Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Work Hard. Be Nice. Chapters 7-10

Thanks everyone who responded! The next 4 chapters talk a little bit about Mike Feinberg and David Levin and how they ended up in Houston with Teach For America. Chapter 9 speaks to their second year as teachers. Chapter 10 - They meet the Disney Teacher of the Year and chapter 11 is about a student. This round, just talk and share your thoughts on what gave you an ahh haaa, an idea, or useful ideas you got from these 4 chapters. Thanks so much!!

7 comments:

  1. When establishing KIPP, I think Feinberg and Levin wanted something that they could replicate everywhere they opened a school. Much of the successes Esquith and Ball had to do with their personalities. KIPP borrowed some of the most successful practices from the two mentors that could be replicated and did not depend on the personality of the individual teacher.

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  2. Esquith was a model of hope for Levine and Feinburg. They began to see clear opportunitites versus problems. This was a real turning point for these two young men and quite triumphant.

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  3. I definitely agree Steve that you can't choose techniques that rely on having a certain type of personality! The more I read about KIPP and how Feinberg and Levin made it happen, the more it seems like it was a lot of common sense? Do you see that?

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  4. I agree with Leah in that Esquith was the ray of hope Feinburg and Levine needed to validate them. Although they completely changed their scope, the intention was the same.
    My ahhh Haaa moment...teach with passion. If the passion is truly there it will be contagious and engage kids and keep them engaged. Don't be afraid to step outside the box.

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  5. Okay, you'd think I learned from the first experience and yet, here I sit at a very late hour frustrated again by the cyberspace jungle of logins, passwords, etc. Here is my abbreviated version of what I typed the first time - before I lost it. Both men came from personal struggles of stuttering, learning disabilities and familial expectations to emerge victorious due to hard work and keeping their dream alive. This echoed to me what we have been telling the kids about dream big and work hard. It also hit home how important it is to mentor younger teachers and to continue to look to each other and other successful people in our field as we face struggles. It was through very long hours and absolute committment and all consuming passion that Fienberg and Levin developed and cultivated relationships with parents and students which was the key to their success in the classroom.

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  6. I thought the same thing when I was reading it as Steve and Valerie. I felt like they had a lot of common sense ideas and tactics.... they put forth a lot of effort to hold everyone accountable for what they wanted to see in their classrooms. They involved other teachers, administration, parents, and students. I was impressed by their dedication and devotion to the craft of teaching. They truly thought hard about what they wanted for their students and how the best way to get that accomplished would be. I liked how they sought out others for ideas and methods of what worked and then made what worked best for them. What a great story!

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  7. I think I have the same problem Jan has:(.
    Anyway my thoughts are that these men got a newer insight to hearing Esquith speak. I believe that through their commitment of being the change they wish to see in the kiddos it will happen!!! Their passion to embrace every possibility was exhibited through them causing an overflow to the kiddos and their families.

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