The most rewarding aspect of being a teacher isn’t how you get through the content, but how you reach your students and have a lifelong impact. In this funny and heartwarming book, Pamela Jean Matusz lets us into her classroom and shows how she connects with an often hard-to-understand species—teenagers! She provides stories and strategies on earning respect, using humor, and being your weird self, giving students a voice, earning respect, and making yourself human. She also demonstrates how to put students into the lesson, grade what you say you’re grading, teach and not penalize, address bullying, and understand where parents are coming from. And finally, she helps you remember that the toughest ones need you the most. Each chapter has a relatable story and takeaways you can apply to your own teaching situation. The book ends with a list of key things teachers shouldn’t be without, and a collection of “You Can’t Make This Stuff Up” classroom stories that will remind you why you chose this profession. Perfect to read on your own or in book studies, this isn’t a research- and strategy-filled resource to tell you how to improve; it’s a heartfelt look at effective ways to reach teenagers and a reminder of the huge difference you’re making as a teacher!
