Inside Teaching: How Classroom Life Undermines Reform

Kennedy takes us into the controlled commotion of the classroom, revealing how painstakingly teachers plan their lessons, and how many different ways things go awry. She argues that pedagogical reform proposals that do not acknowledge all of the things teachers need to do are bound to fail.

Table of Contents:
1. The Mysterious Gap between Reform Ideals and Everyday Teaching 1 2. How Teachers Think about Their Practices 31 3. Creating a Tranquil Environment 63 4. Managing Conversations about Content 95 5. Constructing the Day's Agenda 125 6. Sources of Problems in Teaching 157 7. Sources of Improvements in Teaching 201 8. The Problem of Reform 225 Appendix on Method 237 Notes 269 References 271 Index 277

About the Author :
Mary M. Kennedy is Professor of Teacher Education at Michigan State University.

Review :
This thoughtfully conceived and clearly presented study sheds light on typical teacher concerns and approaches and concludes with the recommendation that reform initiatives will succeed only if their authors are responsive to the full range of complexities that teachers face on a daily basis. -- Jean Caspers Library Journal 20050301 A wonderful new book...The reader is likely to come away from Inside Teaching wondering whether the real problem isn't reformers' unrealistic expectations. Essentially, they're expecting teachers to be all things to all people--an expectation we don't have of any other group of professionals. Teacher's Magazine 20050801 Every teacher will recognise the constant feature [observed by Kennedy], the unpredictable kinetic energy in every class of children and the fact that if something can go wrong, it probably will. Grasp this fact, Kennedy says to the baffled reformer, and your various policies for school improvement will work better. Fail to grasp it, and they may not work at all. Worse, they could be counter-productive. -- Michael Duffy Times Educational Supplement 20051111 Kennedy...does something of immense value to all those who would reform teaching practice in America: she opens the door to the classroom and describes--precisely and respectfully--what teaching looks like. More important, she asks teachers to think and talk about their intentions, beliefs and priorities. Unlike much educational research, where an observer breaks teaching behaviors into incomprehensible bits, or writes about teaching from the perspective of the expert, Kennedy's portrayals of teaching ring true. Any well-meaning reformer would exponentially increase the likelihood of success by reading and understanding the challenges of mundane daily teaching practice that Kennedy illustrates...The greatest contribution of the book is Kennedy's careful and nuanced analysis of why reforms so often fail...Kennedy clearly believes that both challenging curriculum and good teaching are critical to school reform--and that teaching can and must be improved. Her clear-eyed and very accessible approach to better teaching, learning and schools is an enormous gift to those whose passion is a great teacher for every kid. Mary Kennedy has achieved the near impossible: she's written a book of solid research on teaching that every teacher should read. -- Nancy Flanagan Teacher Leaders Network 20051201 Inside Teaching is an important read for policy makers and other decision makers; it is a reminder that genuine education is a complex and fragile process that takes into account the idea that every student is a valuable contributor to the world and not a product to be assembled. -- Sergio Mora Childhood Education 20080101