Using a straightforward and versatile question and answer approach, the Second Edition of Ask the Teacher speaks directly to the teacher candidate with a wealth of tips about educational issues in foundations, history, psychology, curriculum, methodology, classroom management, and family involvement.
Table of Contents:
Unit 1: Corner Stones
The Competent and Caring Teacher
America's Schools Need an Educational Philosophy for a Democratic Society
What Early Schools Taught
How Public Education Began
The Enduring Legacy of Structured Inequality in America’s Public Schools
Philosophical Roots of American Education
The Contemporary Debate in 21st Century American Education
How Teachers Stay Good
The Best Way to Teach a Class
Become a Nurturing Teacher
Mentors Help Students Succeed at High School
Why Are Some Teachers Better Than Others Are?
A Classroom Conducive to Learning
Professional Development: Who Teaches the Teachers?
The Mesh of Theory and Practice in Professional Education
Programs for At-Risk Students Do Pay Off
Quality of Charter Schools Depends on Many Factors
Small-Scale Schools Offer Consistently Better Education
School Size is Crucial to Child's Success
Small Classes Yield Big Results
Why Do Some Schools Just Work Well?
How Schools Can Get More “Bang for their Buck”
Solving the Dropout Problem
Effort Is the key to Success in School
Nutrition Affects Intellectual Performance
Teachers as Leaders
A Teacher’s Legal, Ethical and Moral Responsibility
The Future of Education Needn't Be Bleak
Unit 2: Culture to Culture
21st Century Roll Call
Schools Should Celebrate Ethnic Diversity
Ebonics Enters the Language Debate
Two-Way System Solves Bilingual Problem
Two-Way Bilingual Education Benefits All
Roots of Intolerance
Teachers and Parents Can Help All Students Succeed
Multicultural Education the Right Way to Go
Inclusive Schools See Diversity As a Strength
Some Children Develop Skills Faster Than Others
School's Vision Begins with Educational Platform
Teaching the Bilingual Student
Multilingual Heritage
The United States: An English Speaking Nation or a Multilingual Nation?
What Has to Happen for Standards to Work
Meeting Standards
What U.S. Schools Could Learn from Japan
How Can All Students Experience Success?
Fostering the Bilingual Child
Nurturing the Bilingual Child
Attracting Minority Students to Science and Math
Mathematics for the English as a Second Language Student
Changing Public Schools to Serve All Students
Girls Getting the Short End of The Educational Stick
Gender in Children's Literature: Cinderella or Cinderfella?
Students Will Rise to the Challenge
Being “Politically Correct” in School
Unit 3: The Why and How of Classroom Psychology
There's more Than One Way to Be Smart
Bell Curve Isn't the Best Learning Indicator
Teachers Don't “Give” Grades
Halting Grade Inflation
Does the Size of Your Brain Matter?
Brain Growth: A Second Bite of the Apple
Disposition Drives Cognition
Don't Abandon the Academic Ship
Mixed-Age Grouping Works
What Is Self-Esteem?
Help Your Student Beat the Fear of School
Self-Esteem Is Everything
Students Will Behave with Proper Guidance
Student Motivation
Understanding a Misunderstood Notion–Student Motivation
How to Set Up an Environment Where Students Choose to Become Motivated
An Answer for Unsuccessful Learners–Cognitive Retraining
Learning Requires a Dual Investment: Time and Effort
Best Efforts Are More Important Than Being Exceptional
Teacher Expectations a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
Pro-Social Behavior: A Product of Positive Expectations
Sidelined Athletes Grumble about Grades
Grouping by IQ
The Fear of Making Mistakes
Educational Research and Common Knowledge
A Poor Educational Choice: Grade Retention
Social Promotion or Being Held Back–Are These the Only Choices?
Four Steps to Enhance Academic Achievement
Unit 4: Discipline: Rules of the Road
Classroom Discipline That Really Works
The Disadvantages of Punishment in the Classroom
Punishments and Rewards: One and the Same?
Classroom Discipline
What Constitutes Appropriate Discipline?
Effective Classroom Discipline
Homework Helper
How to Cope with At-Risk Students
Negative Thoughts Lead to Poor Self-Image
Behavioral Standards in the Classroom
Tackling School Violence
Which Works Better–Punishment or Reward?
When a Teacher Should Call a Student's Home
There's Lots of Hope for Your Shy Student
How to Solve the “Bully” Problem
Is Spanking Ever a Good Idea?
Mutual Respect is Key to Preventing Violence
The Gang Problem and a Solution
Changing Student Behavior
Dealing with Truancy
What is Sexual Harassment?
How to Deal with Verbal Abuse in the Classroom
Sarcasm Has No Place in School
Teaching Children How to Behave
Habitual Tardiness Is a Symptom, Not a Problem
One Size-Fits-All Dress Code Can Seem Like a Straightjacket
Unit 5: Testing: Getting It Right
Assessment and Evaluation: Knowing the Score
Performance Assessment
Best Tests
What to Do on the Day of an Exam
What Are Standardized Tests?
What’s Behind No Child Left Behind?
How to Prepare for Standardized Tests
Preparing for Short-Answer and Essay Tests
What is Test Bias?
How to Test Children in Lower Grades
IQ Tests Are Only One Tool in Measuring Intelligence
Tests Should Measure Development, Not Limit a Student's Opportunities
A Formula for Success on Quizzes, Tests, and Examinations
How to Prepare Students for a Test
Using Portfolios to Assess Math Progress
Types of Math Portfolio Assessment
Six Steps to Better Grades
Unit 6: Curriculum: What to Teach
Slow Learners Deserve Full Curriculum
An Answer to the Diversity Gap in High Schools
Where in the World Is Geography?
What about Science?
Evolution Theory has Roots in Science
Why is Spelling So Hard?
Finding Out about the World Around You
What's the Point of Reading Shakespeare?
The Arts are Undervalued
What's Going on with Art Programs?
Does Pronunciation Matter?
Are Physical Education Programs Worth the Time, Effort, and Money?
Why is Physical Education taught in Secondary School?
The Jump to Junior High or Middle School
Middle School Selection of Crucial Importance
Are High Schools Getting Tougher?
Oral History Project
Students Learn a Lot on Field Trips
Television has a Place in the Classroom
Parents Are Right to Limit TV
TV or Not TV, That Is the Question
Is PBS a National Treasure?
Economics is a Vital Element of Citizenship Education
The Language of Mathematics
What Is a Portfolio?
The Evolution of Literacy
Unit 7: Methodology: How to Teach
Collaboration is a Formula for Better Education
Working in Groups Can Yield Positive Results
Cooperative Learning Leads to Results
The Essay Menu
A High School Design Flaw: Six Classes a Day, Five Days a Week
Replacing the Six-Period School Day
A Game Plan to Enhance Student Achievement
What is Andragogy?
Experiences Affect How and What We Learn
Critical Thinking Skills in the Classroom
Children Learn Best from Self-Initiated Activities
Students Balk at Assignments
Getting Homework Done on Time
Mixed-Age Activities
How to Get Students to Turn in Their Homework
The Self-Directed Student
Teachers Should Distribute Lecture Notes
Real-World Thinking and Problem Solving
Collaborative Skills: Teamwork That Lasts a Lifetime
How to Teach Conventional Math Classes in a Short Period of Time
Teaching Mathematics to Children
Four Requisites to Academic Accomplishment
Struggling Students Aren't Bad Students
Not All Students Work at the Same Pace
What are Critical Thinking Skills?
Unit 8: Learning to Read, Reading to Learn
Encourage Young Readers by Reading Aloud
Language Skills are Key to Intellectual Development
Taking Steps toward Writing Effective Essays
Revision Is an Important Part of an Assignment
Learn to Read, Then Read to Learn
Integrated Approach to Language Arts Pays Off
Newspapers in Class Encourage Reading
Like, How Come Kids, You Know, Can't Communicate?
The First Lesson in Reading Can Be an Experience
Helping Beginning Readers
Reading Starts with Identifying Sounds
Finding That Inner Voice to Make Reading Enjoyable
Help A Child Love to Read
Mix of Teaching Strategies Is Key to Reading Success
Ways “Poor Students” Can Learn to Read
Learn Grammar without Drills
Five Ways to Become an Exemplary Listener
Q&A Sessions Need Right Kind of Questions
Understanding the Textbook
How to Encourage Reading
Use This Trick to Get a Child to Read
Helping a Child Read at Home
Questions to Ask about School Reading Programs
Early Reading Builds a Lifetime Habit
Story Time Helps Children Learn to Read
Reading and Writing Work Hand in Hand
Unit 9: Inclusion and Service: Yes, That Means Everyone
Decisions that Concern Disabled Students
Ways to Test Disabled Students
Does Your Student Have a Learning Disability?
Teaching Special Education Students in the Regular Classroom–a Team Approach
Setting Up Learning Environments for Students with Attention Deficit Disorder
Will All Non-Gifted Students Please Raise Their Hands?
An Inclusive Educational Strategy: Specially Designed Academic Instruction in English
Having Friends at School
Dealing with Dyslexia
Dealing with ADD
What is Service Learning?
Linking Students in the Classroom with their Communities through Service Learning
Nurturing Children of Mixed Heritage
Extending the School Day
The Most Popular Class Is the One Least Taught
Oral History Project a Winner from First Question to Final Presentation
A Child's Success a Joint Mission
Eliminating Drug Abuse Requires Team Approach
After-School Programs to Entertain Children
How to Turn Students into Good Citizens
Let’s Get Down to Cases
3…, 2…, 1…, Action!
Unit 10: Tools of the Trade
It's Important to Travel the Information Highway
Computers' Impact on Education
Why Every Student Isn't on The Information Highway
Computers in the Classroom
Why Computers Are Important
Getting Started on Computers
How to Distribute Computers on Campus
Are Computers Worth the Expense?
Technology in Today's Schools
Computer Age Changes Librarians' Roles
Learning on the Internet
The Best Kind of School Technology Plans
Technology Offers a Big Plus to the Instructional Process
The Potential of Distance Education
Is E-Mail Changing Scholarly Dialogue?
Online Classes Change the Concepts of Time and Space
How to Teach an Online Course
What Makes a Quality Educational Web Site Experience
Quality Online Learning
Testing by E-Mail
Andragogy meets Online Education
Online Collaborative Learning
Collaborative Online Education
Online Access to High School Education
Unit 11: Education: A Family Affair
Parents and Teacher Must Work Together
Communicating with Parents
How to Get Involved in School Reform
Reform Movements
How to Choose the Best Preschool
Preparing a Child for Kindergarten
Preschool Checklist
Appropriate Teacher Conferences
Appropriate Questions at an Open House
Unhappy with Your Teacher?
What to Expect from a Student Teacher
Classroom Visit May Help Concerned Parent
How Parents Should Deal with Teachers
Father's Involvement Is Very Significant
The Powerful Effect of a Father's Involvement on His Children's Education
Changing Schools Requires a Community Effort
Summer School Approach to Learning
School-to-Work Transition
Employability Skills
Parents are Their Child's First and Most Important Teachers
How to Help a Child with Homework
A Child's Self-Esteem
Helping Your Children with Homework
Start Teaching a Child about Nature Now
What about Home Schooling?
Helping the Unsuccessful Student
How to Help a Child Overcome Social Inhibitions
Parents' Role in the Education of Their Children
How Parents Can Help with Homework
Parent Involvement That Pays Off
Review a Child's Work to Improve Performance
Families Involved in Classroom Learning Experiences
Specific Kinds of Family Involvement Really Work
Parents’ role in Science and Math Education
How to Tell Youngsters about the World of Work
Glossary
About the Author :
Mark Ryan has taught at all grade levels, from elementary classes to university seminars. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in history from the University of California at Santa Cruz, a Master’s degree from the University of Puerto Rico at Rio Piedras, and a Doctorate in Higher and Adult Education from Arizona State University at Tempe.
From 1994 through 1997 he wrote the Ask the Teacher column syndicated by Copley News Service and was regularly published in such newspapers as the Boston Herald, the Denver Rocky Mountain News, and the San Diego Union Tribune. In 2004 Dr. Ryan received the President’s Distinguished Teaching Award from National University. He recently co-authored Writing Effective Lesson Plans: The Five-Star Approach, with Peter Serdyukov.
