The best teachers, says David Kobrin, think about who their students are and how they learn. In this age of standardized tests and "teacher-proof" lesson plans, they recognize that teaching is a rich and complex activity that demands professional skill, sound judgment, and quick thinking.
In There with the Kids presents the parallel working lives of two teachers, elementary teacher Hilary Coles and high school teacher Mel Stinko. We see these teachers (composites drawn from the authors' experience and observations in schools) as they plan lessons, interact with students, reflect on what happens in the classroom, and try always to do better. Through them we are prompted to think carefully about why some lessons work and others don't.
Kobrin brings us into the classroom, where we hear the voices of individual students and see how their concerns influence what happens each day. He provides detailed reconstructions of student debates and includes the handouts, exams, and assessment instructions used for selected lessons. At the close of each chapter, he analyzes the characters' actions, the motives behind them, and their effects on events in the classroom.
Lively, practical, and inspiring, In There with the Kids demonstrates that teachers who are willing to reshape their teaching to meet their students' unique needs can help those students achieve.
