Blog Post Assignment #13

I did a book report on Teach Like Your Hair's On Fire by Rafe Esquith. It was an amazing book filled with so much knowledge and inspiration. I was amazed at the dedication this teacher Rafe had for his classroom and all the neat and exciting things he packs into a year. I wish I could have had this kind of instruction from a teacher who was just a passionate about teaching as Rafe. Furthermore I wish every student could experience with the dedication and enthusiasm that Rafe approaches his classroom with. From his lesson to teaching reading and math to helping students put on Shakespeare productions that include music by his students that he taught how to read music. He expresses early in the book about his revelation of teaching and how each year he continues to grow and become better and better. This book should be a must read by all students who aspire to be future teachers. The principals he holds his students too, basing his classroom upon trust and not fear should take place in every classroom. He spends time with students before and after school, on weekends and even during school breaks. I found that most interesting how students would be at school at 6:30 ready to learn, the students found a way to get there and make it happen. Rafe made learning fun and memorable and most importantly he put meaning behind everything the students learned. I like the chapter on science and how his step daughter told him he was doing a terrible job of teaching science. That science was experimenting and making errors, not just reading from a text book. Rafe gives us valuable resources and advice on how to obtain science experiment kits. When I think back on it my most memorable memories on things I learned in elementary school are the hands on experiences. I also like how rafe allows students to "fail" in which room 56 defines failure as, "failure happens only when students stop trying to solve a problem." Its crazy to think that just one year or even a few years can change the life of someone but it truly can. I love the economics that Rafe uses in his classroom having the students take jobs that pay "money" and then having them pay rent and teaching them about owning property. He also holds auctions at the end of each month to teach students about how to manage their money and about delayed gratification. Rafe enrichers the lives of his students by exposing them to classic films and improves their writing skills by having them answer questions about the movie. One of his students who was just a mediocre student fell in love with films and ended up becoming a film maker. Rafe exposed him to something that ignited a spark that later turned into a fire and now that student has his passion in life.I think some of Rafe's students could have taken on EDM 310 and done a much better job than most of us college students and they would have done it without moaning, groaning and making excuses!I know I am missing some major parts of the book but I don't want to give it all away for those that haven't read it yet. This book will inspire you to be a better teacher, and just a better person in general.