 2009-01-02 - You Can't Go Wrong with Wong!
Statistics around the nation report that 30-50% of our new teachers are leaving the profession within their first five years! I firmly believe that if many of these teachers had taken the time to read and use this book by Harry Wong they'd still be teaching. I have taught for 23 years and have had the opportunity to work with many new teachers in Michigan during this time. The number one key to success in teaching comes down to classroom management. You can't teach if you can't manage your students. Harry Wong's "The First Days of School" provides every teacher -- especially new teachers -- the tools they need to manage and become leaders in the classroom setting. He is the master of teaching teachers how to effectively use procedures in their classrooms that will provide them with more time to teach, less frustrations to deal with, and allow students to learn in a positive, safe learning environment. This is a must read and should be on every new teachers' desk before the first day of school!
2008-12-26 - A Good Start
Perhaps the most important thing to notice about this book is its title, The FIRST Days of School. I think this book does a good job of giving inexperienced teachers some ideas about how to get off to a good start. As the authors write, "The first days of school can make or break you."
Wong & Wong offer specific suggestions for establishing classroom routines that will help prevent chaos. For example, teachers are normally required to report absent students, and that requires taking attendance. Many teachers do this at the beginning of class, a procedure that takes at least a few minutes. Experienced teachers with a "good rep" can often get away with this, but young, inexperienced teachers may find that during this activity student order breaks down. Wong & Wong recommend getting the students busy on some assignment as soon as they enter the room, and taking attendance while the students work. Something as simple as this can make a world of difference in how a class proceeds.
You can learn things like this in the classroom, but if you learn about them before you get into the classroom you'll have an easier time. I learned in my first weeks of teaching that trouble was much more likely to arise if I sat at my desk than if I stood up. (As Marva Collins likes to say, "To be a good teacher you need a comfortable pair of shoes.") But I was not taught this in my education courses. Wong & Wong tell you things like this so you don't have to learn them the hard way.
This sort of information is very useful, so I think new teachers are well advised to buy this book. The focus here, however, as in most "teaching" books, is not teaching but classroom management. But we are not in classroom merely to maintain order; we are there to teach. Anyone who is serious about teaching will need to read books about teaching as well as classroom management. Among textbooks, Looking in Classrooms, by Good & Brophy is well worth studying. Glenn Latham's Behind the Schoolhouse Door is a briefer, more readable book on teaching that is worth reading.
Study classroom management and the essentials of teaching before you get to the classroom, and you and your students will both be better off.
 2008-12-20 - More ideas
Wong and Wong is a great resource for all teachers, but it is true that it is intended more for the elementary classroom. If you are looking for a practical guide, especially for new teachers, read A Lesson Plan for Teachers, New and Old. It is a more practical approach to the real incidents and experiences faced by seconday level teachers.
2008-12-15 - Great Book!
This is a great book for new teachers to read. It gives many helpful tips on classroom management.
2008-10-27 - There's some great stuff in this book
Harry Wong really has some stuff straight. I'm working towards my teaching license and am working in some different schools. Harry's techniques really work! I've seen the difference of teachers that use this and those who don't. Wow, what a difference!
It's about gaining back your respect as a professional... not having to yell or be unprofessional in order to manage your students. Dicipline is not the #1 problem in todays classrooms. It's all about routines and proceedures. Establishing routines and proceedures allows the students to know what is expected of them and allows them to focus on learning in a structured environment conducive to learning. Seriously, get this book. If every classroom did this... we would have an amazing education system.
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