If you want a funny, light and entertaining read, you much check out 32 Third Graders and One Class Bunny: Life Lessons from Teaching. If you want what sounds like an amazing third grade teacher, you'll have to move to Mountain View. I got this book and a sweet email from Phillip Done, the author, and I plowed right through it, enjoying every minute. I even gave it to my husband, which is pretty rare for me as his is highly selective about his reading, sticking mostly to classics like Hemingway and Faulkner (aack!) and soccer books. He is also loving it so far.
Phillip has a way of conveying how much he absolutely loves teaching while keeping it real, and really funny. I love how he is totally straightforward about his pain in the neck kids. Seems you can tell the trouble makers by how close they sit to the teacher. There is a story about a pet snake I can barely believe and will never forget. He conveys his frustration with the testing, which I am seeing even in 1st grade with this severe reduction in field trips. And yet, it never ventures into serious complaints, just frustrations mixed with anecdotes and the emotions of a teacher who loves his students and students who love their teacher.
My kids are still several years away from 3rd grade, but so far my favorite teachers and the ones you you could easily see in a mommy or daddy role, seeing their job was to go beyond educating. As he says in chapter 1 (I promise I read the whole thing):
"I put on Band-Aids and winter coats and school plays"
"I unpeel oranges that are too tight too"
"I leave 'shugar' and 'vilets' misspelled on their valentines"
and the one that made me tear up "I know when a child does not
understand. I know when a child is not telling the truth. I know
when a child was up to late last night. I know when a child needs help
finding a friend."
If you are like me and life is getting a bit too serious, or you are
starting to wonder if there is still hope for our education system, take a few
hours to read this book. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll wonder what
school he's teaching at and whether the lack of pets at your kids' school is
doing irreversible harm.
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