Customer Reviews

Survival Kit for New Teachers

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

THIS BOOK IS AWESOME! THE MULTITUDE OF IDEAS ARE EXCITING AND VERY HELPFUL! I TEACH IN AN INNER CITY SCHOOL AND NEEDED HELP! MY PRINCIPAL BOUGHT THE BOOK FOR ME AND I AM SO THANKFUL! MANY OTHER NEW AND OLD BOOKS ON THE MARKET SUGAR-COAT EVERYTHING, AND MAKE IT SEEM LIKE TEACHING IS EASY! TEACHING IS HARD! MAYBE IT IS EASY IF YOU ARE TEACHING IN AN AFFLUENT NEIGHBORHOOD WITH PARENTS WHO INTERACT AND SUPPORT THE STUDENTS AND TEACHERS! I DON'T HAVE THAT KIND OF CUSHY JOB! I NEEDED REAL WORLD ADVICE AND THAT IS WHAT SUVIVAL KIT OFFERED! THANK YOU TO THE AUTHORS FOR MAKING MY LIFE EASIER! THIS BOOK HAS BEEN A RECIPE FOR SUCCESS! IT IS SOOOOO PRACTICAL!

I love this book! It tells new teachers everything they need in step by step instructions. It is like a recipe book!! I can't even begin to describe how much this book has helped me this year as a new teacher. This book has made my life so much easier. Before school started I was so overwhelmed at everything that had to be done. I didn't even know where to start teaching. But Survival Kit gave me tons of neat ideas with the reproducible pages and even showed me how to write a first day lesson plan. It just made everything so much easier! There is so much in this book -- writing lesson plans, motivating students, dealing with parents, a bag of tricks for discipline, using the computer in the classroom, a neat way to teach math, ideas & lesson plans for a full six weeks in language arts, ideas for integrating curriculum -- I could just go on and on.

FYI - I found out about it through Education World and I think they have done a great review about it.

As a new teacher, I was more than a little frazzled my first weeks of teaching in a suburban middle school. I'm so glad I found this book! All the information, helpful hints, and lesson plans are so packed with information and helpful hints that I've recommended it to my district for all teachers, young and old, new or veteran. I was worried about the discipline chapter (see anonymous review below), but it seems that person just doesn't understand the thought and perception regarding child behavior used by the authors of this book - in fact, alot of what's in Survival Kit for New Teachers is based on theories I studied in college, only put into useful, everday language. If I could give the book 10 stars I would. It is a must for all teachers!

This book is a great reference for new teachers starting thier first job. It has useful tips and great ideas for lesson plans. It is also great for people thinking about becoming teachers. It shows an insite into what it is really like to be a teacher. There are so many things that your Education classes didn't cover about getting ready for the school day. This survival kit will help you get ready and be organized! It caters mostly to Elementary and Middle school teachers, but has some ideas for those in the High School arena. So, if you are starting a new teaching job or just need new ideas, get this "Survival Kit for New Teachers", believe me, it'll be be worth your while!! Visit their web page

As a new teacher in an inner-city school, I was totally unprepared by my classes to handle what I've seen so far this year. If it weren't for this book I never would have made it. Thanks!

I sure wish this book was around when I was a new teacher! It is easy to use with practical information and examples. I love the spiral binding and the inclusion of reproducibles. Even experienced teachers will find ideas they can use. The list of web sites in the back of the book and on the Inspiring Teachers homepage are very helpful. I highly recommend this terrific resource to all new AND struggling teachers!

I am an Australian education student with one year to the completion of my education degree. I stumbled on to the book when reading the review on the Education World web site and was intrigued to read about the existence of such a resource. I had been building my professional library for over a year and was yet to find a book that addressed the multitude of concerns I had regarding my teaching career. Upon receiving the Survival Kit for New Teachers I was overjoyed! The resource has far surpassed my wildest expectations. The beauty of it is that it is uniquely targeting at beginning teachers so it covers step-by-step the basics that ALL new teachers need to follow from setting up the classroom on the first day to writing report cards, to behaviour management to unit planning. I have found that much of the educational materials available is tailored to experienced teachers or is written with a narrow focus on a specific issue. Therefore, The Survival Kit was a welcome addition to my bookshelf with its easy to read format, durable spiral binding, and coverage of the issues that confront new teachers.

The handbook offers strategies and solutions that have been tested by experienced teachers and this is the reason that convinced me it was one of the best resources on the market. I have found the reproducible pages particularly useful and by following suggestions in the kit, behaviour problems have been minimal in the classrooms I have been in. Even though I am still studying, I have found the book a vital resource for my field studies this year and my supervising teachers have commented on my professionalism and organization. Little do they know I have gained much of it through the Survival Kit for New Teachers. I urge all student and new teachers to purchase the book. It has been the best resource I have bought and is an asset to any professional collection!

Of all the new teacher support materials out there, this one is by far the most difficult to read. Some good ideas, but they are buried. Extremely poor layout and page design.

More important, some of the advice and ideas presented - notably on classroom management - are outmoded and unsupported by current research on motivation and learning. Example: "If you end up with a classroom full of discipline problems and only a few good students, concentrate on the good students." Yikes. Another example: "Follow through with your threats." Threats? Yowza. How about: "Students...do not know what they are talking about most of the time..." Try this on for size: "YOU are the adult. YOU have a life - they don't. YOU make the rules - they don't. YOU are in charge." This book completely ignores the idea of respect and dignity for students. It also ignores important research which indicates that students learn more and are more intrinsically motivated to learn when they are involved in decision-making in the classroom.

This is NOT the kind of advice new teachers who want to help ALL students learn need to be hearing. It completely ignores current research-support, best-known practices in terms of student needs and intrinsic motivation. Very heavy on extrinsic motivation such as treats, rewards, bribes, demerits - all things which research shows have damaging long-term effects on motivation and learning. Promotes techniques designed to shame and embarrass students, such as the "red notebook method" in which students who misbehave must walk up to the red book in front of the class and write in the infraction, or the color-coded ribbon technique which makes students walk up in front of class to place a colored ribbon by his or her name to keep track of infractions each day - where everyone can also see who did what wrong and how many times. Ug. This book should not be what new teachers read to find out about current education. I'm returning it.

As a recent graduate, I have found Survival Kit for New Teachers to be a compilation of everything that I have learned throughout my undergraduate study...and all in one easy to read, easy to find, and easy to understand book! No longer do I have to flip through 10 different notebooks or file folders to locate what I need. Not only that, but this book is perfect for middle school teachers! I love it!

My principal purchased "Survival Kit" for every teacher in our building, because she wanted all of us to benefit from the "Writer's Workshop" section in the Language Arts Chapter. It is a step-by-step guide, and gives tons of lesson and grading ideas! Well, I have used the entire book, not just the Language Arts chapter. It doesn't just give me general or vague ideas, like the other books my college professors made me buy - Survival Kit gives specific tips and strategies! I would recommend this book to every first year teacher - I wish that I would have been required to get this book in college! Then I would have had all summer to use it! I have really used the assessment chapter a lot, too! My students' parents have complimented me on my classroom organization and they say that my students love me! I think it is because I had Survival Kit to help me get started! I will continue to use it for years!