Fires in the Bathroom: Advice for Teachers from High School Students (Paperback)

by Kathleen Cushman (Author), The Students of "What Kids Can Do" (Introduction), Lisa Delpit (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Teenagers dictating to teachers sounds dubious, but educators will want to take note of the message from this volume: students do want to learn. Cushman, an education journalist working in conjunction with the nonprofit organization What Kids Can Do, extensively interviewed high school students in several urban areas about every aspect of school, producing this compendium of their advice here. At its best, it gives teachers solid insights from students like Vance, 18: "You really affect kids when you just do your job day in and day out, do it well." The book covers a range of subjects, including how to get to know students, how to earn their trust, how to judge their behavior and what to do when things go wrong. However, the students' demands can sometimes seem unrealistic, especially for teachers in overcrowded public schools-for extra tutoring sessions, for the use of primary source material instead of just textbooks-and the author does not aid her student co-authors by keeping their comments relatively short and by presenting them out of context. For struggling teachers, Cushman's self-questionnaires are the reason to buy. Although best for new teachers, this chance to hear the authentic voices of students should not be overlooked by anyone involved in teen education. B&w illus.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review
In this book, students get a rare opportunity to voice their opinions about what works and doesn't in the classroom. -- The Los Angeles Times

This chance to hear authentic voices of students should not be overlooked by anyone involved in teen education. -- Publishers Weekly

Turns the student-teacher relationship upside down…The bits of advice suggest ways to deepen the unspoken bond between students and teachers. -- Chicago Tribune

[Turns] the tables on adults and tells them how to do their jobs. -- The New York Times

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: New Press (September 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565849965
• ISBN-13: 978-1565849969
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #15,980 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I wish I had read this before my first year of teaching, September 7, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Fires in the Bathroom: Advice for Teachers from High School Students (Hardcover)

This book was awesome! If I had read this before my first year of teaching, I would have been a much better teacher. I'm really glad I came across it in a bookstore and bought it on a whim as I entered my second year of teaching. It's a book that I know I will read again after a bad day to connected to my students' point of view. It's also a book that I plan to share with many of my colleagues. It really hepled me see things from a kids' perspective. I think it will change my teaching for the better.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Interesting view on education from students but a lack of criticality, January 6, 2009

By	Frida Kahlo "educator" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This text has a lot to offer in terms of the nuances of how kids act and think, and about how they perceive education. What is particularly troubling about this text is an introduction about how the author worked with a group of children to get a colleague fired. I suppose this is okay because she is a journalist and not a teacher? But is this really a good model of writing/documenting - if not of teaching or of educational research? Surely there is some compromise between neglecting student voices and inappropriately colluding with students to fire inexperienced or overwhelmed colleagues. (Are the fires really in the bathroom?)

This rather large issue aside, the text is quite repetitive without offering elaboration. The suggestion to have students revise their work comes up again and again without much suggestion how. Lots of teachers use revision, and there are myriad ways to approach this. This is perhaps why it's a shame the journalist author left teachers out of the equation.

Some of the excerpts from kids are so brief and unclear that it seems to also ghettoize the dialect and casual statements of what seems like a usually articulate group of children. Cushman throws around the cultural capital of New York City public schools without a lot of basis. Out of 18 children interviewed, only five are from New York - and some of these attend "small" and possibly private schools. What this book perhaps more aptly addresses is a journalist's view of suburban teaching in Rhode Island and California, where most of her interviewees are students.

Overall a somewhat disappointing read - educators: please consider a wealth of texts from actual teachers and those within legitimately urban environments like yourselves.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars one of the best books for new or old teachers, August 30, 2005

By	R. Hill (Brooklyn, NY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I was in the bookstore browsing and found this book. I've been teaching college students for over ten years, but only began teaching community college four years ago, and thus feel a bit at sea sometimes with the "high school mentality." This book contains some things that are obvious to those who have been teaching for a long time, but it's almost certain that at least one or two of the views of the kids will be helpful and will translate directly into classroom practice in a way that few books on teaching do.
The insights this book provides into what highschools are like, especially for kids in large city schools, are invaluable. I was surprised to find myself already following a piece of advice I read in the book in the classroom the next day. Definetely worth reading.