Customer Reviews

Teach with Your Strengths: How Great Teachers Inspire Their Students

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

 

 

While the first part of this book speaks generally about teaching, the second half addresses your individual strengths as found through the website Strengthsfinder.com and how they apply to teaching.
In order to access this information you go to their website and type in the access code on the inside of the dust jacket. The access code can only be used ONE time, and evidently the person I bought the used book from had used the access code, so I was not able to find out my personal strengths. Consequently the book was of little use.
This book is one of a series of books which use the Gallup Strengthsfinder website and happily I had purchased Strengths Finder 2.0 (by Tom Rath) new and the access code was sealed inside the book so I finally had access to the website.
Once enrolled I took a preference test (about 20 minutes) and received information on my 5 strengths. These correspond for the most part with those listed in Teach With Your Strengths. This information on my strengths is not earth-shaking but it does support Gallup's contention that we shouldn't waste time or energy trying to "fix" our lesser talents but instead develop what we do naturally (172).
As with anything it is not a magic wand, but instead an interesting way of thinking about maximizing our individual potential.

I was at first apprehensive about buying this book. After all, what would the Gallup Poll know about teaching? Well, it turns out that they know a lot. Being a "highly qualified teacher", i.e. having a license to teach a subject is not enough these days. Good teachers must also be able to "connect" to students. The authors are realistic and their findings are extremely helpful. For example, working on ones weaknesses won't work. If you are an introvert, taking classes in public speaking won't help that much; it certainly won't make you an extrovert. This book is an excellent read for anyone who works with or is interested in working with students.

Teach with your strengths is focused on a strategy of self-discovery first, teaching methodologies second. This may disappoint many who are looking for easy answers to becoming better teachers. However, I found it quite revealing and useful as an adult who teaches innovation and creativity in my professional life, and as an adult who teaches Christianity to adults in my personal life. The Gallup folks are trying to start a positive revolution in many people's lives by focusing on our strengths. Teachers are the prime movers and shakers in that revolution. I enjoyed it very much and look forward to even further materials from Gallup and these authors.

You always hear about these Gallup polls for this or that. I had no idea there was a Gallup Press putting out books based on poll results. Who'd've guessed it? "Teach with Your Strengths" is a good to provoke thought for the most part. After reading it, I'm not so sure whether individuals should teach to their strengths or with their strengths. The distinction is an important one because readers are told to define the important characteristics of their strengths and given over to the Clifton StrengthsFinder assessment to help. It is only the final chapter that provides the details on what the assessment measures, and possibly only the final chapter that merits the purchase of the book.

Do not bother to waste your money on this book!

The book claims to help an individual learn to "teach with his or her strengths." However, the book really shills the highly questionable "TeacherInsight" assessment from Gallup which may be a contributor to the significantly high rate of teacher turnover that school districts are experiencing. Save your money. The book and the assessment are not just questionable but may be harmful to your intellectual health!

What is "TeacherInsight"? Applying for a teaching job at a large suburban school district after years of highly successful teaching at another district, I was directed to take an online assessment entitled "TeacherInsight." Having also been an executive of an assessment company years before and being well versed in psychometrics as well as also having directed the assessment company's online initiative, I was dismayed at not only how poorly "TeacherInsight" is constructed but at the poor quality of its implementation online.

Later I researched the assessment and realized that contrary to the theory on which talent assessments are based, "TeacherInsight" is not a tool for prospective teachers to determine if they possess the interest, workstyle, and capabilities for a particular job; but it is a tool to winnow out prospective job candidates. Assessments, such as "TeacherInsight," are developed, based on interviews with individuals considered exemplary in a particular field. The theory is that using this profile can help people determine if they are a good fit for that particular job. In others words, what is the likelihood that they will not only succeed but thrive and gain enjoyment and fulfillment.

Too often these tests, such as "TeacherInsight," are now used as gatekeepers by HR personnel and others given the responsibility for hiring and advancing people. The tragic aspect of this is that, at least with "TeacherInsight," there is no solid data that the teachers hired based on a score on this test are superior to those who were never considered. The result is that many dedicated and highly effective teachers are never considered for a position.

With the extremely high turnover in teachers who remain less than five years in the profession and the extreme cost associated with teacher turnover ($6,000 per lost teacher in a small district and upwards to $25,000 per teacher in a large district), relying on such assessments as "TeacherInsight" may make the screening process easier, but in the long run not only more expensive in teacher turnover but also in lower student achievement.

School districts using "TeacherInsight" are remiss if they do not demand that Gallup, the company that developed and markets "TeacherInsight," permit a comprehensive evaluation of the assessment by a reputable third party research company in order to document the validity, reliability, and impact of "TeacherInsight."

In the meantime, purchasing this book only validates the theory and puts money into the pocket of those how help perpetrate this folly.

I was really happy with the book through the first two or three chapters. The book said a lot of things that I already feel about teaching. Essentially, it says, "Teachers are good because of who they are, and they're better when they teach with their strengths."

That's a great sentiment.

However, the middle chapters quickly devolved into a promotion for a particular personality trait test. I felt like bit like I was being lured into a Dianetics room. I felt slightly hesitant while moving on past the initial chapters, because the authors kept talking about one particular personality test.

I checked this book out from the library, and I had just finished telling my wife how I was going to be purchasing the book to have at school. Then came the Clifton test advertisements.

If you don't mind reading books that are intended to advertise a product, then by all means, please read this book. If that sort of thing offends you, then don't get it. If you don't care either way, only read the first few chapters. You won't know the difference.

I wasn't really impressed with this item. It just seemed a little too gimicky in my opinion. I start student teaching in a few days, and this book is not something that is going to really help me. I would pass this one over.

I haven't even started the book and wanted to begin with checking out my strenghts but the insert with the code (good for only one user) wasn't included in this book. Now I feel cheated. I'll have to buy the book new to get the code and evaluate my strengths.

It said the book was new. However, when I received it I realized it was missing the key to the online program. This was a huge disappointment and I ended up having to purchase a second copy.

I believe it is an important step to look at strengths and how to use them to benefit others instead of weaknesses. Good book for teachers and leaders.