Teaching Again exposes the very human core of the teaching experience. This
book is not just about teaching English/language arts; it is about the heart and soul
of the vocation that is teaching. It is also not just about Tom Poetter, the English
teacher; it is about every individual who has ever tried to educate, whether that act
has taken place in a classroom, a church or synagogue, a museum, or at the
kitchen table. Teaching Again brings to life the dance of questions that vie for
attention in the mind of a teacher: How do I convince students that they want to
learn to what I'm trying to teach? How do I make them understand that this is
really actually important to them? And, perhaps most important, how do I get
them to like me, and my discipline, in the process? These are the questions that all
good teachers ask themselves at the beginning, middle, and end of every single
day of their professional lives. Every moment of teaching is a human transaction, and Tom brings us right into
the middle of that transaction. He allows the reader to see and hear and feel the tension of the tightrope he has
chosen to walk with these students. The reader is right there for the thrilling "ah-ha!" moments, and we experience
the anguish of his defeats.
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