This book complements teacher preparation and is based on three premises:
1) Despite training in educational history, theory and methodology, teachers often make critical decisions in challenging classroom circumstances based on their own educational experiences and feelings. 2) There are numerous ways for a teacher to deal with a given classroom issue that have equal validity in terms of their educational and social value for the student. 3) The worst time for a teacher to think about how he or she would handle a situation in class is while it is happening.
This book is primarily composed of 400 open-ended, reality-based questions and scenarios designed to encourage comprehensive thinking about everything involved with the teaching profession - from the reasons for entering the field to how the reader would handle challenges to his or her authority in the classroom. The questions are organized into eight separate chapters, the first of which challenges teachers to examine their own emotional and cognitive development at home and in school settings as they relate to their classroom decision-making process. Each successive chapter outlines how a self-reflective process can help teachers before, while and after they are in the classroom.
The book emphasizes that there are many different ways to be an effective teacher; what's most important is that teachers reflect on their decision-making processes so they can be the version of themselves that is best for the students in their classrooms.
About the Author
In 2004, at age 25 and during his fourth year of teaching, Aaron S. Podolner became the youngest winner ever of the Chicago-Area Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Education. Since then he has continued to teach physics to a wide range of students at Oak Park and River Forest High School in Oak Park, IL, and every summer he conducts reflective seminars for future teachers through the Golden Apple Scholar of Illinois program.
In the fall of 2018, he was featured in the documentary series, "America to Me," directed by Steve James on STARZ.
He is the author of "How Would You Handle It? Questions For Teachers To Ask Themselves," "How We Handle it: Hundreds of Answers From Classroom Teachers," the essay "A Skeptic Believes: Why All Teachers Should Discuss Religion," and the kindle short "My Racial Autobiography with Questions for White Teachers of Black Students."
Podolner lives in a suburb of Chicago with his wife and three daughters. You can contact him at aaron@podolnerbooks.org
