What's In The Field Guide?

"A Teacher’s Handbook"

This is the theory and practice of a transformative approach to education.  Field tested over many years in dozens of classrooms in virtually every discipline and academic level, the techniques described here can be adapted to any situation.

The first chapter, “A New Direction”, lays out the fundamental philosophy that serves as a bedrock for everything you will read here.  The rest of the book explores how this philosophy can be put into practice.  It describes practical classroom strategies, why they are important, and how they can be implemented. 

Throughout this book, you will find links to a range of supplemental materials in the right-hand margin.  These include stories excerpted from "This Changes Everything", reflective letters from students and teachers, video clips, blog posts, and related quotes from external sources.

Here, then, is a rich, multifaceted tool exploring a new educational paradigm, one that I believe can transform any teacher’s practice and the lives of her students.

"This Changes Everything"

This book supplements "A Teacher's Handbook" with the narrative of educational transformation in my classes and those of many teachers I have worked with.  It contains conversations and stories about students and teachers in the process of changing the very foundations of what we do in school and why we do it.  

It also contains the words of the students themselves. At the end of every year, I had students write a reflective letter about their experiences in my classes, and how they were affected by these experiences.  Their letters contain insights into their world that are remarkably insightful, often poignant, and useful in thinking about your practice.  

This book has been written for teachers, administrators, parents, and anyone else who cares about education.  It is intended to show this new approach through the lives and the words of real people. 

Other materials under "Readings" in the top menu include Tenets of a New Paradigm, a collection of the central ideas condensed from “A Teacher’s Handbook”, and a collection of reflective letters.

Navigating the books

Selecting either book from the Welcome Page or the top menu jumps to a table of contents that lists the chapters of each book.  Selecting a chapter allows you to read it in its entirety.  You can also jump to any section within the chapter by moving the cursor over the menu located on the right-hand edge of the page. There is also a detailed table of contents for “A Teacher’s Handbook” that allows you to jump directly to any section within any chapter.  

Resources 

In the top menu under "Resources", you will find a wide range of useful material for all readers.   "Tools for Teachers" is an extensive library of classroom structures and strategies designed to promote meaningful change.  Some of these I developed in my own classes, while others have been contributed by teachers I have worked with as a consultant.      

You will also find a library of video clips I have compiled depicting students at work in my own classroom and in those of other teachers, as well as scenes from workshops and presentations, and clips of students and teachers speaking directly about their experiences.  Both the Tools for Teachers and video clips are woven throughout "A Teacher’s Handbook" as sidebar links.

Other resources include  a glossary of terms used throughout this website; and links to an extensive list of educational books and websites.  It also has a collection of testimonials by students and teachers in both print and video formats.

In addition to these tools, there are links to Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube to broaden a network of like-minded people and offer a platform for ongoing conversations and exploration of the ideas presented here.  I invite you to participate in any or all of the above. 

The Photographs

Throughout both books, you will find photographs decorating the title of every section.  These are all from my travels, and include images from the coast of California, the Alaskan arctic, Tuscany, the Chicago Botanic Garden, Lake Como, the Florida Everglades, northern Germany, New York's Central Park, the Swiss Alps, Lake Michigan, Paris, my back yard and a number of other places. These photos are included simply to provide a little beauty while you are exploring the site.  I hope you enjoy them.

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