Chapter 2

This chapter can best be summed up by the following statement: Make connections. Whether it is fostering resiliency in disadvantaged youth or instilling pride in bilingual students, the common factor in these actions is how professional staff connect with young people. For students to feel like they can be successful and overcome obstacles and diversity-related challenges, they need adults in their lives who try to get to know them on a personal level and let them know they are important. Making purposeful instructional decisions to eliminate bias and discrimination in the classroom allows these relationships to flourish.

I was surprised to read about the lack of evidence to support teachers focusing on students' learning styles (Point/Counterpont, pg. 43). Many professional development offerings in my district have conveyed the importance of gearing instruction toward the preferred way of learning for each student. Were these sessions a waste of everyone's time? I'd like to think they weren't. I do believe the initial push of gearing instruction toward learning styles led to more reasonable teaching methods of differentiation and understanding by design.

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Chapter 1

This seems like a pretty unbiased text. The NCLB Point/Counterpoint is a good example. I couldn't tell if the authors were in favor or against this legislation but they did have good reasoning for both sides of the issue. Another plus is the amount of research that the authors refer to when trying to back up their assertions. If there is any complaint thus far it would be that this text isn't opinionated enough. I also question the validity and reliability of every research paper and case study referred to in the text.

As I scanned the back cover of this book I agreed with the first sentence which states that traditional teacher supervision is an outdated model for rating the effectiveness of teachers. As an administrator I find this process less than conducive for improving instruction and student learning. The climate for evaluating teachers is not collegial or collaborative due to the summative nature of this process. Formats such as teaming and professional development focused on building specific goals are much more effective in improving the teaching-learning process.

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