Narratives from the Classroom
An Introduction to Teaching
- Paul Chamness Miller - Purdue University, USA
"The stories kept me wanting more and the lessons are valuable information for pre-service teachers. Bravo!"
—Sharon Ulanoff, California State University, Los Angeles
"Narratives from the Classroom will be useful in its ability to stimulate students to get in touch with their past experiences in education in a critical way. The questions offer a natural beginning for sharing experiences. In this way, beliefs and values can be recognized, scrutinized, and defended."
—James Curtiss, Wayne State College
"These narratives provide expansive opportunities for reflection and encourage each student to come to their own understanding about what it means to be a teacher."
—Betty C. Eng, Hong Kong Institute of Education
In order for pre-service teachers to fully understand what it means to choose teaching as a career, it is important for them to connect with experienced teachers who can share their experiences of what occurs within the walls of schools. Narrative accounts of teachers' experiences with students, parents, administrators and colleagues are an excellent way for pre-service teachers to obtain a clearer picture of what teaching really involves.
Narratives from the Classroom: An Introduction to Teaching introduces the reader to many of the important classroom issues surrounding the field of teaching. This book is unique in that it is a collection of personal accounts and ideas written by the teachers and teacher educators who lived those experiences. Because this is an introduction to teaching, each chapter addresses a different topic, ranging from the purpose of schools and teachers, issues about policies and programs in the school, and various practices found within the classroom walls. There is also a section that addresses preparation for the job market and what the first year of teaching is like. This book deliberately avoids being prescriptive and encourages the reader to form his or her own conclusions about the presented issues.
Narratives from the Classroom is designed as a supplemental text for teacher education courses, especially those at the introductory stages. Beginning teachers and anyone considering teaching as a career will also find this collection an important and insightful addition to their libraries.
Key Features
- Editor's introduction to each narrative provides context
- Questions and further readings stimulate the reader's engagement and commitment to the topic
- Narratives provide readers with significant exposure to 16 experienced teachers and teacher educators
- Coverage includes diverse experiences and opinions from authors of various ethnic backgrounds
"The stories kept me wanting more and the lessons are valuable information for pre-service teachers. Bravo!"
"Narratives from the Classroom will be useful in its ability to stimulate students to get in touch with their past experiences in education in a critical way. The questions offer a natural beginning for sharing experiences. In this way, beliefs and values can be recognized, scrutinized, and defended."
"These narratives provide expansive opportunities for reflection and encourage each student to come to their own understanding about what it means to be a teacher."
"This is an excellent resource.The stories are powerful, cogent, and on-target. I appreciate the effort that went into this sharp and moving work...As a teacher educator who believes deeply in the power of personal life stories to reveal hidden truths (and some not so hidden) about values and beliefs, this work could not be more timely. I will recommend it to students and colleagues and share it with my teaching circles.Thanks again for such a good book."
"This book does exactly what the title proclaims – it provides a collection of narratives from experienced teachers, each telling the story of their classroom experience."
"This thought-provoking and very readable text provides a quick look into the classrooms and experiences of 15 educators representing a variety of philosophical, geographic, and grade-level perspectives. Each engages the reader in a unique and compelling way. An orientation to the concept of “narrative” is smartly provided in chapter 1. The book quite effectively explores, in first-person writing, the four P’s of teaching: purpose, policies, programs, and practices. This is carefully executed from a personal and real-world perspective. It should be noted that this text is written for future teachers; it is this reviewer’s sense, however, that the narrative format, along with the rich multidisciplinary points of view, would be well received by experienced educators as well. Each chapter concludes with questions for reflection, further developing the notion that good teaching is preceded by personal reflection and conversation with colleagues to uncover meaning. Indeed, developing fully as a teacher is a lifelong journey; this text can serve as an imaginative yet realistic companion along the way. Summing up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through practitioners."
"This thought-provoking and very readable text provides a quick look into the classrooms and experiences of 15 educators representing a variety of philosophical, geographic, and grade-level perspectives. Each engages the reader in a unique and compelling way. An orientation to the concept of "narrative" is smartly provided in chapter 1. The book quite effectively explores, in first-person writing, the four P's of teaching: purpose, policies, programs, and practice. This is carefully executed from a personal and real-world perspective. It should be noted that this text is written for future teachers; it is this reviewer's sense, however, that the narrative format, along with the right multidisciplinary points of view, would be well received by experienced educators as well. Each chapter concluded with questions for reflection, further developing the notion that good teaching is preceded by personal reflection and conversation with colleagues to uncover meaning. Indeed, developing fully as a teacher is a lifelong journey; this text can serve as an imaginative yet realistic companion along the way"
Sage College Publishing
