I was a bit uncertain when it came to allocating stars to this book; it's not a solid, unquestionable five star effort, but it was just too good to leave it at four stars. My objections, which almost cost it a star in its ratings, is that the authors have a tendancy to overstate their case on occasion, as when they discuss the value of teachers having positive expectations of their students. They say, in almost so many words, that whatver you expect of your students, that's what you'll get. Now, I fully believe that it is better to have high expectations than low ones, and that students whose teachers have high expectations of them will, in general, do better than those whose teachers have low expectations. But there is such a thing as unreasonably high expectations; if I go into a Kindergarden class expecting that every student in the class will be able to do differential Calculus by the end of the year, that is an unrealistic expectation, and one that is likely to produce nothing but frustration for me and my class. Granted, it is sometimes difficult to tell what expectation is reasonable and those expectations that are standard may well be too low in many cases. But "you will get whatever you expect from your students" ranks right up there with idea that you can self-hypnotize yourself into believing that you can fly, and then all you need to do is flap your arms hard enough and you'll be airborne. And when they discuss the study that supports their claim that expectations are all-important, they spend over two pages detailing the study and its results, and just three throw-away words that essentially invalidate it: "Following the original study, many additional studies have been undertaken. Some have been able to replicate the findings, while OTHERS HAVE NOT." (emphasis added)
Still, having said all of that, I do feel that this book is extremely valuable and has a wealth of good advice for the new teacher as well as the experienced teacher struggling to succeed. If Harry Wong occasionally gets carried away by his own enthusiasm and exaggerates his claims, it's in a good cause, and the errors are mostly errors of exaggeration, not qualitatively wrongheaded. I fully believe that 90% of what this book has to offer is golden, and of the remaining 10%, at least half is no worse than questionable.
The First Days of School: How to Be an Effective Teacher, 4th Edition
4.6 | 1,697 ratings
Price: 21.88
Last update: 08-24-2024
Top reviews from the United States
James Yanni
Just better than four stars.
Reviewed in the United States on October 22, 2010
Vincent L
This book let me keep my job.
Reviewed in the United States on August 19, 2014Military Mommy
Don't forget the companion book "The Classroom Management Book"
Reviewed in the United States on May 15, 2021