Building a Better Teacher: How Teaching Works (and How to Teach It to Everyone)
Elizabeth Green
W.W. Norton & Company
Green, a journalist who has covered the New York City public schools, convincingly argues that, contrary to popular belief, great teaching is more science than art—a skill that can be taught, coached, and improved. “By misunderstanding how teaching works,” she writes, “we misunderstand what it will take to make it better—ensuring that, far too often, teaching doesn’t work at all.” The most vivid sections of the book describe educators in action, detailing the numerous choices teachers make in a single lesson. However, Green’s recommendations—additional meetings for teachers and time spent observing and critiquing each other’s work; more classroom discussion; less rote learning—are not new, and she offers little guidance for implementing them in schools where teachers already beg for more time. —Rachael Brown
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