Teaching on a Tightrope: The Diverse Roles of a Great Teacher
Teaching is an enormously complicated performance, and Jack Zevin captures the nuances of this performance as he examines the competing pressures and requirements that teachers face when they work with students. For Zevin, engagement is the key: Teachers have to think deeply about how to involve students in instruction, rather than simply follow well-worn but ineffective paths of instruction. This book promotes reflection on how teachers' performance can influence students' engagement, and Zevin encourages teachers to think about the options open to them, the tradeoffs involved, and the messages they send as they seek to balance the forces at work in the classroom. He leads readers to think about the teachers they have seen, both in school and out, and to consider what made them effective and engaging. Beginning teachers—and more experienced ones—will benefit from Zevin's insights into the complicated but rewarding profession of teaching. (Keith C. Barton)