Reluctant Disciplinarian: Advice on Classroom Management From a Softy who Became (Eventually) a Successful Teacher (Paperback)

~ (Author), Larry Nolte (Illustrator) "Until I was 21, I never gave much thought to the question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?..." (more)
Key Phrases: teacher persona, real teacher

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

In this funny and insightful book, Gary Rubinstein relives his own truly disastrous first year of teaching. He begins his teaching career armed only with idealism and romantic visions of teaching - and absolutely no classroom management skills. By his fourth year, however, he is named his school's "Teacher of the Year." As Rubinstein details his transformation from incompetent to successful teacher, he shows what works and what doesn't work when managing a classroom.

About the Author

Rubinstein currently works at Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan. He also is a teacher trainer for the New York City Teaching Fellows. Rubinstein's essays and articles about teaching have appeared in national magazines and journals, including Education Week, Teacher Magazine and Mathematics Teacher. For the past ten years, he has presented workshops on classroom management.

Product Details

• Paperback: 143 pages
• Publisher: Cottonwood Press, Inc. (July 12, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1877673366
• ISBN-13: 978-1877673368
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.2 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (60 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #26,192 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

165 of 166 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious, Helpful, and a Quick, Worthwhile Read, July 29, 2003

By	Lisa Manske "natural mamma" (Wauwatosa, WI USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I laughed my way through this book in less than 2 hours, and yet I put it down with a clear vision of how I was going to move forward in my classroom as well as help the teachers under me to be more effective.

If you work with difficult students or are just having big problems helping your students behave, this is a GREAT book. Rubinstein validated many of my beliefs that have helped me maintain the learning environment in my classroom. He also helped me articulate why what I do works to other teachers who say to me, "The kids are so good for you. They're not good for me!"

There's nothing worse than classroom management advice from someone who's "never been in your shoes." Rubinstein jumped into teaching middle school in the inner city with hardlly any training. His students were ruthless. Five years later, he was voted teacher of the year at his school and his students were successfully mastering their work.

Rubinstein is incredibly humble and lays it all out--his failures, his misguided philosophy of teaching, and his slow and bumpy road to success.

Rubinstein is quite critical of teacher preparation programs. As someone who went to an excellent university for teacher preparation, I didn't appreciate his knocks on colleges of education, but what he says is true of many certification programs. I'll forgive him becuase his book is sooooo good.

One note, I found the strategies very appropriate for middle and high school teachers. It may not be as appropriate for primary teachers. Still, it's hilarious and the philosophies are sound.

Buy this book. If will re-motivate you, rejuvenate you, and excite you about the months and years of teaching ahead of you.

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A laugh out loud book for every teacher!, March 23, 2001

By	"5foot2isofblue" (Camas, WA USA) - See all my reviews

As a third-year teacher, I found the book easy to read with plenty of laughs - especially the author's accounts of staff-required inservices. However, there were few actual classroom management techniques offered, which was my purpose for buying the book. It's an enjoyable read for those teahers wanting to feel relief in knowing others had made the same mistakes in classroom discipline efforts, but look elsewhere for management plans to use in your own classroom.

73 of 85 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars It's a nice story but that's about it., February 15, 2005

By	newgdolyn "newgdolyn" (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews

While this book is fast-paced and written with a sarcastic tongue, it was largely impractical. If you want a story about first year teaching, this is your book. If you want answers to your questions regarding discipline, this is not the book to purchase. The author starts off asking a lot of questions regarding discipline that I have but fails to answer any of them in the book. Much of the information that he presents is fairly common knowledge (e.g. don't yell, don't be your students' friend). Save your money to purchase one of the more expensive books on discipline. They may not be as entertaining to read but they are much more useful.