Extreme Teaching

(Hardback, Second Edition)

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Extreme Teaching, Second Edition continues the important events in the career of Jason Prather, an outstanding teacher who became an exemplary school administrator. This book emphasizes Jasons transition from teacher to school administrator, as he promises himself that he will do the work of a school administrator with the same heart and soul which inspired him as a teacher. Through this narrative, this book confronts many current issues in education. The reader meets some of Jasons colleagues and hears their concerns, ideas, hopes, and frustrations. Extreme Teaching is a practical, realistic, energetic, and optimistic book, filled with ideas, case studies, penetrating questions, intriguing answers, and many topics for the reader to analyze. This book provides intellectual resources for readers to create new ideas which will work for their specific needs, challenges, and opportunities.

Reviews

Ina world where education istoo often equated solelywith theresults of high-stakes testing,Babbage offersa refreshing reminder that education works best when teachers motivate students, students work best when teachers collaborate,andteachersare at their bestwhenmotivated bytheneedsoftheirstudents. Extreme Teachingplaces teachers, creativity, content focus,student engagement,and clearly articulated learninggoals front andcenteras the primary variablesina successfuleducational formula. The book identifies passionate, positive, practical, and immediately applicableinstruction(not tests!) asthecomponentthat will havethe mostdeeply-felt impact on students and their long-term success. Babbage emphasizeseducation is a gift, and the chance to be an educator is a privilege. Extreme Teaching examines how staying focused onsimple questions such as "What do our students need" and "How can we help one another help our students" allows schools to rise abovedivisive pedagogicaland administrative trends that dominate today'seducation headlines. -- Jessica Lynch Andrews, National Board Certified English teacher at Henry Clay High School, Lexington, KY
It seems we are waiting for America to remember that its economic prosperity was built on the back of a strong system of public schools, which while never perfect, led the world in understanding the importance and power of a great teacher in front of every child. In his update of Extreme Teaching Keen Babbage laments todays top-down invasions of the classroom by non-teacher politicians and policy makers who devalue teachers by seeing them as replaceable assembly line drones, and whose money lures their superiors to undertake unsound, even harmful, practices. Young teachers will especially benefit from considering Babbages hero, an increasingly unusual teacher-turned-principal who trusts his faculty and opposes district mandates he does not believe will help his studentsand who pays a price for his integrity. Embedded in the story are sound teaching ides and activities that reinforce the central message of extreme teachingthat students need their education to be real right now. -- Richard Day, associate professor, Educational Foundations, Eastern Kentucky University

Author Bio

Keen Babbage has 30 years of experience in the educational field, having worked as a middle and high school teacher, and school administrator. He has written 17 other books about education.