That's Special: A Survival Guide To Teaching

by Dan Henderson

Have you ever had a student pretend to bring in Cocoa Puffs and instead she fed the whole class dog food? Have you ever had a kid threaten to take his clothes off if you asked him to read? Do you have a student who thinks he is Michael Jackson and grabs his crotch saying "hee, hee" instead of raising his hand? Follow these real life stories of an inner city teacher's struggle to instruct unruly kids and find simple solutions a teacher or parent can use to manage children. When you have children of your own, you realize the struggle of preoccupying one child. Add 20 or more children into the mix and you have teaching. How are you going to keep every child occupied and group different learners? How are you going to manage the kid who jumps out of windows? Instead of writing a textbook, Dan Henderson decided to write a compilation of teachable moments. That's Special is arranged with each chapter starting with how the situation went awry. The tension builds, and the student pushes the teacher to the inevitable standoff. Are you going to issue a consequence, or will you chicken out? The book relays the importance of standing up to threats during child rearing. Incorporating recent research, these stories relay a lesson behind the calamity. Dan presents teaching tools that anyone can use to improve their teaching. Dan's experiences can help you better ward off teaching mistakes before they happen, such as responding calmly to kids who claim they have seen the devil. While holy water is not included, it is recommended while reading this book. When Dan saw his students doing something strange, he would think "That's Special," as a cue to not take his job too seriously. It is his inspirational mantra for his mental health. He used it to remind himself to get back in the saddle, laugh it off, and develop one of life's greatest skills, perseverance. From the Author: Layered in all the ridiculous stories are real experiences you might encounter, which I

150 pages, Paperback

First published June 26, 2015

Reviews

[Katie J Schwartz · Rating 4 out of 5]

That's Special: A Survival Guide to Teaching by Dan Henderson is a pedagogical treasure trove of resources that aims to advise teachers (especially new teachers) on various classroom management issues. The chapters alternate, with some telling (horror) stories about incidents that actually happened in Henderson's classrooms, and the following chapters addressing what teachers can do to handle similar incidents.

I teach at the college level, so admittedly, a lot of this didn't apply to me. I can't set up permanent learning stations in my classroom, and I have yet to have a student grab his crotch and pretend to be Michael Jackson. However, it wasn't all lost on me. College students can sometimes be an awful lot like elementary schoolers--they have other things that they'd rather be doing, and have to be motivated to be there. (Worse, they have to be motivated to even attend. I can't fall back on parental authority.) I liked the idea of giving my students a survey to find out what motivates them and how they learn. I found value in Henderson's approach to managing his students' misbehavior by rewarding them with things that they liked and enjoyed. And if nothing else, this book most definitely solidified my decision to teach older students!

One other note: If you're easily grossed out, maybe don't eat anything while you read this book. I made the mistake of eating a PB&J (with extra J) while reading the chapter about a student with snot and mucus to spare, resulting in more than a little gagging. There's also a story about a student who feeds dog food to her classmates, so--proceed with caution.

I received my copy of That's Special: A Survival Guide to Teaching through a Goodreads First Reads Giveaway, in exchange for an honest review.

Four Stars: This book was really really good and I'll definitely recommend it to people with relevant interests.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to thank Dan Henderson, teacher and author and Goodreads First Reads Giveaway for the copy of That's Special, A Survival Guide to Teaching that I won in the Giveaway.

In That's Special, Survival Guide to Teaching the author gives examples of how he listened to his students and adapted his teaching to use their interests to promote discipline and deliver subject matter using those interests to help them keep focused on learning goals. The key is to listen to students and use their interests to deliver more interesting lessons to them.

In child development or early education classes for teachers it is called using developmentally appropriate practices to deliver effective lesson that are received by students to increase learning outcomes. It was a very enjoyable book full of examples that are written with humor that gets the message across to teachers of how to improve their teaching.