Holding On to Good Ideas in a Time of Bad Ones: Six Literacy Principles Worth Fighting For [Paperback]

Thomas Newkirk (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 5, 2009 | ISBN-10: 0325021236 | ISBN-13: 978-0325021232 | Edition: First Edition

"Holding On to Good Ideas in a Time of Bad Ones is my new favorite book about how to live as a teacher. Finishing it, I experienced what I can only describe as a state of grace-moved, renewed, and grateful that a mind like Tom Newkirk's has been intrigued by classroom matters for almost forty years now."

-Nancie Atwell

Author of In the Middle, Second Edition

"Classic Newkirk: direct, incisive, and brimming with wisdom."

-Harvey "Smokey" Daniels

Coauthor of Comprehension & Collaboration

This book is one of the best teacher books ever. I'll be giving copies of it to lots of teacher friends as we find our way back to trusting what we know about kids, about learning, and about teaching writing.

-Gretchen Bernabei

Author of Reviving the Essay

Holding On to Good Ideas in a Time of Bad Ones is for every teacher who has struggled under top-down mandates, who ever had to slavishly follow the script of a reading lesson, who ever felt that tests were driving instruction. It is for those whose good, humane, and sensitive ways of teaching literacy are threatened by rigid, mechanical programs. It is for teachers who feel they are losing control of their daily work.

Book study groups and professional learning communities, click here to save 15% when you order 15 copies of Holding On to Good Ideas in a Time of Bad Ones: A $292.50 value for $248.50.

Hear a podcast, where Tom Newkirk and Nancie Atwell discuss teaching principles worth fighthing for.

In Holding On to Good Ideas in a Time of Bad Ones, Tom Newkirk eloquently defends teaching against the "cult of efficiency" that turns classrooms into assembly lines of knowledge. Newkirk goes beyond diagnosing the problem to present six ideas worth fighting for. These transformative practices gently but firmly return instructional decisions to where they belong: with you, our teachers. Newkirk shows how to:

• increase your instructional emphasis on writing to reflect the reality that producing text is more important than ever
• help students access deep knowledge and expand their thinking through time to write freely
• build strong connections between school learning and the real world by teaching with popular culture
• propel the development of reading skills by helping students discover the pleasure of reading
• provide the time and space for meaningful, long-lasting teaching and learning by uncluttering the curriculum
• spark professional growth and avoid stagnation by discussing failure and uncertainty with colleagues.

Holding On to Good Ideas in a Time of Bad Ones is affirming, not argumentative. It celebrates the humanity and unpredictability of teaching with Newkirk's blend of humor, passion, and warmth. Let it inspire a search for the things in your teaching that are most worth holding on to.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Thomas Newkirk's most recent books with Heinemann are The Art of Slow Reading (2011), Holding Onto Good Ideas in a Time of Bad Ones (2009) and Teaching the Neglected "R" (2007, coedited with Richard Kent). His Misreading Masculinity (2004) was cited by Instructor Magazine as one of the most significant books for teachers in the past decade. A former teacher of at-risk high school students in Boston, Tom is Professor of English at the University of New Hampshire, the former director of its freshman English program, and the director and founder of its New Hampshire Literacy Institutes. He has studied literacy learning at a variety of educational levels - from preschool to college. His other Heinemann and Boynton/Cook titles include the NCTE David H. Russell Award winning Performance of Self in Student Writing (Boynton/Cook, 1997), Taking Stock: The Writing Process Movement in the 90s (Boynton/Cook, 1994, coedited with Lad Tobin), and Nuts & Bolts: A Practical Guide to Teaching College Composition (Boynton/Cook, 1993). In addition, Tom is coeditor (with Lisa Miller) of The Essential Don Murray, which gathers the most important insights about writing and teaching writing from "America's Greatest Writing Teacher." Thomas Newkirk has been named the 2010 recipient of the Gary Lindberg Award for his outstanding contributions as a faculty member of the University of New Hampshire. Read the Award Announcement »

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Heinemann; First Edition edition (February 5, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0325021236
• ISBN-13: 978-0325021232
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #321,956 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Grist for Philosophical Mills, March 28, 2009

By 

Ken C. (MA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Holding On to Good Ideas in a Time of Bad Ones: Six Literacy Principles Worth Fighting For (Paperback)

If you are an English teacher looking for practical ideas for the classroom, Thomas Newkirk's HOLDING ON TO GOOD IDEAS IN A TIME OF BAD ONES is not the book for you. If, however, you are a teacher who is uncomfortable with the direction your school/district/state is going, Newkirk's treatise is just the ticket. It will give you grist for the mill and make you more informed the next time you have a heart-to-heart with your department head/principal/supervisor.

In the opening section (around 40 pp), Newkirk bemoans some of the recent trends and discusses the down sides of some familiar annoyances in this NCLB era, including standardized testing and the educational research which drives it. From here, Newkirk launches into his Six Principles:

1. "Balance the Basics: An Argument for Parity Between Reading and Writing" (Ten guesses as to which one gets more attention in our schools. Hint: you don't have to READ between the lines.)

2. "Expressive Writing: Maybe the Best Idea of All" (Why is expressive writing the ugly step-child in analysis-beholden writing programs?)

3. "Popular Culture as Literary Tool" (Pop culture is where kids find inspiration, and last we checked, many schools are short on inspired students. Do the math.)

4. "Literacy and Pleasure: Why We Read and Write in the First Place" (An interesting look at the lonely pleasures of being alone -- to read and write, that is. This also includes a passionate call for independent reading instead of textbook "reading.")

5. "Uncluttering the Curriculum" (Easily my favorite principle, as it tackles the breadth over depth problem in our schools and also counsels English teachers on the need to encourage more student writing while reading less of it. Where do I sign up?)

6. "Finding a Language for Difficulty: Silences in Our Teaching Stories" (Teacher heroes and martyrs need not apply -- thank God -- as Newkirk reminds us that teachers in movies, and certain books, can be walking lessons in hyperbole, so relax.)

If Thomas Paine were a teacher, he would would have written something short and to the point like this. For you argumentative types looking to knead some logos into your educational talking points, my recommendation is to buy the book. Then roll up your sleeves and start taking your school back. You can start with your own classroom, if you haven't already.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing, March 7, 2010

By 

SnowDog - See all my reviews

This review is from: Holding On to Good Ideas in a Time of Bad Ones: Six Literacy Principles Worth Fighting For (Paperback)

This is the first review I've ever written on Amazon. I'm moved to do it because I teach high school English, and this book spoke to me on a level that few other literacy guides have. I don't know Mr. Newkirk, although a colleague of mine had him for a teacher at UNH. I borrowed the book from our local college library, and marked it up in pencil so extensively it was almost unreturnable. I then ordered three copies on Amazon-- for me and my two closest teaching colleagues. Clearly, this book was forged from a lifetime of being in the trenches with student writers-- on the good days and the not-so-good ones. It is painstakingly honest, and it doesn't kowtow to the "experts"-- no matter what their agendas. If you want straight talk about how to teach writing and reading, at the high school or college level, with a wonderful mixture of common sense, practical guidance, laugh out loud humor, and overarching wisdom-- do not miss this one.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Important Ideas for Educators ... and Others Who Care about American Schools., July 9, 2009

By 

G. Anderson (Arlington Heights, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Holding On to Good Ideas in a Time of Bad Ones: Six Literacy Principles Worth Fighting For (Paperback)

The subtitle of this book--Six Literacy Principles Worth Fighting For--gives away tbat this book is aimed at educators and not necessarily at the general public. Any reader interested in the state of American education might find it enlightening, however, to delve into the strange and often counterproductive measures that are being done to and by schools in order to respond to various government mandates. Newkirk wisely describes the ideas that educators need to keep in mind in order to maintain focus on reading and writing and limit standardized testing.