Marva Collins' Way

by Marva Collins, Civia Tamarkin

Marva Collins offers a beacon of hope in the midst of America's educational crises. Collins recounts her successful teaching strategies and offers inspirational advice on how to motivate children to fulfill their potential. This updated edition contains a new epilogue for parents and teachers.

Genres: Education, Nonfiction, Biography, Teaching, Memoir, Parenting, Leadership

228 pages, Hardcover

First published October 27, 1982

Reviews

[Jeff Lochhead · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book on the power of education to transform lives. Though inspiring, it seems very difficult to emulate. Her quick wit in the face of childish misbehavior leaves me desiring more from my own abilities without the proper toolkit to do so.

[Mallory · Rating 5 out of 5]

If every teacher had Marva Collins' philosophy of education, our society would be in much better shape!

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

First published in 1982, this book chronicles how Marva---who was born to Henry and Bessie Wright in Monroeville, Alabama in 1936---came to realize a passion for teaching and went on to found Westside Preparatory School in Chicago in 1975. The school closed in 2008, but in this age of distress in the American public schooling system, I hunger for stories that illustrate the challenges and joys of learning to love learning between teachers and students in classrooms.

The raging debate seems only ever to be about the competitive status of the world’s nations based on their respective students’ test scores; or how poorly-educated people are unable to secure jobs in the workforce. Education is rarely spoken of for its range of enduring skills and values for personal and social empowerment and enjoyment.

I wanted to read this book because I remembered seeing the television movie The Marva Collins Story"---starring Cicely Tyson---in 1981. She and her husband possessed character traits that I recognized from being a daughter of black people who embodied resourcefulness, self-determination, southern roots and pride, and a belief in the value of education. Marva Collins lived in the contemporary world and was not a long-dead [s]hero of black history. Her dress and speech were impeccable and she was a champion of children---setting the bar high for the students in her classrooms with persistent love, knowledge, and common sense.

Despite the proven success of her many students over the years, and her general self-assured tone and belief in her methods, in this book Marva Collins shares her doubts and vulnerabilities. The pivotal Chapter Six opens with her revealing that “I’ve always had a quick temper and panicked about things.” She wonders if she has been “too righteous?” “too rigid?” - lamenting that “All my life I had been serious, too serious. I wished I could be more like everyone else. I even practiced being more casual about things, leaving dinner dishes overnight in the sink.”
It is the mid-1970s and she is nearly forty years old, a married woman and mother of three children; but it made me think about long-held tensions in black communities where “bookish folk” have often been pariahs.

Collins had a single-minded devotion to her students, yet often alienated her colleagues by situating herself apart from them. Believing that her teaching methods were superior to theirs, she didn’t cultivate alliances in the public school system in which she worked. Elsewhere, Collins acknowledges that she could be overly forceful: “Sometimes, she knew, there was too much anger in her teaching---anger not at the children but at the desolation in their lives.” As a teacher who was also a parent, Collins had trouble finding a good school for her own children, and when [Daniel Hale Williams] Westside Preparatory school opened its doors, her youngest child, Cindy, was one of its charter students.

The narrative style of this book bounces back and forth between Civia Tamarkin’s observational journalistic prose, and Marva Collin’s reflections on her background and the developmental trajectory of her teaching style and ethic. Opening with a Foreword penned by Alex Haley, the book closes with 27 pages devoted to Questions from Parents and Teachers; Recommended Phonics Books; Reading Lists for Children Ages Four, Five, and Six; and the Reading List for Westside Preparatory School. All-in-all a great resource for anyone and everyone who gives a damn about not wasting the intelligence and talent of young people. The reading lists are largely derived from the Western canon and may lack diversity by 2014 standards; still, I could stand to add many of the titles to my TBR list.

One reviewer of this book noted that teachers today would not be able to do things that Marva Collins did, such as hugging her students, sometimes sharing experiences from her own life in the course of teaching, and taking students who came to school filthy to the bathroom to scrub their faces and arms. The comment made me sad but I know it’s true. I was reminded of some threads that run through bell hooks’ book Teaching to Transgress (and even though she deals with education mostly at the university level), hooks notes the separation of intellect from the body and interrogates attitudes which cast a negative shadow over shows of impassioned learning in classrooms.

Marva Collins was a powerhouse, a tremendous force-of-one who approached the education of children with religious zeal. While I believe that each person who endeavors to teach should be free to develop their own methods and style, individual school communities could stand to profit from adopting Collins’ level of dedication, care, knowledge and high standards of excellence.

[Inna Zolotar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Подейкують, що після повернення бодай частини наших біженців з мінімальним досвідом навчання в школах закордоном, нас чекає революція в освіті. І то революція знизу. Батьки, які побачили, як можуть вчителі спілкуватись з дітьми, та учні з новим соціальним досвідом, - всі вони захочуть мати якісно нову школу тут, в своїй країні.
Не належу до тих, хто вважає, що наша освіта геть безнадійна. Є багато підходів та навичок, які я би залишила. А от з мотивацією, цінностями та відносинами вчитель-батьки-учень є, що робити.
Книга про підхід Марви Коллінз - це велика дискусія в США 1970-1980-х років про освіту перед усім для малозабеспечених дітей та учнів з депресивних районів. Марва наполягала, що незалежно від беграунду, кожен може отримати хорошу освіту, і доводила, що будь-яку дитину можна навчити читати, писати, а головне - хотіти вчитись та мати здорові амбіції. ЇЇ підхід називають позитивістським, а мені він здається перед усім глибоким, грунтовним та з великою повагою для дитини. І попри те, що ця книга про освітні проблеми США кінця ХХ століття, багато питань залишається актуальними зараз, в Україні зокрема. Наприклад, чи варто дітей "навантажувати" Шекспіром чи великою класикою в школі? Навіщо малозабеспеченим дітям читати "Братів Карамазових"? Чи розважальний метод навчання є корисним та потрібним?
Словом, хочеться такі книги мати українською. І не просто перекладати такі твори, а читати та обговорювати. І батькам, і вчителям. З надіями на позитивні зміни - рекомендую!

[Mirza Ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book gives a totally new perspective on education. It highlighted the true way to resolve many of the loopholes that are still criticized in the modern education systems. This book also guides how to improve oneself and also highlight the guidelines about parenting.

One lesson the resonated with me the most is about lifting up self-esteem and how it correlates with learning capabilities. Marwa's story is not only inspirational but also provides a clear guide map to improve learning abilities.

[Cubby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book in 1986 during my first few years of teaching and it changed my approach to teaching little children. In fact, I was able to order some of the materials she used for teaching reading. More than 5 stars!

[Rongkai Sha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read it for positive psychology. My eyes are full of tears during the whole reading. Such an amazing and inspiring model to look up to in pedagogy.

[Kianaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the book that inspired me to teach. I love Marva Collins!

[Kevin Ying · Rating 5 out of 5]

Important book

Had a lump in my throat as I read it

[Татьяна Воронкова · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I'd read this book when I started teaching - it's so inspirational.

Definitely a must have for everyone in teaching profession.

[Luis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marva Collins was a true educational pioneer who put her students before anything else. Her dedication, work ethic, and, more importantly, love for students is an inspiration for any teacher who desires success and achievement for their class.

Working nearly a decade in the New York City public school system, I have experienced many of the issues Marva describes in the Chicago system. If more teachers and administrators embodied her philosophy, the state of education would be in a much better place.

Every year it seems a new scientist, psychologist, or theoretician ignites a new and groundbreaking strategy for teaching. These “trends” in education do the opposite in motivating students to learn and achieve. Teachers need to encourage and build ‘lifters, not leaners.’ Students require adults to root for them when the going gets tough. Life is not a stroll in the park. There are struggles and challenges around every corner. Schools today do not reflect what life will be like in the real world. Students need to learn how to embrace challenges and build resiliency.

Marva’s philosophy and focus on character building and values through meaningful texts has aided the neediest students. She has proved it through her work and has proved it with all types of children. Beginning with an intensive phonics driven program arms her students with the tools necessary to read. She then unlocks their potential through difficult texts, such as works from Shakespeare and Tolstoy, along with her expectations and unwavering love. Marva reaches the most challenging children and gives hope to the most hesitant or doubtful teachers at the same time.

Marva Collins leaves a legacy of success behind thanks to her relentless determination and love for her children. The list of books, plays, and poems she shares with readers allows parents and educators to try their hand at her curriculum. Any teacher who strives for real success in their classrooms can stand to learn many things from a fellow educator who talks the talk, and walks the walk.

[Looben · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marva Collins, who teaches students that were labeled as "unteachable" or "learning disability", instills students with the belief in themselves, love of learning and the ability of reading, is really a great teacher.

"I wan't there to judge my students. My job as a teacher was to get their talents working."
"the philosophy on which the school was founded - we were there to serve the individual needs of each child. I kept telling my teachers that they should be the ones sharpening pencils and washing the blackboards. The children were there to learn, and learning was a full-time job"

[Kris Marsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the third time at least that I’ve read this book. Marva Collins made a huge impact on the inner city children of Chicago in the 1970s until her death in 2015. She believed all children could learn, and she taught them effectively and efficiently, helping them make great academic gains in short periods of time. She held her students to high standards and gave them the tools to reach them. I am inspired to teach my students with greater rigor and energy, and not let all the pitfalls surrounding my students discourage me or them from achieving to the highest possible levels!

[Adrianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love Marva. I had to read this book after seeing the movie (and I have 2 more of hers to read). I definitely recommend this.

Her effective teaching style is based on phonics because reading is the foundation of all learning and then you will read how her style instills the love of learning in children and the loving values of turning a negative experience into a positive learning experience.

Great for homeschoolers too!

[Joseph Jacob · Rating 5 out of 5]

To teach is to love and make a great bond between the teaching and the student. Show much care of the students with some mechanisms such as praise and hug as Marva Collins states. In this book, you not only find the way of teaching as a psychological approach, but a deep touch on the reality of caring and understanding of different kinds of pupils who need a thorough guidance in every sideline.

[Natasha Porter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made such an impression on me that I can’t describe how awesome this woman was. She was a teacher that set the bar high and provided practical advice. I loved every page and hope to make the type of positive impact on the world. A must read for educators!

[Sabrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was introduced to Marva Collins’ Way in a book club and soon became attached to it.

Marva has strong character and saintly devotion to teaching, in the 70s, she fought hard with the flawed education system and finally started her own school implementing her belief in teaching from PTE-schoolers, kindgarteners, and first graders, to junior high school students. She always had the labeled “retarded” students, or the ones diagnosed by previous teachers and psychologists as “behavior disorder” or hyperactive, those students had no confidence, even hated themselves and were self-destructive. Instead of referring to their profile, she treated each child with high expectation and respect, believed they would achieve just like any other “normal” student. Those “retarded” students all improved greatly after studying in her class for a semester, or even two months. Some of them made amazingly achievements and jumped two or three levels above their ages.

Marva is not some super teacher or miracle worker, and her teaching method isn’t something new. She just stuck to the old good ways and enforced it with strong will. At her time, the public education in U.S. defined students in their early years, and treated “retarded” children with simplified textbook, and the reading level of college admitted students was dropping drastically. Even the middle class students were suffering from the teaching method dominated from kindergarten to high school, which led to a large number of functional illiterates.

To understand Marva’s teaching method, we have to know about her personality first.

She grew up in a small town in Alabama where segregation and racism towards black American still existed. But her father was well educated and rich and was looked up to in black community, as well as among white people. Her father once said to her after being threatened by white people for naming too high a bid, “I made an honest bid. If you believe in what you do, then you don’t ever have to fear anyone.”…”I am not going to stay away. I can’t die but once.”

Her father taught her to be strong and tough, and that’s the belief she held throughout her teaching years. “In this messed up world, the only children who are going to make something of themselves are those who come from strong parents or those who have had a strong teacher.”

The following paragraphs show the way how Marva was brought up.

“In the years since then I have been fighting an attitude, the apathy. No one seemed to have any pride anymore. I don’t understand what happens to people in urban areas like Garfield Park. In Alabama the poor blacks used to wash down every inch of their unpainted wooden shacks with Octagon Laundry Soap. They swept under their porches, even if they didn’t have store-bought brooms. They cut down branches from trees and tied them together with rags or string to make brushbrooms. People in Alabama would shake their heads in disgust if they saw a dirty mop hanging out to dry on someone’s porch railing, or graying sheets dangling from a clothesline. My mother used to say you can just look outside a person’s house and tell what he is.

The one thing everyone in Alabama had was pride. That pride was a consistent part of a southern upbringing. The poor children came to school with neatly sewn patches on their clothes. Their clothes may have been old, but they were clean. If your children were dirty, you didn’t belong anywhere in the social order of the town. If you have a dirty water bucket, you were a disgrace, and if you drank from the dipper instead of a glass, you were considered a heathen. If you didn’t mow your lawn or clip your hedges, you were ostracized. When the neighbor next door saw you mowing your lawn, he would mow his. And on Sundays, after the church services, each family set out a picnic dinner and everyone saw who could have the best food. If your dinner didn’t spread out well, you were disgraced.”

This kind of pride was one of cores she had and taught her students.

She related and reached to her students by building up their self-confidence, taught them self-reliance, stimulate their desires to learn and learn for themselves, “Today will decide whether you succeed or fail tomorrow. I promise you, I won’t let you fail. I care about you, I love you. You can pay people to teach, but not to care.” She was forever encouraging and praising each child, telling them I love you and I will not let you fail. Students who were used to being neglected or categorized as learning disabilities, abandoned by school after school were accepted by Marva.

“I am a teacher,” she said to the class on this first day. “A teacher is someone who leads. There is no magic here. Mrs. Collins is no miracle worker. I do not walk on water, I do not part the sea. I just love children and work harder than a lot of people, and so will you. “

“Don’t ever be afraid of making a mistake. If you can’t make a mistake, you can’t make anything.”

Her strong conviction was repeated everyday in class, something like this:

“Who is the most important person?” I asked.

“I am,” the children shouted.

“What is the most important thing?”

“To do good.”

“And what is the most important time?”

“Now!”

She was not only teaching about knowledge, but provoking thoughts and ideas. And these were not even the all that she taught. She aimed at teaching the total child, teaching them how to deal with real life. A lot of her students came from poor black families with parents who cared little about their education, and in 70s, black students were taught separately with easier books and the society had low expectation. Many could not speak correct English, had their own lingo and lived in ghettos.

“I could just cry that you have no sounds,” she said, “for sounds make up words, and words are thoughts. Ideas. And the thoughts and ideas in your heads make up what you are.”

“My approach was to teach the total child. A teacher should help develop a child’s character, help build a positive self-image. I was concerned about everything–attitudes, manners, grooming. I made sure my students’ face were clean, their hair combed, their shirts tucked in, and their socks pulled up. I told them to walk with their heads up and their shoulders back, to have dignity and confidence. And I cautioned them that what a person thinks of himself will determine his destiny. Those were the things my parents told me, and I still believe them.

As a teacher I now try to teach children how to deal with life. More than reading, writing, and arithmetic, I want to give them a philosophy for living.”

She kept telling the students they were the masters of their own life, what they learned now would decide their futures to come. About Self-Reliance.

“We have to lead ourselves instead of looking for others to lead us. If we don’t think for ourselves, others will do what? They will do our thinking for us. We must each be the captain of our fate and the master of our soul.”

Teaching Method & Guidance from Marva Collins
The key to Marva Collins’ way is to build up a child’s confidence and self-reliance. Specifically, when it comes to teach a child to read, Marva used phonics rather than the look-say method popular in 60s and 70s in the U.S.. She had the kind of belief that what you give a child to read in the beginning will decide very much what they can understand, therefore she gave them classics to read which were commonly regarded to difficult for youngsters.

Phonics is actually different than how I learned English in junior high school. I was taught phonetics, which is more precise than phonics. Learning English as mother language and as a second language could be very different. Native kids were exposed to a lot of words even before they started kindergarten. In 70s, the popular method to teach a child to read was the look-say method, which means a child learned words by looking at the picture for understanding and memorizing the spelling. Marva felt it natural to learn reading by phonics, children need to know how to pronounce a word, know the drills.

Another thing I totally agree with Marva is that a child need classics at a young age. My personal experience of literature reading began when I was 12 years old, I spent quantities of time in book store to read classics. And I often borrowed my cousin’s (he is 6 years older than me) books and science magazines, I read like a starving child. I did understand most of the things despite my age, and things I didn’t understand, I memorized without even trying. The mass exposure to knowledge was crucial for a child.

What I didn’t have was someone to guide me through reading classics. Marva never left her students all by themselves with challenging books, she read to them, discussed with them, and let them read some at home. She was especially good at connecting stories, background knowledge, histories into teaching classics. She also had her students act out the stories they read, imagination and creativity were cultivated during the process.

Part One: How to Reach Children
1. Praise is essential in developing the right attitude toward learning and toward school. We all know this in theory. In practice we often forget the importance of praise in dealing with children. We forget how sensitive children can be and how fragile their egos are. It is painful for a child to be told “This is wrong.” Rather than punishing, teachers and parents should encourage continued effort. “This is good. It’s a wonderful try, but it is not quite right. Let’s try correcting this together.”

2. Children are quick to mimic adults. If a teacher ridicules or picks on a child, chances are the children will pick on each other. And of course the reverse is true.

3. I told my students that sometimes I hurt inside and felt like crying but it wasn’t because of anything they had done. It was important that they understood because children, especially young ones, are quick to assume they are responsible for whatever might be troubling the adults around them. Sometimes the class was a kind of group therapy session. They shared their experiences, and I was open in talking about mine. I never believed a teacher should pretend to be perfect. A teacher who displays any human weaknesses makes children self-conscious about admitting their own. A perfect teacher, like a perfect parent, is an impossible model for a child to live up to.

Part Two: How to Teach
4. Marva followed the Socratic method, in which a teacher ask a series of easily answered questions that lead the students to a logical conclusion. To the philosopher’s method she added her own brand of energy, pacing up and down the aisles, patting a head, touching an arm, rattling off questions, complimenting answers, and employing grand histrionics.

5. Marva Collins’ method was to pool as much information as possible, to bombard the children with names and facts and anecdotes they could draw upon later. Of course the children wouldn’t remember everything. Exposure to knowledge was what mattered. Some of it would sink in.

6. Mrs. McGrants was a patient, good teacher. She had her students work at the blackboard so she could correct mistakes as quickly as they were made. Children need immediate feedback, especially in math and language where they need to master one skill before they can go on to the next. I do not wait days before returning papers. Errors will mean nothing to a child several days later when the class has moved on to something new. Delay in correcting only makes the child fall behind.

7. I try to get them in the habit of using correct grammar when they speak, and I have them read aloud every day so I can check pronunciation as well as comprehension… Another reason for reading aloud is to build vocabulary. A child reading silently skips over big words he doesn’t know. When I am there listening to a child read, I can interrupt to ask the meaning. The whole class benefits as we can look up the definition, the base word within the larger word, and the part of speech. I also have my students read aloud for tone, inflection and punctuation. Reading aloud helps a child realize the difference between a comma, a period, a question mark, and an exclamation point. Children who are just learning to read tend to read individual words, not groups of words or phrases. That limits comprehension I encourage my students to become idea readers, not just word readers. By reading aloud children learn to understand words within the context of a sentence, and they see how words connect with each other to express an idea. This practice promotes not only good reading but good writing.

8. How to get a child excited about a story?

Involve the children in the story and never to let them stare passively at words on a page. Have them take the place of one of the characters in a story and then ask them questions about what they thought and felt. Or have them write a letter to one of the character.

Part Three: What to Teach
9. When I started at Delano I was impressed by the principal, an older German man, a classical scholar who read the Iliad to students during lunchtime. He held faculty workshops where he recited Donne, Yeats, and Byron, stopping in the middle of a poem to ask his teachers to supply the next line. When they couldn’t, he waved his hand with disgust and said, “Some of you aren’t worth a Sam Hill.” I learned a lot from him, and I began teaching poetry and classical literature to my students. Above all the principal taught me that a good teacher is one who continue to learn along with the students.

10. The book you give to a child who is learning to read determines what he or she will read later on. If we give children the boring Dick-and-Jane type of stories, how can we spark their curiosity in further reading? Fairy tales and fables whet a child’s appetite for more reading, and they are an excellent means for teaching the rudiments of literary analysis. In fairy tales there is always a conflict or problem, the forces of good poised against the forces of evil. I teach my students to identify the protagonist and the antagonist. I also point out that in fairy tales there are often elements of three–there bears, three pigs, three wishes. Cinderella’s three nights at the ball. I explain the number three is widely symbolic, representing many things. One example I usually give is the three parts to our personality–the id, the ego, and the super-ego. I tell the children that the id is the person we are when we are first born, before we learn anything. The ego is our present self, the person we think we are. And the super-ego is our conscience, the person we feel we should be.

The great books were their greatest teacher. While there are critics who claim the classics are too difficult for younger students to read–that an eleven year old, for example, can’t understand something as complicated as The Brothers Karamazov–I have found that great literature not only teaches students to read but makes them thirsty for more and more knowledge. These books are over the head of the student reader; that is the purpose of reading them. We read to stretch the mind, to seek, to strive, to wonder, and then reread. We discuss the ideas contained in those books with others, and we temper our own thoughts. The great books are great teachers because they demand the attention of the reader. The mundane content of second-rate literature turns students off from reading forever.

The literature they read became part of them.

A Glimpse at Books Marva Used
Aesop’s Fables, Grimm’s Fairy Tales, Hans Christian Andersen, La Fontaine’s Fables, and Leo Tolstoy’s Fables and Fairy tales. Fairy tales and fables allow children to put things in perspective–greed, trouble, happiness, meanness, and joy. After reading those stories you have something to think over and discuss.

Emerson’s “Self Reliance”
Bacon’s “On Education”
Thoreau’s Walden:” If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer.”

Chaucer’s “Knight’s Tale”
Coleridge’s The Ancient Mariner
Sommerset Maugham
William Faulkner
E.M.Forster
Cicerco
Dostoevsky
Shakespeare
Poe
Frost
Dickinson
Dante Alighieri
Nietzsche
Goethe
Emerson
Thackeray
Dicken
Flaubert
Swift
Colette
Boccaccio
Petrarch
Biographies of Hellen Keller, Harriet Tubman, Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass.

Macbeth
Twelfth Night
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Hamlet
Romeo and Juliet
Merchant of Venice
Julius Caesar
King Lear
The Jungle
Pride and Prejudice
O’ Henry’s Tales
Mysterious Island
Spring Is Here
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing
Lord of the Flies
1984
The Fall of the House of Usher
Great Expectations
Moby Dick
Ovid’s Metamorphoses
the Satyricon
Guy de Maupassant’s stories
Crime and Punishment
The Happy Prince by Oscar Wilde
Plato’s Republic
The Odyssey of Homer
Little Women
Voltaire’s Candide
Charlotte’s Web
The Brothers Karamazov
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Greek drama

Operas: La Boheme, The Marriage of Figaro, Giselle, The Nutcracker, Petrouchka

[John Reis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marva Collins believes the purpose of education is “to serve the individual needs of each child.” P. 201

“To me an error means a child needs help, not a reprimand or ridicule for doing it wrong.” “Children need reassurance and encouragement.”” “Then I handle the errors by working individually with the child.” P. 42

Children need immediate feedback…”P. 43

“More than reading, writing and arithmetic, I want to give them a philosophy for living.” P. 48

Talking about social decay, “ I am convinced that the real solution is education. We have to teach children self-reliance and self-respect.” P. 54

Collins dislikes the look-say method. She says it started with Horace Mann and others!

“There is a lot of money to be made from miseducation.”

“Nothing was irrelevant f it could be made to pique a child’s curiosity.”

“That was her method, to pool as much information as possible, to bombard the students with names and facts and anecdotes they could draw on later. Of course the children would not remember everything. Exposure to knowledge was what mattered. Some of it would sink in.” P.64

“Fairy tales and fables whet a child’s appetite for more reading, and they are excellent for teaching the rudiments of literary analysis.”

“I don’ tell them what to think, I try to teach them how to think.” P. 66

“You are here for yourselves. Your education is going to help you, not me.” P. 85

“You must have an education to have a good life. To survive.”

“Her method was to teach reading, writing and spelling concurrently.”

“We must each be the captain of our fate and the master of our soul.” P. 91

“By loving and touching and talking to each child, I tried to create an atmosphere of mutual caring.” P. 121

“Children used to failure needed goals if they were going to succeed.” P. 122

“The making of educated young men and women required exposure to the entire breadth of culture.” P. 124

“Memorization is the only way to teach such subjects as phonics, grammar, spelling and multiplication tables.” P. 132

“I prepared my children for life.” P.141

“The object of teaching is to impart as much knowledge as possible.” P. 150

“What they need are character-building stories They need to read for values, morality and universal truths.” P. 156

“To me it seems perfectly plain the inner-city children should be taught the same way other children are taught, because all children want the same things out of life.” P. 185

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

An uplifting book that shows that almost every student can learn and improve in the right setting, with the right teacher, and with parental involvement (or at least without parental opposition). I admire her style and commitment, and I wish I could be more like her, but one of her core values is to tell the students she loves them all the time, and that would just sound fake coming out of my mouth. I like my students and want them to do well, and do all I can to help them, but I can't say "I love you" to everyone. It's a character flaw. She also dealt with elementary aged students, which is a different sort of world anyway.

But she had to go outside the system and make her own school so she could teach in her own way. She did get detractors and critics, but they never shook her resolve. This book was published in 1982, only a few years into the existence of Westside Prep. Looks like the school had to close in 2008, and Marva Collins passed in 2015.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

After working in education and seeing the way it's moving and focusing on standardised tests, ridiculing kids and creating an elitist culture I was given this book and i'm glad. This book gives insight into how we should teach and treat our kids, it's a reminder of what's important and how Marva had such success with students from the 'ghetto' who weren't valued and given up on. It's motivating and reminds me why to stay true to my values.

[John E. Norvell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic! So grateful for Marva’s courage to pioneer successful teaching practices during this time in history when most of us were shuffled through the modernist education system in the USA. Also grateful that she documented this journey and her approach so that future generations of people who truly care about educating children can learn from her successes.

[Qiong Wu · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think I learned a lot from Marva and I admire her so much. Being a good teacher is my present career expectation and I would like to take advantage of what she wrote in the book and try to practice it in my own life.

[Aaron Horton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have the 1982 copy of this book. I heard new a little something about Marva Collins growing up in Chicago. This was a very good book. Her approach to teaching inner city youth was very different from the way I was taught in school.

[Yu Kuo · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very inspiring book though it would be great to know what the students are up to now. How did the alternative education change their life?

What I learnt from the book: 1) teach the kids self reliance, 2) get the kids motivated to learn, 3) guide the kids on reading & critical thinking

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

TEACHING: The way to do it right.

[Merideth · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must for every teacher.

[Chasity · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best book that I've ever read of the subjects of teaching & education reform. I can see myself using a lot of Marva Collins' methods whenever I open my own school.

[Irina Goldberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful teaching resource!

[Valerie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw the movie about her when I was about 13. As a new teacher, I couldn’t resist reading about her. She had so much wisdom and wit! This story is truly inspirational.

[Keith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I put this book on my "Want to Read" list so long ago that I don't even remember what first triggered that. After finally getting to it, I am glad I followed through. The book isn't just a story about "Here's how to create a better classroom"; it's a story of a life including how a classroom full of incredible learners was developed.

I love reading about people whose lives are (mostly) different than mine, as was the case here. Hearing how Ms. Collins came to teaching, how she approached the classroom and getting students to want to learn, and the trials and victories she faced along the way was just amazing. Her attitude of just doing what works for the students and disregarding the pre-defined styles and methodologies is something I'd appreciate seeing more in schools, as well as the integration of multiple topics into one collective set of learning rather than as separate subjects--that, in particular, I love. The idea of teaching some of the more classic sets of literature to younger children, of challenging them on vocabulary and grammar, and of getting rid of the apathetic and/or incompetent teachers are great ideas for the American school system. I still can't believe, after reading it in this book, that the textbooks have been dumbing things down over time (and yet we wonder why kids aren't achieving as well).

Are there some aspects of this book that are dated and may not fly in today's environment of political correctness and fear of offending someone? Sure. But is the book generally still applicable and worth a read? Absolutely.