Rafe Esquith is obviously a wonderful teacher. He teaches his 10/11-year-olds ALL subjects (kind of like how primary school teachers do it in Singapore), including Physical Education, Art, Science, and even Shakespeare (a subject unto himself). While preparing them for standardised tests, he avoids 'teaching to the test' too much by integrating lesson objectives in an inter-disciplinary manner, and gets students to be exam-smart by anticipating which options would be set as distractors on multiple choice questions. He teaches his students to go up the scale of moral development by emphasising good manners, and keeping them to high standards all the time. He is dedicated, even going to the extent of forking out his own money for supplies and events.

Yet, something about him kind of feels... wrong. I don't know if it's because the U.S. school system is so messed up, but he distrusts school administration/administrators and even his colleagues so much that he strikes me as a pretty arrogant 'lone ranger'/martyr-type. E.g. he says he asks students' parents for donations, but stresses that this must be kept ABSOLUTELY secret because otherwise, the evil people up there would shut this practice down. These things also seem unforgivable to me:

1) Once, his colleague wrote him a nasty note. He took it to class and had the students dissect the grammar/construction of that note.

2) He puts down a teacher in his school he dubs 'Miss Popular' by transcribing a long conversation between him and Miss P's student, who doesn't seem to have absorbed what Miss P has taught.

What on earth?! Surely an advocate of ethical behaviour and humility should practise what he preaches and focus on the positive learning points he wants to impart to enthusiastic teachers, not put down others to make himself seem better.

Also, where is the mention of Esquith scaling up his wonderful methods to more classes in his school, or even the whole school, so that MORE children can benefit? The title of the book is telling - Room 56 has no doubt had a significant impact on hundreds, if not thousands of students. But has Esquith styled himself so much as a 'doorkeeper'/'guardian', building up a siege mentality in this room, so much that the keys to his success remain firmly in his hand? Yes, he has written a book, but direct mentorship of other teachers, collaboration with colleagues and the contribution to the fostering of a positive culture in school should come first. Indeed, Esquith described staff meetings as being worse than 'thumbscrews and the rack' - not once but twice - in his book. What kind of message would that send to educators who are trying to work together to benefit students? (Not to mention the message this would send to students who would grow up to go through some painful but necessary procedures in their workplace - is he trying to cultivate some 'holier-than-thou' attitude??)

I still gave this three stars because Esquith's methods are useful, and he offers a wide range of them across a variety of disciplines (though they are really more suited for elementary school teachers than those who teach high school). I give him props for his passion and commitment. But I don't appreciate being told that I should put down other teachers constantly to figure out what not to do in the classroom. Another concern I have with the level of dedication he advocates is, it will cause a teacher to burn out really quickly. I agree that we must be willing to give our students time, but it must be high-quality time, and leave room for the teacher to reflect on how to teach better. I don't like this "I come in earlier than anyone and leave later than anyone, so I am great" attitude... I don't think just putting in A LOT of time going through work with students is so straightforward or direct a way of assisting them. In fact, it may create over-dependency. But maybe I am speaking from the perspective of someone who comes from a hyper-competitive Asian society - if American students demonstrate willingness to come in earlier and leave later, that may be rarer and deserve encouragement.