debunking assuptions and unrealistic theories about teaching.

We are all teachers. Parents, big brothers, little sisters, cousins, grandparents, etc. etc. At some point in our lives we will be put in the position to teach something to someone else. Probably more than twice. Vanessa Rodriguez with Michelle Fitzpatrick discuss how teaching is a cognitive skill AND what it actually takes to become an expert teacher in their book titled The Teaching Brain: An Evolutionary Trait at the Heart of Education.

These ladies begin at the beginning. What is teaching? A human and evolutionary skill, whether you decided to pay the ungodly amount of money to get your masters to be a teacher, or not. Among other things. Also touched upon is how schools take that natural relationship between teacher and learner away in the classroom with all of their crazy rules and state tests. As a teacher who finds Common Core and the idea that teachers should be "graded" based upon student performance on state mandated tests, ridiculous, I found this book to be a great read. I was right there with Rodriquez when she discussed her first year of teaching and how she was told to hold her passion back, ask comprehensive questions, and basically leave your creativity at the door. My first year ruined teaching for me. I vote Rodriguez for president of educational reform so that maybe I can love it again.