, creative environment. The basic theory involved is that children are curious, competent, creative beings with a significant capacity for learning if we get out of their way. Instead of giving them plastic, light-up, noise-making toys that have one purpose or one way of playing, loose parts cultivates an environment of inviting materials that encourage creativity and discovery instead of "this is how you play with this toy" thinking. I was first introduced to Reggio Emilia and Loose Parts while working for a JCC and I was really impressed with the way it transformed the teaching environment. It's definitely harder the smaller your kids are, but it can be done and I have seen it jump start critical thinking and creativity in even the youngest kiddos.

For one, Zeitgeist was an art piece he did as a social experiment in his mid 20s. Joseph never cared about "conspiracies" at all, if people took 5 seconds to study his work over the past 10 years. He is also an artist at heart.

His AMA: https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/6414g3/i_am_peter_joseph_author_of_the_new_human_rights/

--First Book:https://www.amazon.com/Zeitgeist-Movement-Defined-Realizing-Thought/dp/1495303195

"One of the achievements of this book is its ability to find research-based connections between seemingly unrelated social and economic conditions. Without becoming repetitive or dull, each essay is able to shed light on specific issues in a way that is neither too academic nor too informal. Powerful quotes are used at the beginning of chapters, research is clearly footnoted throughout, and the language—albeit at times somewhat technical and term-heavy—does well to give a picture of how one social problem influences the next, and how one scientific advancement could, if accepted and adopted into society properly, change the way all humans interact with the environment that surrounds them." -Review by Kenny Jakubas

--Second Book:https://www.amazon.com/New-Human-Rights-Movement-Reinventing/dp/1942952651

"This book is a fascinating read, and a vitally important one for anyone who is tired of the status quo, seeks to understand why it is so entrenched, and wants to do something about it."New York Journal of Books"

Peter Joseph is one of the great visionaries of our time. If there's a beautiful future―and I think there will be―then his fingerprints will be all over it."―Marianne Williamson, #1 New York Times bestselling author"Since 9/11, security took over and retired human rights into a small closet. We need to get back to the issue of rights for all. Hopefully this important work will draw us closer to that reality and promise. Without economic realignment with nature to secure our habitat, along with conquering the sociological roots of fragmentation and bigotry, the human family is in peril."―Jack Healey,Head of Human Rights Action Center

"One of this generation's greatest visionaries delivers a startling exposé about the violent oppression that defines our economic order, while issuing an urgent call for global activism to unite to change it. Amidst a deepening crisis of capitalism and inequality, coupled with an intensifying assault by the Empire's elite, The New Human Rights Movement provides a crucial roadmap for the movement toward the next system."***–***Abby Martin, host of The Empire Files

--2008 follow up Zeitgeist when he showed his true colors to focus on economics:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EewGMBOB4Gg

--2011 seminal work "Zeitgeist Moving Forward"https://youtu.be/4Z9WVZddH9w

--His Lecture playlist. Brilliant:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLV9KzChRGz7KEBhw20ZkipLU7BgLoVAxG

You can follow him on Twitter. DO IT!@zeitgeistfilm

It's not uncommon in Title I schools. It's also not uncommon in Title I schools to be given little guidance or resources to do your job.

Here a couple of things that are (IMO) crucial to keep in mind:
(1) You need age appropriate literature that is also at your kids' reading level. Do not insult them with "See Spot Run." NewsELA allows you to adjust the same article to different reading levels. It's a brilliant resource you should use. https://newsela.com Same for The Simthsonian's Tween Tribune. https://www.tweentribune.com

(2) I highly, highly, HIGHLY recommend Discovering Voice for middle school. https://www.amazon.com/Discovering-Voice-Lessons-Middle-School/dp/0929895894/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1502141983&sr=8-1&keywords=voice+lessons+middle+school Spend the $20 something. It comes with permission to make copies for your classroom so you only need the 1 book. It's a bunch of mini-lessons that work brilliantly at helping students read and write better with voice.

(3) Kelly Gallagher.
(a) Article of the Week http://www.kellygallagher.org/article-of-the-week/
(b) Try this book https://www.amazon.com/Reading-Reasons-Motivational-Mini-Lessons-Middle/dp/1571103562/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1502142077&sr=1-6
(c) And this one https://www.amazon.com/Deeper-Reading-Comprehending-Challenging-Texts/dp/1571103848/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1502142077&sr=1-3

(4) The New York Times Learning Network https://www.nytimes.com/section/learning

That should give you a more than decent start.

>How would you define a good vs bad school, or is it just about movement of students?

>How would you assess if a teacher is good or bad?

The parents decide, just like they do for everything else for their kids.

>Should private and/or charter schools be required to go through some sort of process to certify their merit before being allowed to enter the educational system

No.

>Presumably you would support private and/or charter schools, how would you make access to them affordable for poor students?

Every kid gets a voucher, to be used at any school they wish.

>being pointed to a good resource would be appreciated.

This book.

And this book.

But to be honest, imo, the best way to educate your own kids is this way.

It might teach you something about teaching, but it's not really going to help you land a job. There's an FAQ in the sidebar about certifications if you're interested in what will help you land a job.

You learn how to be a teacher by teaching, not reading about teaching or passing quizzes about teaching. The two latter are the only two assessments an online course can provide and they show nothing to an employer about what you can bring to a classroom.

Sixty quid isn't much to risk on a chance to gather a few pointers before you land in a classroom, though, so if it's unrefundable you might as well see what they have to say. Otherwise, pick up this book or this book, which are two of the main textbooks for CELTA courses.

One of classes this summer (also a student teacher) had us read The Trouble with Black Boys. Sounds like these students have experienced what they perceive as racism from previous or current teachers and now it's become the expectation. I wouldn't let this discourage you, but try to gain their trust and break that expectation. I am dealing with this at my own placement, with an African American student as well, and I have learned a great deal about patience.

Edit: Also this book by Ladson-Billings

I'd be more than happy to have a PM conversation about particulars if you want, but the one book I credit with really turning me around is Reluctant Disciplinarian by Gary Rubinstein.

The first couple of pages of the book describe how, when he was young, Rubenstein's parents used to harshly reprimand the dog when it shit on the carpet, and how he used to then sneak into the puppy's room when his parents had left to reassure the puppy and make it feel better. The puppy proceeded to continue shitting the carpet for months. I read that and I was like "Oh my God. This is the book."

He's also a Teach For America alumnus who is now a vocal TFA critic, which I love, because I'm both of those as well.

It wouldn't be graded and it would be questions about their lives, interests, what they care about, what they want to see in instruction, questions they have. I imagine it as a silent free write for five or so minutes. It's actually pretty commonly recommended in pedagogy research, especially when students do not share the teachers cultural, class or racial background. I haven't personally tried it.

Edit: it's also featured in books where students are interviewed as something they like
https://www.amazon.com/Fires-Bathroom-Advice-Teachers-Students/dp/1565849965

>Therefore, I'm looking for advice on how and when to introduce the class routines and procedures.

Day 1, and continue for the next several weeks. Jointly develop and agree upon classroom expectations with the kids. Have them sign a "Classroom Contract" with the rules you came up with together. Display it in the room and keep it up.

>I'm guessing because they are so young and unable to read, it is better to repeat expectations / procedures often

Yes. Very often. But do more than repeat; model. Then have kids model. Comment on how they model. Ask other kids to comment on the modeling their peers do ("what do you notice ____ doing?")

>Should I make "personal anchor charts" for each student explaining these procedures

That's not really necessary if you have a large anchor chart for the whole class. An anchor chart is essential, but individual ones are not (with a few exceptions--usually kids with significant disabilities).

Now I've got some questions for you:

1. So this will be French immersion? 100% French? Or part French part English? Do you share the kids with other teachers?
   
   
2. Since you're starting the year, will you be the one setting up the classroom?
   
   
3. How many on your roster?
   
   
4. When is the first day? Is it a full day or half day?
   
   
5. Do you have this or have access to it? It's the best for those critical first weeks.
   
   
6. Who else is on your first grade team?

If you want to do some reading on the topic, one of the more useful textbooks that we've been using in my program is "Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology" (Reiser and Dempsey, 2017 https://www.amazon.com/Trends-Issues-Instructional-Technology-Measurements/dp/0134235460). It has chapters dedicated to history, to theory, to major (and alternative) ID models, etc. It would be more than enough for a grounding in models and theories, and would give you something to talk about during interviews.

I'm sure you could find all the information online, as well, but it's nice to have it organized and contextualized in a text :)

Every year I go to a book I got as a gift when I started teaching. "The First Year Teacher's Checklist" is a great resource even after the first year. I'm sure you can find some things to mull over.

The First-Year Teacher's Checklist: A Quick Reference for Classroom Success https://www.amazon.com/dp/0470390042/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_xnkqzb0ZYF47V

Great! I completely agree.

Another great book is http://www.amazon.com/Underground-History-American-Education-Investigation/dp/0945700040/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1260548679&sr=1-2

and anything by Bastiat.

You could try posting this to r/TEFL as well. If you're going for a qualification then CELTA is your best bet and there's a CELTA trainee book that might be useful. Some schools also recommend Learning Teaching by Jim Scrivener.

I would say that Gatto's Underground History got me thinking about modern public education. He is kind of a wingnut, but he has lots of good history, and points about our modern industrial education system. That led me to learn about the history of education, and I realized that when we abandoned the classical liberal arts tradition, we lost a lot. So basically, I thought that by using the Core Knowledge Curriculum, combined with Latin and Singapore Math, we could provide a better education than our local public schools.

Sadly, there's as much variation in the quality of homeschooling as there is in the quality of public schools, apparently, but from what I've seen in our homeschooling community, an involved, caring parent will do just as well as, if not better than the average public school.

As to the reasons for going back to school, a few of her friends decided to go to high school, which means the end of her reading and writing groups. We were prepared to go all the way, but she decided to try high school. I don't have many worries, other than the normal parent-of-teenager worries. She's got a good head on her shoulders.

This may be too narrow for your needs, but I found this book very useful; "The Dreamkeepers: Successful Teachers of African American Children"

I had to read a few chapters from this book as part of my credentialing and MA program.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Dreamkeepers-Successful-Teachers-American/dp/0470408154

>I know several kids who were kicked out of private schools for having low grades. So it has at least does happen in some instances).

Ok, I'll concede that it does happen sometimes. But overall, I'd bet that schools which care very much about average test scores are probably very selective as to who they'll accept in the first place.

Of course, if we got rid of public schools entirely then all that money would be freed up for private sector education, which would mean an enormous and unpredictable variety of school choice.

If you're interested, this book examines how it has worked in the past.

There have been a lot of studies that find that school teachers give more attention to boys: they call on boys more frequently, they wait longer for boys to articulate their thoughts, they use more eye contact with boys, they reward boys more often for speaking out while punishing girls for the same behavior. Here's a book about it. The authors, Sadker and Sadker, wrote another article in 2004 about the same stuff, but I can't find a copy of it online.

There was a study that came out of Israel a couple of years ago where they found that teachers gave girls lower grades on a math test when they knew the kids were girls.

MtF trans people benefit from these sorts of teachers' biases as long as MtF trans people are in the closet. What I mean is: until a trans person comes out as trans--at 15, at 26, at 50--everyone around them will treat them as their birth sex, and so even if a MtF trans person doesn't feel like a boy inside while they're in school, the teachers around them will still treat them like boys, not like girls.

I'm in a different situation from you, but I also am not very mean. When I was starting out I read this book and it helped me out.

When I was student teaching I was in a district with half urban, half suburban kids because of weird districting. My cooperating teacher explained to me that while I grew up in an area where kids understood indirect directions, like, "Now, if everyone would get out their notebooks..." my students were from a community that was used to more direct directions, like, "In 30 seconds I want to see everyone with their notebooks on their desks. No exceptions." It made a huge difference for me in that situation.

I teach in an affluent district. So anything I offer here might not work:

I'm a good story teller and I've learned to use that to my advantage (it was initially a disadvantage because I like telling stories and was getting off topic too often). I also found, over time, that I just wasn't planning enough to do and was stretching things out to long. Now I've got my pacing down much better and the difference is huge.

Anyway, I'm not sure anything I say could be of much use because I have no experience in your circumstances.

Check out the sidebar, there are lots of books and such. I love the book Design for How People Learn and this Trends and Issues textbook is also a great survey; more academic though.

> Do you or your professor have any research that supports this claim?

The professor did not cite studies in her discussion, no. As to myself, I have no studies, just years of experience teaching in high schools and colleges.

> The largest determinant in student learning is student practice and practice is not always fun, but it is beneficial.

Agreed -- up to the point to where the student knows the topic. After that, it's simply drudgery and an exercise in following orders. Since you're interested in research, Alfie Kohn analyzed a lot of research on this topic in his 2007 book, "The Homework Myth".

I enjoyed Homeschooling for Excellence https://www.amazon.com/Homeschooling-Excellence-David-Colfax/dp/0446389862 and Project Based Homeschooling https://www.amazon.com/Project-Based-Homeschooling-Mentoring-Self-Directed-Learners/dp/1475239068/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=project+based+homeschooling&qid=1557432686&s=books&sr=1-1

Something I need is either this book or this one both of which are listed on my wishlist for my classroom. I would prefer the first one though! Both of these I need to help better prepare to become a teacher and to help with my school work as I have to come up with sample lesson plans and such.

Goodbye Eleven

Absolutely - history has shown us that public education can be used in exactly that way, in Nazi Germany and the former USSR. I think in a lot of ways those specific programs you mention are detrimental since they do more to just enforce meaningless metrics and quotas than they do to cultivate thinking young minds.

We need smarter teachers. And you know what: you get what you pay for. Teachers are so underpaid but they alone are going to be responsible for the quality of future generations, so we're only cheating ourselves. But if we were serious about our future as a society, we'd have better paid teachers, and more of them, and they would be free to be independent and come up with innovative lessons instead of teaching off rubrics which might not work for every class and child. This book made me want to be a teacher.

I understand your frustration completely. Before starting my first year of teaching, I set up my room, was told to move to another, and then told to move again. I think I had final confirmation on my room less than a week before the first day and construction held me up from setting up and organizing in a way I felt comfortable with. This stress became a lot of my focus, and I neglected solidifying routines. If you have some solid routines that make your life and your students' lives easier, your room will fall into place to mirror these routines.

Think about your preferences for collecting worksheets, storing materials and books, and for grading. Can you create any temporary or mobile homes (milk crate with hanging folders, bins, furniture on wheels, etc.), that can be moved as you settle in more?

I was given this book during my new teacher orientation. You might find some ideas that resonate with you.

Best of luck!

Another great resource is "The First Six Weeks of School." https://www.amazon.com/First-Six-Weeks-School/dp/1892989816/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1501256208&sr=8-1&keywords=the+first+six+weeks+of+school
They help you get your classroom up and running right away. The first grade teachers in my building swear by the routines section.

Fires in the Bathroom

Great book that gives perspective on teaching from a students point of view. It was remarkably insightful, and very helpful in learning how to deal with the good and the bad that comes up.

It's a good question, and the honest answer is I don't entirely know. I've only been alive for about thirty years, and most of this occurred long before I was born.

I think I can tell you why, though, and I think the same answer would apply to the question of why leftists dominate other arenas like education.

The power of politics is not who occupies the office. Not in a democracy or in a republic. Every person in power is one election away from losing that power. The only way to build enduring power is to control the culture.

There's a wonderful book I would recommend anybody to read, called The Underground History of American Education which discusses the strategy which I believe is in play: if you control the levers of public consciousness, you passively control that populace.

It would be a bit difficult to believe that our diverse media climate could be coordinated, except that just six corporations collectively control 90% of the American media market. We have the illusion of diverse opinion, but not the reality of it.

There's this book I've been reading that seems to have a pretty good explanation of this and some potential plans for the way out-

http://www.amazon.com/The-Zeitgeist-Movement-Defined-Realizing/dp/1495303195

I recommend the book:

Setting Limits in the Classroom, Revised: How to Move Beyond the Dance of Discipline in Today's Classrooms https://www.amazon.com/dp/0761516751/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_BE6MybT9YSYG1

Long story short: set CLEAR simple expectations (no mode than 4-5 rules that could apply to many situations) and be incredibly, INCREDIBLY consistent about consequences with ALL students.

>but it's not like our government controls the means for food production and I hope they never do.

My main point is that government bureaucrats are faced with the same backwards incentives regardless if they are producing food or providing the service of education. Removing competition means no accountability and no pressure to increase quality or reduce costs.

>What is your stance, how would you like our educational system to operate?

I'd like it to operate with zero state involvement.

There's a compelling and well-supported theory that the American public education system is based on the Prussian education system of the late 1800's, which was engineered to turn ignorant rural farm children into functioning industrial workers.

It stresses things like repetition, recitation, strict unquestioning obedience, showing up on time, leaving on time, eating on time, standing in lines, sitting in assigned positions, going through an assembly line of grades indifferent to each child's abilities, reading and following basic instructions, etc.

It is a system expressly designed to remove the instincts for discovery, independence, self-driven growth, etc.

"The Underground History of American Education" is a good book on the subject:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0945700040/ref=cm_cr_othr_mb_bdcrb_top?ie=UTF8

I also strongly recommend Lockhart's Lament:

http://www.maa.org/sites/default/files/pdf/devlin/LockhartsLament.pdf

In order to help yourself stay sane: The Together Teacher by Maia Heyck-Merlin. SO MANY tips and tricks about how to make the most of your time. I didn't read it till my third year teaching and I wish I had read it sooner.

We really appreciate criticisms, we really do. But thoughtful, substantive ones. Branding something with labels such as "new age" and "hippie" is essentially meaningless and the opposite of skeptical analysis. If you want to engage a topic, why not actually address claims rather than paint in broad brush strokes and loaded dismissive jargon.

By the way, the first Z-film has nothing to do with TZM (and I don't endorse it, by the way), and the second film, in retrospect, was probably not presented optimally. TZM has come a long way since then. The third film is a very academic work, and the new "TZM Defined" book is a meticulous work: http://www.amazon.com/The-Zeitgeist-Movement-Defined-Realizing/dp/1495303195 and available for free on TZM's main website.

My views of American school is that privatization hurts the current 'public' system. It further separates the classes, but that is what the public system was designed to do. It was scientifically designed to create malleable workers for the industrial revolution. The system strives to keep people dumb. But don't believe me, believe a teacher

I think the responsibility needs to get back into the home. I believe a better system would be to let parents decide when their children are schooled and where. More public like a library. Where I am from being dumb is almost a badge of honor.

Also, we should privatize sports programs. Take them out of the "public" institutions we call schools. They seem to be quite a distraction and lend more to being popular then becoming a self learner.

I apologize as this is not a historical analysis of the education system. However, I believe the assertion, "The US school system was designed to churn out factory workers," is most likely referencing John Gatto's The Underground History of American Education. If I recall correctly (and it has been a long while), Gatto looks at the Prussian systems, as well as the relationships between the Indian and British school systems. I have not seen Gatto referenced in conversations about the historical development of the US education system, however; his arguments seem to be a part of a conversation about the state of contemporary education, concerns about standardized testing versus ingenuity, etc. To be sure, Gatto tries to develop a historical explanation for the contemporary issues in education, but I have not seen how his work fits in to a broader historical narrative, which poses problems for the viability of his conclusions, I think. Similar arguments about education include [Ken Robinson's Ted Talk] (http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html) on Creativity, for example, which are part of a more current discourse regarding education philosophies like unschooling (in Gatto's case) and inquiry-based programs like Montessori, Reggio Emilia, etc.

I just bought a book called Teaching as a Subversive Activity at a thrift store. I am in the middle of reading it.
Great read so far. It's right up the guy in the article's alley.

I'm reading Market Education right now, might be of interest to you

http://www.amazon.com/Market-Education-Unknown-Frontier-Economic/dp/1560004088

I also recommend John Taylor Gatto's The Underground History of American Education in which he argues that the apparent failures of modern education are in fact successes: the system was deliberately set up to prevent learning.

Availble online here: mhkeehn.tripod.com/ughoae.pdf but I also recommend the hard copy available from Amazo here: http://www.amazon.com/Underground-History-American-Education-Investigation/dp/0945700040

I had the same problem, but after five years I'm an ol' battleaxe! You MUST get this under control or you won't enjoy your career, and the good students will suffer in your class. But do not worry, there is hope!

Here are a couple of the books that helped me develop me "teacher persona."

http://www.amazon.com/Reluctant-Disciplinarian-Management-Eventually-Successful/dp/1936162156

http://www.amazon.com/Setting-Limits-Classroom-3rd-Edition/dp/0307591727

Beyond this: Learn their names. Call them by name when they have their phones out or they are talking while you are talking. Kick them out into the hall if you need to, then have a non-antagonistic chat with them. They are different when they are with you one-on-one. Develop relationships. Ask them about what movie they saw that weekend. Tell them stories about your home life. Put the hammer down if you have to -- call home, referrals, etc. -- but those are a last resort.

There's education, then there is education. The US has yet to unify what it considers to be a nationally accepted curriculum and as such schools have been able to pick and choose subject matter to teach and not teach. If you want to understand what modern education is here is some suggested reading which explains how schools are structured and why they are built the way they are.

Please read this book: http://www.amazon.com/Underground-History-American-Education-Investigation/dp/0945700040/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1303747880&sr=1-1

(number of people with "bad" jobs) >>> (number of people with "good" jobs)

This is what the public ed system should be doing. Its not a secret.

http://www.amazon.com/Underground-History-American-Education-Investigation/dp/0945700040/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1395705212&sr=8-2&keywords=public+education+system+john+taylor+gatto

The Venus Project and /r/TZM is proposing a new kind of economic system where automation enables us to not need jobs anymore. Here is a book: http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Zeitgeist-Movement-Defined-Realizing/dp/1495303195

Not really surprising, is it?

This reminds me of the facts behind homework. The author of The Homework Myth claims that with the sole exception of high school math, the many, many studies on the topic find that homework is detrimental (or at best has no clear positive correlation) to actual student knowledge.

But our protestant work ethic and mindless football-like mindsets about toughness, work and punishment has us ignoring facts...

Oh, it's so much worse than you libs imagine.

Considerando que la relacion tareas/calidad de educacion es muy debatida y parecen en lo general no tener beneficio para los resultados academicos, suena a un buen negocio y puede considerarse relativamente etico ya que sus clientes no pierden en la calidad de educacion que reciben.

http://rer.sagepub.com/content/76/1/1.abstract

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0738211117/?tag=greatschoolsn-20

Louis Hartz: The Liberal Tradition in America

Karl Popper's The Open Society and Its Enemies (both volumes)

Eric Fromm's Escape from Freedom

Chalmers Johnson: The Sorrows of Empire: Militarism, Secrecy, and the End of the Republic


Hanah Arendt: Origins of Totalitarianism and On Violence

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West

Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers

Capitalism and Slavery

American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America

INSIDE THE COMPANY: CIA DIARY

Empire's Workshop: Latin America, the United States, and the Rise of the New Imperialism

The Underground History of American Education: A School Teacher's Intimate Investigation Into the Problem of Modern Schooling

Okay, it's ten years old (2007) but the research and referenced studies/data in the book still holds up very well.

So I'll just drop this here: The Homework Myth: Why Our Kids Get Too Much of a Bad Thing.

• The Underground History of American Education [Video Playlist]
  
  
• The Underground History of American Education: A School Teacher's Intimate Investigation Into the Problem of Modern Schooling [Book]
  
  Required watching/reading for all people interested in the Root Cause for why schools are soo fucked

I'm sorry, but the one time I'll agree with a public school teacher when they complain is when they are complaining about teaching to the test.

Are you familiar with the Prussian education model? If you want to research what went wrong with our system, I would recommend reading The Underground History of American Education or, for a quicker version, read an article by the author, called Six-Lesson Schoolteacher.

The problem with our system is almost entirely due to the basis for the system itself, not the teachers. Please let me know if this helps.

You are certainly correct that the quality of public education can vary widely, however no matter how well performing a public school may be they all suffer from the same fundamental issues. As references to this brief diatribe I will point you to (as in my other comment) the school sucks project, a book called Illiberal Reformers which details the frightening truth of the early progressive movement, and finally The Underground History of American Education which is a book by a decorated public school teacher who had a terrifying realization after a his long career. Note, that nothing I say here is an attack on any educators or teachers who might read this. I truly believe most teachers and the like get into the field for the right reasons, but the structure that they are faced with is the problem.

The problem with public school in the US, and many other countries (especially Western), is that learning/education is really only a secondary purpose. It is at all times subordinate, and therefore often undermined, to further the actual goal of creating a subordinate citizenry. The early progressives (Who as an aside were just awful, for example it was they who inspired the Nazis to eugenics. Once you go down this rabbit hole you'll never look at Woodrow Wilson the same again.) who championed the introduction of the American public school system were quite plain about where the idea for the modern public school came from. Namely, the Prussian aristocracy who inflicted it upon the populace in the 1800s for the express purpose of making them easy to rule. They made no attempt to hide this fact. The early progressives were somewhat more cautious in their language, dressing up the idea in Utopian language but their intentions are pretty clear if you go look at the academic papers and such they published at the times (which the two books I linked do).

So as to not get too long winded, let me just as a few rhetorical questions. How do you forcefully educate someone? How do you force someone to learn? How does mandating children show up at a building on pain of confinement for them or their parents further either of those goals? The Athenians are turning in their graves. The system forces children to show up at an arbitrary time, irrespective of their individual circumstances, and divides them into arbitrary groups. They are then forced to respect and defer to a person (i.e. Teacher/Adminstrators) arbitrarily. They have to seek permission to perform normal bodily functions (i.e. ask to use the restroom), trained not unlike you would a dog (not that I have anything against dogs!). They are trained to shuffle from one room to another at the sound of a bell, and to fill out meaningless paperwork and to perform meaningless tasks within an arbitrary involuntary hierarchy. It erodes at the mind and soul, creating an obedient populace that is used to dealing with a convoluted bureaucracy, and sometimes you learn something. To top it off, the curriculum is controlled via a political apparatus subject to all the corruption that accompanies politics. You can school, indoctrinate, and train people, but you can't force them to think critically and to really learn.

This is kind of interesting. You're obviously being very sarcastic but, in your sarcasm, you made a bunch of good suggestions.

> We care for a year or so, and then we give up.

I almost never write anything by hand. I can, there's just no need. How is the time I spent learning to write things by hand anything other than a waste? With the increasing pervasiveness of computers and the advent of real, working voice recognition (Dragon Naturally Speaking rocks!), handwriting is going to become even more unnecessary in the future.

> My kids hates homework, and doesn't like school. No more homework!

Read Alfie Kohn's Homework Myth to see why we should get rid of homework.

> English has hard-to-spell words that aren't spelled like they sound. Umm, don't worry about spelling.

English spelling is ridiculous. What a god damn waste of time. Why shouldn't we improve the language so it's easier to spell stuff? I think one of the biggest current flaws with English (and maybe languages in general) is that we try to hold them static. We should regularly and systematically clean up the language and simplify spelling.

> It's just that parents aren't able to deal with the kid's hate, so they figure the system must be wrong if the kid hates it this much, so stop the system!

The system is stupid, broken and produces terrible results. Anyone who doesn't want to stop or change the system isn't thinking it through.

Your focus on detention is arbitrary. It's like saying it's unfair that hostages don't have access to pizza. Maybe, but the whole state of being-a-hostage is unfair. Instead of obsessing about their lack of pepperoni and mushrooms, why not, instead, focus on the actual problem?

• We force children to go to school.
  
• We force children to study specific subjects at school.
  
• We force children to do homework after school.
  
• We stigmatize them if they fail at school.
  
• We use school grades as one metric of mental health.
  
• In most schools, we force children to be subject to archaic. pedagogical methods--once that have been proven to be ineffective.
  
• And, yes, we force children who have (in my view) naturally bucked against this system, to stay in school longer than kids who accept it.
  
• In most schools, children learn very little, especially given the amount of time the spend there.
  
• In many cases (e.g. when forced to read Shakespeare), they often develop a lifelong hatred of the subject.
  
• Many children spend years in school being bullied, mocked, and ostracized.
  
• Throughout this time, they're repeatedly told all this is "good for them," and, in the end, like serial abusers, they inflict in on their own kids, telling them it's good for them.
  
  All of this stuff has been studied for decades. We know that most schools are run horribly, according to unsound educational principals. But that never changes.
  
  When psychologists or neuroscientists discover something about learning or education, it takes years or decades to affect classroom practices, if it ever does.
  
  Schools aren't generally affected by Science. Instead, they are buffeted by politics and held fast by tradition.
  
  See
  
  
• Wounded By School
  
  
• Punished by Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A's, Praise, and Other Bribes
  
  
• The Homework Myth: Why Our Kids Get Too Much of a Bad Thing
  
  
• video: The 3 Most Basic Needs of Children & Why Schools Fail
  
  
• Summerhill School: A New View of Childhood
  
  
• [A Mathematician's Lament (PDF)] (https://www.maa.org/external_archive/devlin/LockhartsLament.pdf); longer book version: A Mathematician's Lament: How School Cheats Us Out of Our Most Fascinating and Imaginative Art Form
  
  
• Ken Robinson's TED talk: Do Schools kill creativity?
  
  
• How Children Fail
  
  
• Unschooling
  
  
• Why do we get frustrated when learning something? (written by me)
  
  I am skeptical that I will CYV, even though I believe that this is the best argument against it--not your view that detention is wrong, but that it's not even worth talking about. Sure, detention is a bad thing--but not the worst thing--about a horrible, corrupt, abusive system.
  
  I'm skeptical, because the system is so deeply entrenched in our culture. And the most people can do is argue about small tweaks: whether we should use this textbook or that, the length of Summer break, the size of classrooms, etc.
  
  The debate about Creationism vs Evolution in schools is a good example. If the Evolution folks (or the Creationist folks) win, they will pat themselves on the back and walk away happy, never glancing back and noticing that the same shoddy educational methods are being used now as before--with just one correction.
  
  Yes, Dominoes is bad pizza. It won't suddenly become good pizza if you put it in a less-ugly box. I agree that the box is ugly, but why focus on it? It's not the core problem.