February 27, 2014

PICK OF THE WEEK

See you when we get there: Teaching for change in urban
schools
By: Gregory Michie

Authors Purpose

Gregory Michie is an assistant professor of secondary education at National
Louis University in Chicago. This book represents his effort to portray the
classroom lives of five teachers of color, Liz, Cynthia, Freda, Toni, and
Nancy. Michie chronicles their experiences and explores what teaching for
change means to them. In interviewing these five teachers, Michie wanted to
learn more about their pathways to teaching, their day-to-day challenges in the
classroom, and the factors that motivate and constrain their work with kids from
urban areas. His overall goal was to document their teaching stories and to
make their voices heard.


February 27, 2014
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-Ms. Laura Roman , 6th Grade Social Studies Teacher

This book really makes you think about respect in the classroom. I think
my big take away is that if you give your students respect, they will respect
you. If you take the time to listen to your students and get to know them
better, they feel valued by you and therefore respect your authority in the
classroom.
- Miss Erica Arends, 5th Grade Teacher

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After reading this book, I feel as if I am inspired to teach for change. Even
if I am not the same race as some of my students, I know that by caring
about my students and giving them a voice in my classroom, I can make a
difference in their lives. Michie covers some inspiring, caring, and
culturally relevant teachers who can be an inspiration to every teacher!
Great read!
-Miss Alyssa Sturgeon, 6th Grade Teacher

Meeting and being taught by Michie, and now reading his book reinforces my
teaching philosophy. I have been wanting to teach since I could remember, and
the more time I spent in the system, the more I believed that there was more to
school than studying for a test. Teaching for Social Justice gives meaning to
learning, and it connects to the lives of our students. It doesnt matter where you
are teaching, as teachers, it is our duty to bring the world to our classroom. I give
it five stars!
- Ms. Fanny Garcia, 2nd Grade Dual Language Teacher

By Teachers, For Teachers:
It is really important to teach students how to
question what is happening around them and
give them the opportunity to look through a
critical lens with issues in their daily lives.
Connections to our philosophies of
teaching Social Studies:

Discussion
Ideas:

-Teaching students of a
different race than our
own and from different
backgrounds
-Creating relationships
with students
-Balancing Social
Justice issues and the
curriculum
-How our identities
impact the classroom
environment
-Balancing project
based learning and
preparation for
standardized tests
-What made us enter
the teaching profession
-Balancing freedom
and control in the
classroom