What Went Right: Lessons from Both Sides of the Teacher's Desk

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In What Went Right: Lessons from Both Sides of the Teachers Desk co-authors Roberta Israeloff and George McDermott resume a conversation they began in 1967when she was in eleventh grade at Syosset (N.Y.) High School and he was her English teacher. In 2014, after finding each other on Facebook, they began an email correspondenceas contemporaries, rather than student and teacherand quickly discovered that neither had ever stopped thinking about that school and the many ways it influenced them. As they shared their impressions of how and why public education has changed since then, they realized that a single academic year can have a deeper and longer-lasting impact than they had ever imagined. Personal and probing, evocative and wide-ranging, the letters that compose this book ask and attempt to answer some timelessand timelyquestions: What makes a teacher or a class memorable How can the teacher-student relationship be supported and strengthened What does being educated truly mean And, perhaps most important, what role can free public education play in sustaining our democracy

Reviews

Roberta Israeloff and George McDermott have allowed readers an intellectually voyeuristic look into their thinking about education in a modern conversation that recalls their student-teacher interactions in a progressive high school in the late 1960s to reach conclusions about education today. Do I agree with everything they say Heck no! But thats not a drawback; the authors would be quick to point out that their readers examining their own assumptions and arguments is in the spirit of their effort. They make their own assumptions and arguments in an engaging and thoughtful, yet highly personal social commentary that deserves consideration by students of school reform. -- William D. Schafer, affiliated professor (emeritus), College of Education, University of Maryland
Any teacher knows that the best class discussions often get cut short by the bell. But what might happen if that conversation started up again . . . decades later In What Went Right: Lessons from Both Sides of the Teachers Desk, former teacher George McDermott and former student Roberta Israeloff pick up their class discussion almost where they left off. In a series of beautifully crafted letters, the two authors explore the purpose of education, why some schools work (and some dont), and the lessons they have learned both in the classroom and since they left it. Anyone who has ever been on either side of the teachers desk will find insights, challenges, and some shared wisdom on how to raise thoughtful adults. -- Kristen J. Amundson, president/CEO, National Association of State Boards of Education
There are at least two types of people who should read What Went Right. The first: anyone who had a classic Great Teacher in high school. The sort who made you understand, then love, chemistry, European history, English, calculus or any mind-expanding subject because she loved what it did to her mind and wanted you to live through the same tough delight. The other sort of person who should read this book: anyone who had his heart broken by bad teaching, whose school made a fetish of standardized tests, who came each September with less energy, less willingness to find passion in learning. The conversation recorded in this lovely book is full of elegant but not precious writing, familiar questions asked with an urgency that makes them seem new, and memories of truly great classes that might still be possible. Im buying a copy for my niece who teaches in Appalachia, and a copy for myself because I need the penetrating intelligence of its argument. -- Deborah Burnham, Associate Undergraduate Chair of English, University of Pennsylvania
We usedWhat Went Rightas an additional textbook for our Undergraduate Literacy Course at Washington State University this past fall semester. Since most of my students were born in the late 1990's, they were so fascinated with the stories from George and Roberta's recollections and perceptions of how the world of education has changed over the past 50 years. The authors' words, thoughts, and convictions stirred rich, and sometimes passionate, classroom discussions about a myriad of educational topics. Thank you, George and Roberta, for influencing this new generation of educators to think critically, and reflect onWhat Went Right! -- Deanna Duncan, Associate Faculty, Washington State University

Author Bio

Roberta Israeloff directs the Squire Family Foundation, an educational advocacy foundation that champions the inclusion of philosophy in the public school curriculum, and that helped launch both PLATO (Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization) and the National High School Ethics Bowl. A teacher and editor, she has also authored or co-authored over a dozen books, including four volumes of personal non-fiction, and scores of short stories, essays and articles appearing in national publications. George McDermott has taught students in all junior- and senior-high grades; in rural, suburban and inner-city settings; and in central, charter, and neighborhood schools. He has also spent decades as a speechwriter and ghostwriter, helping business executives, research scientists, economists, physicians and designers communicate accurately and effectivelyand sound as articulate as they are talented in areas other than communication.