Customer Reviews

Why Didn't I Learn This in College?

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

 

 

Practical, positive, and pure Paula! WHY DIDN'T I LEARN THIS IS COLLEGE? is an ESSENTIAL professional resource for educators at all levels of experience! Paula Rutherford applies her 30 years of teaching and educational leadership to create this book of research-based teaching tips and user-friendly tools that will help increase student achievement in our classrooms. She offers a logical framework for creating learning-centered environments, planning "with the 'end' in mind", and organizing learners and professional tasks for positive results for students, parents, and teachers.

As a veteran teacher and coach for novice teachers, I use this resource as my NUMBER ONE traveling companion and "virtual" collaborator. Paula's pro-active and positive voice resonates through its pages as my teachers and I use this information to bring all students quality instructional programs and opportunities for maximum learning. Thank you, Paula, for being my constant "ride-along" learning buddy!

As a long time mentor for new teachers, I have read many books for teachers new to the classroom. There are a lot of books out there that focus on everything but teaching. This book is all about helping teachers with great teaching strategies that they can use throughout their entire career. New teachers can try a new strategy every day. I am now buying this book for all of my new teachers!

My school district gave every new teacher a copy of this book. The new teacher that I am mentoring shared it with me. After reading through it I was excited to find a book that focuses on instruction instead of some silver-bullet discipline plan. The instructional strategies are written clearly and consisely. Both of us bring our copies of Why Didn't I Learn This in College? and use them as we plan our units and lessons every Monday for the following week. I highly recommend this book to any teacher.

This is book is being used within Teacher Development and Professional Development Programs - I love the advice pages and the fact that I can skip around the book finding exactly what is needed in certain situations.

As a mentor with Baltimore County Public Schools, I highly recommend this book for it's resources. There are several grouping strategies, such as clock buddies,book buddies, color wheel buddies etc. I especially like the ones on page 250 where students find their alternative partner such as salt & pepper, Beauty and the Beast and so on. The talking tokens mentioned on pg. 256 are a great way to allow student participation amongst a group as well as a way to "structure" the type of responses that the teacher desires in the group. This book also comes with a CD, so that various forms such as
the "Unit Planning form"," Peer Observation Form", and the

"Active Learning Form" can be downloaded and printed off easily for teacher use. Once again, "Paula Rutherford knows her stuff."

Gail Harper
Baltimore County Publc Schools

I happened to find this book while browsing the teaching section. It has truly been a great resource that every (new) teacher should have. Unlike most of our teacher ed. programs, this book gives practical information about how to run a classroom. You won't regret buying this book, it is a wonderful resource!

Nothing is worse than needing a quick fix for a problem and knowing it will take an hour of surfing or searching to find it. This is the solution!

As a new teacher mentor, I saw this referenced in the 21st Century Mentor's Handbook. The things in that book were good from a mentor's perspective, so I thought it would be worth taking a chance on the new teacher title, Why Didn't I Learn This in College. I'm so glad I did! It has everything that I love about the resources in the mentor book, but more of them. There are templates and forms that are just waiting for a new teacher to use which I had to make for myself long ago. Need a quick way to send kids to partners? Go to the index and find a bundle. Wonder if you are the only new teacher who isn't getting some of the veteran teachers at your school? There is a section about teacher collegial relationships that might help you through. Really, just about everything that I ever had to figure out on my own, borrow from another teacher, or hunt down online is HERE. And there's a CD of all the forms that you are going to be using over and over.

Some earlier reviews mentioned that they thought this was all covered in teacher training programs. I think that may depend on a number of things from which college to which specialty the teacher was in. Furthermore, even if every single bit of it was, I don't know any new teacher who has time to dig through the moving boxes of college texts and class notes to try to find it. The benefit of this is access. It is also fair to note that in many states alternative certification programs sometimes mean that teachers are entering the classroom without being immersed in 2-4 years of the College of Ed world. I think for them, especially, this is a tool for navigating ideas in terms that the mentor teachers, classroom neighbors, principal, etc. are offering them suggestions.

I am principal of a PreK through fifth grade elementary school. I keep Why Didn't I Learn This in College? at my fingertips. I use it with new and seasoned teachers when I need quick, current and practical information to assist them in cultivating practice. It should be a required resource in every teacher education program that prepares students to teach in an increasingly complex and accountable profession.

This is an excellent book for all teachers (preservice/inservice) who could use some creative ideas in the classroom. I particularly like Just Ask Series because they get straight to the point. As I teacher, you can appreciate that. This book stays on my desk because I am constantly looking for ideas and creative ways to present lesson to my students. Hands down, one of the best books I have read that translates into useful ideas! Thanks Paula!

Why Didn't I Learn This in College? is the book that I wished my school district gave me. It is easy to use and gives you practical things to do in your classroom. I highly recommend it if you are a new teacher or you just need some ideas for your classroom.