Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire...

[tammyw]

I just got this from the library and have only started reading it, but so far, it really resonates with me!

 

Just wanted to see who else has read it, and curious if you made any big changes or had any A-HA moments because of it? I wasn't sure initially because it was coming from a classroom teacher, but so far so good! I love the idea of getting to Level VI :)

[2_girls_mommy]

I have seen him interviewed on T.V. before and even checked it out from the library. But it was one of those I didn't have time to read and I returned it. Thanks for the reminder. I will put it back on my to read list!

[nellecv]

I am so inspired by his Shakespeare work with kids! His money management ideas are good too.

[mommymilkies]

I love that book. It's one of my favorite ever, actually. I even emailed him a long gushy fan letter because I was so impressed. I had never done that before! I use lots of the ideas in there for my own kids. It was a big AHA! book for me. :)

[HeidiKC]

Loved that book! There is documentary on him, too. I think it is PBS or something and I can't remember the name. But it was very inspiring, and cool to see how he dealt with a classroom problem.

[tammyw]

I just found the documentary:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Hobart-Shakespeareans-Rafe-Esquith/dp/B000CRR3GA/ref=pd_sim_b_4

 

And another book he did that looks appropriate as well.

http://www.amazon.com/Lighting-Their-Fires-Extraordinary-Muddled-up/dp/B004LQ0HW0/ref=la_B001H6Q3J8_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1337192535&sr=1-3

[black_midori]

I read it & enjoyed it, but I didn't actually CHANGE because of it. I will probably re-read it again in a year or two & see what else I can get out of it. There are some things going through that I wrote down and planned to do but never got back to, I'm afraid! lol

 

I honestly don't want to have either myself or my kids be so driven that it consumes us, though, as he appears to be (to the neglect of his family, from the sound of it).

 

I did like his approach to classroom "rules", though! :)

[ChiknGirl]

I just got it from the library, too. I'm almost finished and will be re-reading it to take notes. It feels like every page has been an ah-ha moment. His 6 levels of thinking have really made an impression on me. I plan on asking dh to read it too.

[mom2denj]

Oh this sounds really good! Putting it on my list!

[Chrysalis Academy]

I really liked it. I copied down the problem-solving checklist, and it's on the bulletin board above Miss P's desk. I point to it often when she's solving word problems . . . it also made me brave enough to read To Kill a Mockingbird with her last month (I had worried she was too young), and I am *so* glad I did. So yeah, some changes here. Thanks for pointing out the other book he wrote, I put it on hold at the library.

[kitten18]

I listened to "Lighting Their Fires". I really liked it, I need to listen to his first book.

[PhotoGal]

I just finished this book today!

 

I liked it, but I also had a few reservations about it. As a teacher, I was concerned about how little he focused on the kids that were really behind in reading or math. (As there are bound to be some - there are in every class). Honestly, when I taught that is what I spent the most of my time and energy on - the kids that really needed to get to grade level. My sister taught in a similar school to the one he describes and there were kids in her fourth grade class who could barely read or do basic math. That (along with behavior issues) is the real challenge of teaching. He has one page on "students who cannot read" in which he says he constantly explains material and gives some students easier passages. I just feel like if I'm going to teach like my hair is on fire, it is going to be for those kids that truly need it. He does say his kids all pass a reading proficiency test at the end of the year, but doesn't really explain how that happens.

 

It seems like he spent most of his time and energy on the kids that were already high achieving / motivated. I noticed most of his programs were voluntary/after school - so he is talking about the kids who were already signing up for additional instruction, kwim? Not to downplay all the things he did. He certainly goes above and beyond! And the motivated kids obviously blossomed through these activities.

 

I did like his descriptions of Kohlberg's six levels of moral development. I might go over those with the kids at the beginning of the year. :001_smile: I don't really have any plans to have them start a rock band, though. :tongue_smilie:

[cjgrubbs]

I just finished this book last night and I found it to be truly inspiring. I do not have the energy to do everything he is doing in our homeschool and I don't think my kids would want to do all that but I definetly gleaned some great ideas from him. We are Christians and strive to teach our children principles from the Bible but I loved the 6 levels of morality. I think helping the kids explore their motivation for doing things might help them strive for a higher level!

 

I loved so many of the ideas he shared.

 

Thank you for starting this post- so glad I read this book.

[Carol in Cal.]

I specifically used his intro to literary terms via the movie "The Wizard of Oz" and some of the ways he talked about books with his kids, as well as his idea of teaching test taking partly by figuring out the 'trick' in some of the wrong answers in a multiple choice test.

 

I saw him speak and some of his kids present a little Shakespeare at a conference in San Diego about 5-6 years ago. I liked his book much more than his presentation.

 

Seeing the 12 hour day he puts in, and reading about Japanese education assumptions made me really carefully consider whether I was falling into the homeschooling trap of assuming that a few hours is plenty if you're only homeschooling. I didn't switch to 12 hour days, but I did get a clear view of the sheer amount of material that would be the 'high side of normal' for 5th graders, and I found that quite helpful as a benchmark. Every few years when I was homeschooling I would start to worry about whether I was really doing enough, and try to glimpse 'normal' somehow.

[Jay3fer]

Read this a few months ago. It was indeed inspiring BUT also discouraging in that it shows just how much effort a classroom teacher needs to put into his work in order to make a difference. Odds are, if your kids are in school, you will NEVER have a teacher that crazy/dedicated. And since many or most of us will have kids in school at some point... well, discouraging.

 

He reminds me of John Taylor Gatto in some ways, except that he's trying to work within the system instead of encouraging parents to set out on their own.

[tammyw]

I quickly read the rest of the book (though not in depth). I thought he was inspiring, but I didn't find it a book I needed to own. I think it is extremely admirable what he does in the classroom, and that is definitely a lucky classroom! I was surprised at the maturity of some of the movies they watch in their class.

[Guest]

I loved this book and it did inspire me in some ways, but I did also finish feeling, "How can he actually do some of these things?" For example, having the kids listen to original Shakespeare on audiobook is a great idea, but what if they just don't *get* it? How does he manage that with kids who are behind?

 

I am also not a believer in having 5th graders watch some of the movies he had on his list. There's no rush, is my thinking. I'm more of the thinking that they should be 14 or so before they need to grapple with mature content, such as "Schindler's List."

[cjgrubbs]

I agree with the maturing about the movie levels. Maybe, given the setting these kids are living in, it makes more sense for them? I'm still inspired to try to introduce them to great movies and do more meaningful art and work on problem solving in a different way and incorporate music into our classroom, etc, etc. Now, the trick is how to do this effectively with multiple ages?

 

I already feel like I'm letting my youngest down bc we don't do as much fun/crafty kind of stuff since the oldest is absolutely not interested! And my read alouds edge toward the higher side. It's just so hard to do exactly what each kid needs (even if I could exactly figure it all out!)

[Lang Syne Boardie]

I thoroughly enjoyed the book, although almost nothing from it was practically applicable in my particular homeschool setting. I was reading it to try to catch his great passion for teaching and love for children.

 

Homeschool moms give all they have, too, and they also do it with little support. Too many voices saying it doesn't matter, too many peers doing a poor job and keeping that bar low...at the end of the day it's you, your kids, and your tremendous will and love. In that way Rafe Esquith is a kindred spirit.

 

Rafe's teaching like his hair's on fire. Jaime Escalante's ganas. Marva Collins' indomitable spirit. Gatto's stealth freedom fighting turned to the wisdom of an old man...and me at the kitchen table with four sons studying Latin, with Charlotte Mason's series and The Well-Trained Mind on the shelf.

 

I don't try to knock the socks off of my fifth grade class who I never saw before this year, knowing that they may never again get enough at school so I have to light the kind of fire that will burn for a lifetime. I don't have sponsors, Ian McKellen, travel, and stratocasters to hand out as unforgettable gimmicks.

 

My students are my own children. They wear patched jeans and holey shoes and eat bean soup while discussing Philosophy. But, as Gatto once said, they have a mother and a father and a tablecloth, so they are ahead of the rest of the whole wide world. My lessons aren't giant firecrackers bursting around their heads but instead slow, gentle, and enduring daily outpouring over an entire childhood at home.

 

It's so different. But I couldn't do it without Mason, Bauer, Wise, Escalante, Esquith, Gatto, Collins, and you, whoever you are reading this.

 

We all teach with and because of some special kind of fire.

[Lang Syne Boardie]

 

He reminds me of John Taylor Gatto in some ways, except that he's trying to work within the system instead of encouraging parents to set out on their own.

 

Gatto did too, at first, and then he subverted the system at every turn while actually staying in it for a long, long time. Finally, as an old man, he abandoned the system and started advocating for another way entirely.

[Chrysalis Academy]

I thoroughly enjoyed the book, although almost nothing from it was practically applicable in my particular homeschool setting. I was reading it to try to catch his great passion for teaching and love for children.

 

Homeschool moms give all they have, too, and they also do it with little support. Too many voices saying it doesn't matter, too many peers doing a poor job and keeping that bar low...at the end of the day it's you, your kids, and your tremendous will and love. In that way Rafe Esquith is a kindred spirit.

 

Rafe's teaching like his hair's on fire. Jaime Escalante's ganas. Marva Collins' indomitable spirit. Gatto's stealth freedom fighting turned to the wisdom of an old man...and me at the kitchen table with four sons studying Latin, with Charlotte Mason's series and The Well-Trained Mind on the shelf.

 

I don't try to knock the socks off of my fifth grade class who I never saw before this year, knowing that they may never again get enough at school so I have to light the kind of fire that will burn for a lifetime. I don't have sponsors, Ian McKellen, travel, and stratocasters to hand out as unforgettable gimmicks.

 

My students are my own children. They wear patched jeans and holey shoes and eat bean soup while discussing Philosophy. But, as Gatto once said, they have a mother and a father and a tablecloth, so they are ahead of the rest of the whole wide world. My lessons aren't giant firecrackers bursting around their heads but instead slow, gentle, and enduring daily outpouring over an entire childhood at home.

 

It's so different. But I couldn't do it without Mason, Bauer, Wise, Escalante, Esquith, Gatto, Collins, and you, whoever you are reading this.

 

We all teach with and because of some special kind of fire.

 

 

:001_smile: This post made me really happy. I couldn't do it without you guys, either!!! :grouphug:

[MelAR05]

I thoroughly enjoyed the book, although almost nothing from it was practically applicable in my particular homeschool setting. I was reading it to try to catch his great passion for teaching and love for children.

 

Homeschool moms give all they have, too, and they also do it with little support. Too many voices saying it doesn't matter, too many peers doing a poor job and keeping that bar low...at the end of the day it's you, your kids, and your tremendous will and love. In that way Rafe Esquith is a kindred spirit.

 

Rafe's teaching like his hair's on fire. Jaime Escalante's ganas. Marva Collins' indomitable spirit. Gatto's stealth freedom fighting turned to the wisdom of an old man...and me at the kitchen table with four sons studying Latin, with Charlotte Mason's series and The Well-Trained Mind on the shelf.

 

I don't try to knock the socks off of my fifth grade class who I never saw before this year, knowing that they may never again get enough at school so I have to light the kind of fire that will burn for a lifetime. I don't have sponsors, Ian McKellen, travel, and stratocasters to hand out as unforgettable gimmicks.

 

My students are my own children. They wear patched jeans and holey shoes and eat bean soup while discussing Philosophy. But, as Gatto once said, they have a mother and a father and a tablecloth, so they are ahead of the rest of the whole wide world. My lessons aren't giant firecrackers bursting around their heads but instead slow, gentle, and enduring daily outpouring over an entire childhood at home.

 

It's so different. But I couldn't do it without Mason, Bauer, Wise, Escalante, Esquith, Gatto, Collins, and you, whoever you are reading this.

 

We all teach with and because of some special kind of fire.

 

Brought tears to my eyes. :001_smile:

[Deee]

Thanks, Tibbie. Its late here, on the other side of the world. Your post is a lovely collection of thoughts to go to bed with

Danielle

[prairiegirl]

I read the book and enjoyed it very much but I didn't take anything away that I could use in my own teaching.

 

Tibbie, thanks for that post. It made me smile. :001_smile:

[Kuovonne]

I check the book out of the library because of this thread. It was a fun read, inspiring, yet also humbling. Then I remind myself that he had 20+ years to figure out how to teach 5th grade. As a homeschooler, I don't have that luxury. I have to do my best this year and hope it's good enough, because next year we're on to different skills and different topics.

 

My number one action item that I got from the book is that I need to do more prep work for our field trips. Too often our field trips feel like extended play-dates at fanciful locations. But if I want a playdate, I could take my kids to the park. To encourage my kids to attend more to the educational material at the field trip, I need to make the topic meaningful to them.

[laughing lioness]

I've read all 3 of his books and really liked them, took notes, felt enriched as an educator by them. Here's a review and here.

I love how he is intentionally conveying a culture of win/win to the kids. I gleaned a lot by reading, like I did with Marva Collins.

[LydiaG]

I just started reading this book and have loved it so far. This morning, I started with grammar then moved to math, like Rafe does. I pulled out Mad Libs and started asking the kids for nouns and verbs. After we finished, I pointed out the funniest Mad Libs lines were the ones with outrageous words, not the boring words they typically supply. So, I gave the older boys a sheet of paper and we came up with 20 new nouns- 5 of each: person, place, thing, and idea. They loved this.

 

Then, I tried to do the mental math game that Rafe uses to segue from grammar to math. This didn't work out so well because my 8 year old hasn't learned multiplication yet. So, we stuck to addition and subtraction, but ds8 was so flustered by the multiplication and getting the wrong answer on the first problem that he pouted the rest of the game. I stopped there and told them to start on their workboxes.

 

Like I said, I am loving this book. However, I am also grateful that most people realize one person can't do everything he does. And we don't have to! He only gets his kids for 1 year so he has to teach like his hair is on fire to make an impact, but we get them longer, so we can teach like our hair is only smoldering. :)

 

I am curious what other ideas anyone is incorporating, especially how you juggle multiple ages.