Close Encounters of the Third Grade Kind, It'll make you laugh and cry

This month the entertaining Phillip Done is coming out with his second book, Close Encounters of the Third Grade Kind: Thoughts on Teacherhood. I reviewed his first book here. He wants to add the word teacherhood to the lexicon, after all motherhood, fatherhood and parenthood are all words. In 11 chapters, one for each school month (just like pregnancy, the school year is longer than we think) he made me chuckle, tear up, appreciate teachers even more, and thoroughly enjoy reading about little kids from a teacher's perspective.

I've heard that he's taking a break from teaching to promote his books, which is sad because you can tell from his writing he'd make a great teacher. Just like his first book (with the even better title of 32 Third Graders and One Class Bunny), this new one is full of little anecdotes from 30 years of teaching third graders, such as a heartwarming tale of a troubled little girl reading to a dog, which made me cry both times I read it, or a student's dad bidding $210 at a school auction so his son could go trick or treating with his teacher. It was a battle between two boys who really knew their trick-or-treating, leaving Mr. Done with a list of TRICK-OR-TREATING LESSONS for his October chapter.

After being handed a piece of candy, always look back in the bowl to see
what you did not get.

Old people are very generous or give you one peanut, there is no in
between.

Men don't care what their handing out. Women give
raisins.

Cute costumes = more candy.

His book is full of these "teaching truths" which of course are not always 100% true. I give out organic chocolate or toys, thank you very much. We can forgive him these generalizations, despite being a teacher, because they are clearly written out of love of teaching and many, many years of experience. Besides the funny and poignant parts, he covers the areas children love, like learning cursive, laughing at the teachers foibles and conducting messy science experiments. I see my son obsessed with learning cursive, but I affect the whole experiment when I'm in the class, so I don't often see first hand his spontaneous joy of learning.

My only critique is I think this book could have been shorter. Each chapter covers different aspects of his hilarious and trying life as a teacher, but in some ways it's a lot of the same. I think both his books would make great gifts for teachers and parents of young kids.

I've got two boys who started 2nd grade and kindergarten this year. I have absolutely loved all their male teachers and am glad there are teachers like Phillip and like the wonders in our school who have the patience and humor to teacher our little ones. This book comforted me in the knowledge that 3rd graders are still such little girls and boys, making mistakes, acting silly and being allowed to act like kids.

Book Review: 32 Third Graders and One Class Bunny

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.