Customer Reviews

The Elements of Teaching

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The authors of this joyous book about teaching do not confront the issues in education today but, instead, identify the qualities that make for great teaching. By visiting classrooms and observing real teachers in action, the authors go to the core of what separates the great teachers from the merely competent. Not surprisingly, they find that hard work, dedication, a love of learning, and a willingness to sacrifice are key personal qualities necessary for teaching. In addition, they note the academic preparation and personal effort necessary to stay current with in a teacher's specialty. The book should appeal to both parents and professionals. Parents will want to be able to identify these characteristics in their students' teachers. Administrators will find it equally useful. Teachers will see themselves in the vignettes that add to this wonderful work and they will also, (hopefully) be inspired to reach for the kind of greatness of spirit and action pictured here. ! ! For me, as a teacher, I found a great deal to celebrate and a great deal to ponder.

This is a golden little book that all teachers should read. It would be very useful also for those administrators who look at teachers as no more than talking machines, only needed to cover as many classes as possible.
The Authors are both educators and administrators. They know wery well what they are talking about, and, under an apparently old fashioned way of writing, they offer a very modern way to look at teaching, a mission as old as the human species, that evolved and continously evolves according to the social development.
The list of the basic elements-authority, ethics, imagination, patience, ...-is long, and all of the entries are analyzed in depth, using appropriate examples. Anyhow, the volume is no cookbook. Although it gives prescriptions and examples, these are intended to be internalized, not to be used as such. They are just a starting point for a personal elaboration.
When the book is finished, the reader is forced to reappraise his teaching methodology, and I imagine that he will also enjoy reading the companion book by the same Authors: The Elements of Learning.

In THE ELEMENTS OF TEACHING, James M. Banner and Harold C. Cannon have identified something profound and timeless about the art of teaching; in the process they have also provided an inspirational portrait of good teaching that will rejuvenate teachers at all levels of experience. Whether teachers are just entering the profession or are hardened by years of classroom experience, they will find in THE ELEMENTS OF TEACHING a splendid antidote to the frustrations accompanying all honest attempts to convince students of the intrinsic value of learning for the sake of learning. Not only does the book ask teachers to explore the effectiveness of their approach to education, it also reminds teachers of the nobility of their profession and the age-old responsibility of guiding our children, and thus our society, toward knowledge and wisdom. Although the book is at times sobering in its realistic description of the responsibilities and hard work facing teachers, it nevertheless prompts all teachers to enter the classroom with renewed energy and a sharper focus on what it takes to give every student the desire to learn.

I recommend this book to new teachers, administrators, parents, anyone who gives a hoot about educating children in this country. Written simply with terrific examples, it should be required reading for educators. This is a serious work of writing, but when you are finished, it will be well worth the time. The writing is calm and well thought out. There is nothing hysterical or pleading in this book. Just good old common sense with a touch of experience thrown in to make the points all the more convincing. The chapter on a teacher's authority in the classroom, and how most teachers abuse that authority, is very revealing. The book can be easily read in a single evening (unless you have kids of your own, but that's another story!).

Having cataloged the personal, moral and intellectual qualities of great teachers, the authors of 'The Elements of Teaching' acknowledge that many readers 'may be wondering by now whether achieving these standards is not beyond the reach of all but the rarest paragon.' And yet most teachers, myself included, entered the profession with the goal of becoming just such a rare paragon. In reading this entertaining and well-written work (the opening paragraph to the chapter entitled Learning is exquisite)I feel I gained a better apppreciation of how my personal idiosyncracies enhance my effectiveness as an educator, and at times detract from it. Likewise, this book reinforced to me how fine the deviding line is between exemplary and egregious teacherly conduct. A very worthwhile read - warmly recommended.

What a wonderful book! It helps one to explore the identity of a good teacher - a truly valuable focus for professional development in any type of school. The authors explore the characteristics of a "good teacher" including ethics, patience, love of learning, and - imagine! - pleasure! That is, one should only be a teacher if one enjoys teaching! Wish a few of my teachers had considered that notion. If you are a "born teacher," this book will affirm you and remind you of why you do it!

As a future teacher, I found this book to be an interesting and informative guide to succesful teaching. The sections and suheads were extremely effective in breaking out key capabilities. The Authority and Order chapters were especially enlightening. Downsides: The dialogue under each subhead was often crammed with so many thoughts it was difficult to determine the key messages. Redundancy was running wild across all chapters. Overall: Good key points, if you can uncover them.

The best book about the qualities of excellent teachers I have yet to come across. This is a must read for anyone with an interest in this filed.

Banner and Cannon provide the reader with a template for personal and professional exploration. The Elements of Teaching reminds us of who, as educators, we are, where we are going, and, perhaps even more importantly, how we are going to get there. Not only a guide for the classroom teacher, this eloquent text is a fine companion for anyone interested in how -- and why -- we learn. One can't help but recognize the grace in all of this. Teaching as divine art.

This book was written in 1997 apparently, but it reads like it was written in 1897. It was another enforced purchase for a grad school class. Thoroughly not recommended. The chapters on character and personality were fairly decent but I thought the rest was horribly outdated,stale and unrealistic. The "stories" at the end of the chapters are laughable and its also hilarious that they had to make them up. In all their vast years of education experience they couldnt think of actual true stories to demonstrate the silliness that preceded them.