Teaching that Matters: Engaging Minds, Improving Schools

About the Book

Teaching that Matters invites principals and teachers to make changes that will allow all students to succeed. Thoms urges administrators and teachers to reconsider traditional practices in light of today’s media-driven culture and digitally wired students. While sensitive to the challenges schools face Thoms is relentless in offering strategies to meet these challenges. Rather than focus on improving test scores, Teaching that Matters advocates that teachers teach to a child’s whole symphony, not only to one note. If students only learn to succeed on bubble tests, they will not have opportunities to discover their true potential. Thoms sees the teaching process as a joint venture between teacher and student where the teacher brings learning to the student and, at the same time, brings the student to the learning. This process demands at least as much listening as talking, a new habit that teachers and principals need to learn. By meeting innovative principals and teachers who engage students, this book will help you to learn to change traditional classroom practices into exciting alternatives.

Table of Contents:

Dedication/In Memoriam
Epigraph
Dear Reader

Contents
Foreword
Introduction

I: Re-Imagine Teaching (Chapters 1-9)

II: Seek New Perspectives (Chapters 10-11)

III: See Things as They Are (Chapters 12-14)

IV: Write Letters (Chapters 15-17)

V: Build Trust and Respect (Chapters 18-19)

Epilogue
Index
Acknowledgements
About the Author

About the Author :
Frank Thoms has been an innovative public and private school teacher known for his unique ideas and ability to connect with colleagues, students and parents. He has taught in three countries: the US, England, and Russia and the former Soviet Union and has served as a consultant in more than one hundred-twenty-five schools.

Review :
Teaching That Matters is a delightful concoction of philosophical and psychological reflections and provocations on the art of teaching. Creative teachers will find Frank Thoms’s book highly engaging and his practical teaching recommendations enormously useful. In education, we have a choice. We can continue to educate students the same deadening way they have always learned or we can follow innovative teachers, like Frank Thoms, and make a better choice. He presents a vision of schools where teachers want to teach and classrooms where students want to learn. This invitation is refreshing at a time when educators feel overwhelmed by the demands of standards and testing. Thoms, a seasoned teacher himself, paints compelling pictures of teachers who show us there is a better way––a way to learn alongside students, engage students in creative and thoughtful work, and bring liveliness into the classroom. An inspirational book to read if you want to breathe new life into your classroom or school! Frank Thoms presents thoughtful, challenging ideas that demonstrate respect for teacher, student, and the subject matter itself. Well done!! Frank Thoms provides an ocean of experience-based ideas. He puts them in a context of what teaching and learning can be or ought to be, rather than what, in too many classrooms, they have deteriorated into. His ideas and settings are married well and stated in vivid language that relates educators at all levels. His Table of Contents should make educators salivate! What makes a favorite teacher, the one you remember and thank for your whole life? Teacher Frank Thoms was one of them, and as he explains, it requires moving beyond conventional ideas, adapting your teaching to individual students, and listening to them. This book is a page turner of new ideas and effective strategies. Frank Thoms understands that teaching is an enormously complex activity. A career classroom teacher, he knows that teachers teach best and students learn best when they create learning communities in their classrooms and schools. His book puts teaching back into the hands of teachers and learning back into the hands of students. He advocates for schools to foster safe communities and rigorous teaching that will nourish student’s gifts and strengths. I feel your energy and commitment and can also hear your voice, literally, as I read. Your book feels like a personal conversation rather than a broadcast. Perhaps that is why you were such a good teacher! I have learned that it doesn’t matter whether the students sit in rows, or in pairs, or in a circle on a rug. What matters, and what will engage minds and improve schools is that the teacher in whatever setting is competent, passionate, committed and willing to take intelligent risks––modeling for students the value of reaching beyond where they are––to where they can be. And in that equation is the role of the principal who must create a culture of respect and trust that supports teachers every day to create rigorous lessons that balance standards with creativity and joy of learning. In Teaching That Matters Frank Thoms advocates close principal-teacher relationships to create engaged learning for students. The chapters are so intriguing! I just want to curl up with my favorite plush blanket and spend the day reading what Frank Thoms’ has written. I love that Thom’s understands that one approach to teaching rarely works. He presents multiple ideas and resources to provide teachers opportunities, either individually or collaboratively, to generate their own solutions. And, he offer “Points to Pursue” at the end of each chapter. Thoms’ words invite all readers to come and sit for a spell and soak in meaning through his proactive wisdom and then go out and try it! His book is a page-turner that anyone involved in the profession should pick up and read immediately. As an educator, I was very fortunate to experience his lessons in person and will always appreciate his great leadership and facilitation. Frank Thoms words and ideas stick and that is important! As a fellow teacher, I am not surprised that the lessons in Teaching That Matters identify many of today's weaknesses in our education system. In response, Frank Thoms offers exciting and innovative cures, most of which are direct and very doable. It is so important that the wisdom and perspective of a master teacher be shared with the next crop. Frank’s commitment to and enthusiasm for teaching is second to none––and he truly gets it. Frank understands that excellent education is the result of teaching which is alive, student centered, and always changing depending on the classroom of learners. He believes that excellent teachers continue to grow and continue to get better every day. Frank Thoms is one of the rare educators that has the ability to enthusiastically engage learners. As my former teacher, his innovative ways of looking at teaching were inspirational. If you are ready to be inspired, then Teaching That Matters is for you! Teachers will surely appreciate what Frank Thoms has assembled. His chapters give targeted how-to’s without teacher talk. At the same time, Frank presents lively case studies that bring those classroom moments to life.