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210th out of 1,040 books
—
1,675 voters
Learn Me Good
by
John Pearson (Goodreads Author)
Jack Woodson was a thermal design engineer for four years until he was laid off from his job. Now, as a teacher, he faces new challenges. Conference calls have been replaced with parent conferences. Product testing has given way to standardized testing. Instead of business cards, Jack now passes out report cards. The only thing that hasn't changed noticeably is the maturit...more
Paperback, 210 pages
Published
June 28th 2006
by Createspace
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Apr 24, 2008
Cheryl
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
anyone, especially teachers
Shelves:
teaching
After each email ended, I was faced with a conundrum: keep reading on or stop and save the rest for later, savoring each email like a piece of fine chocolate. I wanted to keep reading on, but didn't want this book to end!
I stumbled across this book as I searched for books with the same themes as mine (humor, education). The book preview was enough to convince me to buy the book--I liked the author's style of humor and the writing was good.
This book is hilarious! I especially like how the author...more
I stumbled across this book as I searched for books with the same themes as mine (humor, education). The book preview was enough to convince me to buy the book--I liked the author's style of humor and the writing was good.
This book is hilarious! I especially like how the author...more
What a quick & fun read. I laughed out loud at something in every chapter. If you are a teacher or know one it's a must read. And if you're not, it's still a must read if you are looking for lighthearted escapism. I especially loved the great puns(is the term great puns an oxymoron?). Do yourself (and the author who is really a 3rd grade teacher) a favor & buy this book.
Learn Me Good is a fantastic book; one that will have you laughing from beginning to end.
My wife is a preschool teacher and I was constantly laughing as there were so many similarities between her stories and those in this book. For those with kids in grade school, you will definitely recognize your own kids in the characters in the book; hopefully more like Ariel and less like Mark Peter.
The book is written as a series of emails, and at first I wasn't sure but this turned out to be a brilliant...more
My wife is a preschool teacher and I was constantly laughing as there were so many similarities between her stories and those in this book. For those with kids in grade school, you will definitely recognize your own kids in the characters in the book; hopefully more like Ariel and less like Mark Peter.
The book is written as a series of emails, and at first I wasn't sure but this turned out to be a brilliant...more
Learn Me Good
by John Pearson
Laid off from a heat pump company where he worked as a thermal design engineer, Jack Woodson goes back to school and becomes a third grade teacher. He keeps in touch with a former co-worker and friend through email with amusing anecdotes of his days in the classroom.
He brings the children to life through his descriptions and interactions with them. He is teaching in an inner city school and his challenges come alive through his day-to-day activities and experien...more
I had high hopes for this book, but I ended up disappointed. The premise is that an engineer-by-trade is laid off and becomes a third-grade math and science teacher who shares his experiences with a former co-worker in a series of e-mails throughout the school year.
I guess I was expecting something different as far as the happenings in the third-grade class. Having a third-grader myself, I know the silliness (good and bad) that goes on at that age, but I didn't feel like this book reflected that...more
I guess I was expecting something different as far as the happenings in the third-grade class. Having a third-grader myself, I know the silliness (good and bad) that goes on at that age, but I didn't feel like this book reflected that...more
Fun, true-to-life, with an authentic voice. Often I get impatient with first-year teachers' memoirs...too cute, too smug...too Esme. But this is a hoot. Maybe it's because it's written as emails to a friend--a snarky friend. Pearson entered teaching after he was laid off at his old job. But I never doubted his six city and commitment to his students...
His stories about his students are ones every teacher can smile at, nod his or her head at....we recognize his fear of parent conferences, his si...more
His stories about his students are ones every teacher can smile at, nod his or her head at....we recognize his fear of parent conferences, his si...more
This was an enjoyable quick read about a teacher's first year.
The book was funny and reminded me of my own real life experiences as a teacher and a parent.
The format is strange: a series of e-mails to an ex colleague. But the format makes the read quick and gives some more variety than a simple diary or journal or memoir of events. Though you don't read the replies, the e-mails reference them and give a sense of a two-way conversation.
The author likes his puns and jokes and funny names. I think...more
The book was funny and reminded me of my own real life experiences as a teacher and a parent.
The format is strange: a series of e-mails to an ex colleague. But the format makes the read quick and gives some more variety than a simple diary or journal or memoir of events. Though you don't read the replies, the e-mails reference them and give a sense of a two-way conversation.
The author likes his puns and jokes and funny names. I think...more
Jack Woodson is an Engineer turned Elementary School teacher. Follow Jack through his first year as a Math Teacher as he emails former co-workers his funny and strange stories straight from the classroom.
A funny look inside the classroom through the Teachers eyes.
Lets Talk About It:
This is a cute, funny book.
I love the unusual format of reading 'emails' in the book as the way to tell the day to day antics of his classroom and students.
Every single 'email' had a cute funny story about the chil...more
A funny look inside the classroom through the Teachers eyes.
Lets Talk About It:
This is a cute, funny book.
I love the unusual format of reading 'emails' in the book as the way to tell the day to day antics of his classroom and students.
Every single 'email' had a cute funny story about the chil...more
John Pearson earned a degree in Engineering from Duke University and then worked for nearly four years in Dallas, Texas as a thermal design engineer before being laid off. He decided to go back to college to be certified as a math teacher and found himself at the beginning of the next school year standing in front of a class of 3rd graders in an inner city school as their Math/Science teacher. This book is the journey of that year of teaching told through a series of emails to his friend, Fred B...more
This book is entertaining even if you aren't a teacher. I am not a teacher nor have I worked in an elementary school but I still thought this book was very funny. Told entirely in emails from a first time teacher in an inner city Texas school to a friend and ex-coworker, "Learn Me Good" is wickedly entertaining and clever. It's not just the stories he tells but the way he tells them that make this book so funny. Be prepared to laugh out loud.
Since it is told in a series of emails of varying len...more
Since it is told in a series of emails of varying len...more
Storyline: What can I say about Learn Me Good by John Pearson other than it really are good?! It’s better than good; it’s gooder even! Mr. Pearson’s hilarious book chronicles his first year of teaching through a series of emails to a former coworker. It almost makes me want to be a teacher. Almost. Jack Woodson was laid off from his engineering job that he worked at for nearly 4 years and decided to become a school teacher. After all the necessary tests, certifications and teacher’s training, he...more
I really enjoyed John Pearson's "Learn Me Good". I frequently browse through a few of the "low-cost" kindle book blogs and this one was featured a little more than a month ago. I have family members who are teachers and my first major in college was ElEd. After reading John's book, I recall why I changed majors to Law Enforcement! ;-) I did think back to my own third grade teacher (Mrs. Woodrow at James Monroe Elementary) --- it really did give me a whole different perspective on third grade . ....more
Feb 15, 2011
Arni Vidar Bjorgvinsson
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
kindle
The premise of the story may not seem overly interesting at first glance; an engineer starts working as a teacher and tells the reader about his experience with the children he teaches.
And this is definitely not my regular type of reading material, seeing as I prefer fantasy over reality.
That being said, perhaps because I wasn't expecting anything, this book just blew me away. Although mostly reading it in bed at night, with marginally half a brain running and thus barely 1/10th a sense of humor...more
And this is definitely not my regular type of reading material, seeing as I prefer fantasy over reality.
That being said, perhaps because I wasn't expecting anything, this book just blew me away. Although mostly reading it in bed at night, with marginally half a brain running and thus barely 1/10th a sense of humor...more
This was recommended to me by a friend, so I coughed up a few bucks and purchased it for my Kindle. (That’s rare; I usually just get the free ones!) It’s really good. In this “mostly true” account, John Woodson, a former engineer and victim of downsizing, makes a career change, and teaches 3rd grade math and science. Each chapter of the book is an email to a former co-worker at his old company. The book is downright funny—everything from the kids’ names to the funny questions they ask and ridicu...more
The premise, one side of a back and forth email exchange between a first year elementary school teacher and a former co-worker, seemed a touch shaky. But as various books and TV shows have have proven for years, kids are funny. Something light and amusing fit my mood, so I decided I'd give it a try.
The kid part worked. As Art Linkletter used to say,"Kids Say the Darnest Things." (You kids reading this - anyone under 50 or so - google it.) The kids will keep you chucking most of the way. As will...more
The kid part worked. As Art Linkletter used to say,"Kids Say the Darnest Things." (You kids reading this - anyone under 50 or so - google it.) The kids will keep you chucking most of the way. As will...more
Learn Me Good is the story of Jack Woodson's first year as a third grade teacher in Texas. He started his career as an engineer but when he was laid off from his job he decided to try teaching instead. The book follows the ups and downs of his first year as math teacher through emails sent to his former co-worker.
This is a funny and fast read that I thoroughly enjoyed it. Pearson had me laughing through the entire book. Each of the e-mails tells a story of something that happened during the sch...more
This is a funny and fast read that I thoroughly enjoyed it. Pearson had me laughing through the entire book. Each of the e-mails tells a story of something that happened during the sch...more
Learn Me Good is an often laugh-out-loud, 'probably-true' story of an engineer who loses his job and ends up teaching 3rd grade math in Dallas, TX.
The book is presented as a series of emails that Mr. Wooden...uh, Woodley...errr...Woodson (read the book, you'll understand that part) sends to a friend at his prior employer about the kids he's teaching and the crazy things they do and say. It's worth the small price of the book just to read the subjects & clever names with which he closes ever...more
The book is presented as a series of emails that Mr. Wooden...uh, Woodley...errr...Woodson (read the book, you'll understand that part) sends to a friend at his prior employer about the kids he's teaching and the crazy things they do and say. It's worth the small price of the book just to read the subjects & clever names with which he closes ever...more
Good book, light reading; excellent for taking on a plane because it has short chapters. Since I was also an engineer, I enjoyed the theme of leaving such a job and moving into a different one--a completely different job that required much of the same talents: talking to 8 year olds, convincing them to do the work assigned and dealing with strange conversations. It's a light-hearted look at some typical situations, some more serious situations and human nature.
I am almost ashamed to say I purchased this book 15 months ago on my Kindle 2 during a buying spree, it quickly got lost. I found it again when the Kindle 2 got collections, but it quickly got lost in the "memoir" collection. I found it yet AGAIN and made myself promise to read it when my Kindle 3 came in, even making a special category for "read now" that has less than 12 books in it. So, I finally read it. I think part of my hesitation is that good self-published memoirs are rare, fabulous sel...more
A cute jaunt into the world of a new teacher in an elementary school in Texas, this book does a pretty good job presenting a very real reflection of the world of public education through the eyes of the ex-engineer narrator. The thing about this book was that it was great in some parts, and quite silly in others - my main gripe was that I felt very inconsistent in my overall appreciation of it.
I will say foremost that this was probably written with the elementary school teacher in mind as an aud...more
I will say foremost that this was probably written with the elementary school teacher in mind as an aud...more
Engineer turned 3rd grade math and science teacher shares his first year in his new role with with the reader through one-sided emails sent to a former colleague at his old company. Every single email had me laughing from his clever subject lines to his unique monikers he has created for himself to sign off each of his emails. A great read for teachers, trainers, managers, parents or anyone who has ever dealt with people, young or old, who made you stop, scratch your head, and wonder what the he...more
ISBN: 9781453646687
Publisher: Self / Indie
Pages: 210
Jack Woodson (Duke Engineering, class of '95) is currently living and working in Dallas, TX. He has forty children, and all of them have different mothers.
Jack Woodson was a thermal design engineer for four years until he was laid off from his job. Now, as a teacher (dealing with those forty children), he faces new challenges. Conference calls have been replaced with parent conferences. Product testing has given way to standardized testing. Ins...more
Publisher: Self / Indie
Pages: 210
Jack Woodson (Duke Engineering, class of '95) is currently living and working in Dallas, TX. He has forty children, and all of them have different mothers.
Jack Woodson was a thermal design engineer for four years until he was laid off from his job. Now, as a teacher (dealing with those forty children), he faces new challenges. Conference calls have been replaced with parent conferences. Product testing has given way to standardized testing. Ins...more
We follow a first year teacher as he emails his former co-worker about the crazy antics of his third grade class in Dallas, Texas.
This was free on my Kindle and it looked mildly interesting so I picked it up. When I started reading I thought, "Here's another joe (or Barry!) who thinks he can just gather up some emails he's sent and call it a book." but the more I read, the more involved I got into these kids' lives. You find yourself nodding and laughing when he says to his buddy, "And you know...more
This was free on my Kindle and it looked mildly interesting so I picked it up. When I started reading I thought, "Here's another joe (or Barry!) who thinks he can just gather up some emails he's sent and call it a book." but the more I read, the more involved I got into these kids' lives. You find yourself nodding and laughing when he says to his buddy, "And you know...more
This book wasn't quite what I was expecting - it was better!
I downloaded this as a freebie on my new Kindle Fire as something light-hearted to read. There were definitely moments where I was in tears from laughing so hard. Pearson has a great sense of comedic timing which can be extremely difficult in writing. Just when there's a lull, he drops in a pop culture reference or a tie in to an earlier segment. The laughs were great and if that were it, I would have given it three stars.
What really a...more
I downloaded this as a freebie on my new Kindle Fire as something light-hearted to read. There were definitely moments where I was in tears from laughing so hard. Pearson has a great sense of comedic timing which can be extremely difficult in writing. Just when there's a lull, he drops in a pop culture reference or a tie in to an earlier segment. The laughs were great and if that were it, I would have given it three stars.
What really a...more
John Pearson's first year teaching memoir, Learn Me Good, is an accurate portrayal of the life of a classroom teacher. Pearson's entire first year of teaching math and science to forty third graders is told in a unique e-mail format. Though Mr. Pearson teaches third grade in what seems to be an urban district and I teach high school in a small town, I often found myself giggling because our day to day interactions with students are strikingly similar. No matter where or what you teach...kids wil...more
This book takes the form of a series of emails from Jack Woodson to a former colleague, Fred. Jack was made redundant after nearly 4 years at a thermal design firm, and decided to retrain as a teacher. The emails cover his first year as an educator, teaching 3rd grade and while names have been changed to protect the innocent the emails are based on real experiences.
The format of the book meant it was a nice easy read, with the emails creating an equivalent to short chapters. It would have been a...more
The format of the book meant it was a nice easy read, with the emails creating an equivalent to short chapters. It would have been a...more
3.5 - 4 stars
I really enjoyed it. It made me laugh at every chapter. Although not a teacher, I had tutored in classrooms and I sympathized. It was great to see how the author did seem to enjoy teaching, for the most part, and felt more fulfilled doing it. I woukd like to know how year 2 went for him and how it compared with year 1.
I really enjoyed it. It made me laugh at every chapter. Although not a teacher, I had tutored in classrooms and I sympathized. It was great to see how the author did seem to enjoy teaching, for the most part, and felt more fulfilled doing it. I woukd like to know how year 2 went for him and how it compared with year 1.
Learn Me Good is a funny, quirky glimpse into the day of a third grade teacher. I haven't been reading much in the way of non-fiction/ humor lately, but I've seen the author on some Kindle forums and I liked his style. So I got the book. Now, I like his style even more.
With Learn Me Good, Pearson mines comedic gold and I found myself LOL-ing (laughing out loud, for the uninformed) one too many times. My husband was beginning to worry about me. Well, probably not beginning to worry-- but that su...more
With Learn Me Good, Pearson mines comedic gold and I found myself LOL-ing (laughing out loud, for the uninformed) one too many times. My husband was beginning to worry about me. Well, probably not beginning to worry-- but that su...more
This book, written by a laid-off engineer who became an elementary school teacher, reminds me of some of the stories told by my brothers and parents who are teachers. Jack describes his classroom exploits in letters to his old coworkers: bullies, weird kid names, standardized testing, trying to grow mold for a science experiment, standardized testing, kids moving in and out, standardized testing, field trips, fart jokes, and more standardized testing. I definitely got the feeling that the only t...more
I've usually enjoyed this kind of book. I liked Frank Chalk's teacher books, the others from doctors, vets, 999 operators etc.
This was the first American one I've read and it felt like it. I imagine it was meant to describe to the reader what a nightmare it is to be a teacher (like Frank Chalk's books), whereas it sounded pleasant enough to me. Exactly the kind of thing I would expect teaching to be like. I've had plenty of worse jobs myself.
Where it really goes badly is in the telling via email...more
This was the first American one I've read and it felt like it. I imagine it was meant to describe to the reader what a nightmare it is to be a teacher (like Frank Chalk's books), whereas it sounded pleasant enough to me. Exactly the kind of thing I would expect teaching to be like. I've had plenty of worse jobs myself.
Where it really goes badly is in the telling via email...more
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John Pearson was born just outside of Washington, DC, but moved to Texas as quickly as he could. Growing up with a passion for science, math, and calculator watches, he obtained engineering degrees and basketball (watching) accolades from Duke University and Texas A&M. His first job out of college was designing small solid-state heat pumps, where his cubicle simply was not big enough to contai...more
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“Jack Woodson is currently living and working in Dallas, TX. He has forty children, and all of them have different mothers.”
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Jul 05, 2010 03:15pm