Chapter Seven - Courtney Mix-Binish

Throughout the book I have kind of felt that these stories were stories we heard during under grad.  Hearing about the teachers who stepped outside the box to reach their students.  Initially, I went into the classroom trying to understand my students, very similarly to the teachers who were highlighted in this book.  I came to find, that is not me.  I wanted to understand that my students are going to act differently than I do, or that I need to be sympathetic to them.  One thing I learned from the field, however, is exactly what is spoken about in the end of the book- these are unique situations of specific classrooms in urban environments- just like “Freedom Writers” (and please note, I did, in fact read that book and try to do that in my classroom…needless to say, it did not work.)   I appreciate this acknowledgement because sometimes a person can second-guess their own practices when they hear about extraordinary teachers such as these.  A teacher can feel like they should be doing something different in their classroom, even though their methods are already successful. 

I also appreciate how this book highlights teachers who are real.  Their real-life situations have been documented or all to hear and they are not afraid.  It feels, many times, that we need to monitor what we say and do in fear of losing our jobs.  The greatest thing about these teachers is they have embraced their craft and are not afraid to be judged for what they do or how they act in a situation.  Thinking specifically about Nancy, I know many teachers who would have flipped when their student said “f*cking” when referencing sex.  Nancy very calmly, yet sternly explained the inappropriateness of the comment.  She knew reprimanding the student wouldn’t do anything but cause a stir in the classroom- she knew the student could use this as a learning experience…remembering her students may not have had an opportunity to learn this outside of the classroom.

I believe that a teacher can read this book and, without reading too much into it, can learn a lot about how to handle the classroom.  I recognize a lot of the  methods used in the classroom and how they are successful in my classroom as well.