To Teach: The Journey of a Teacher

Such a good reminder about focusing on the child in front of you at that moment, remembering that teaching is more than reading out of the book in front of the class, and a wake up call for why we chose this path!

Ayers writes with a real feeling for teaching. Here are two of my favorite quotes: "Teaching is not something one learns to do once and for all and then practices, problem-free, for a lifetime. ...it is practiced in dynamic situations that are never twice the same. I marvel at academics and policy makers who so glibly prescribe for teachers, who provide tidy summaries of how to teach, who offer the `magic wand' for classroom success, try to capture and tame teaching into a set of neat propositions."and,"a life in teaching is a stitched-together affair, a crazy quilt of odd pieces and scrounged materials, equal parts invention and imposition. To make a life in teaching is largely to find your own way; to follow this or that thread; to work until your fingers ache, your mind feels as if it will unravel, and your eyes give out; to make mistakes and then rework large pieces again and again. It is sometimes tedious and demanding, sometimes confusing and uncertain, and yet it is as often creative and dazzling: surprising splashes of color can suddenly appear...unexpected patterns emerge and lend the whole affair a sense of grace and purpose and possibility."

The first chapter spoke so directly to teachers. I loved the rawness and connections that could be made to the book. The book itself isn't very long but it provides many vignettes and tells though experiences. I would recommend this book to future teachers such as myself or even to seasoned teachers to keep in touch with why they wanted to teach in the first place.

Bill Ayers exudes a sensitivity to the child, the teacher and the art of teaching and learning that I have not found anywhere else in literature on education. His intellectual wit and wisdom about the state of education and humanity as a whole is both jolting and hopeful. Above all else, it is the carefulness with which he looks at the "what is" of the child and the teacher that touches the heart.

If you need an inspiring book to read about teaching, this is the one! Ayers speaks the truth and puts so many of the struggles of teaching (philosophical issues, daily student struggles, curriculum, testing, etc.) into an easily relatable dialogue. I found the read to be a breath of fresh air and an encouragement to keep on teaching and teaching well!

I It's an ok book. I had to purchase this book as part of the required reading for one of my teaching credential class. There are a few good things to take from it, but I did not find it as inspirational as it was made out to be.

It is genius. I have read about thirty pages, and I have over six pages of quotes already. Every teacher should read this book. Every education program should require it.

A piece of real and practical philosophy. Comprehensive and concise.