1st Edition
What Schools Don't Teach 20 Ways to Help Students Excel in School and Life
Are we adequately preparing students for life beyond school doors? Schools teach students not to be competitive and never to fail. Yet in the real world, people compete for jobs, and they often fail many times before reaching success. In this thought-provoking book, authors Johnson and Sessions describe 20 skills that are overlooked in schools and in educational standards but that are crucial to real-world success. They describe how you can develop these skills in your students, no matter what subject area or grade level you teach.
You’ll learn how to
- promote leadership;
- allow competition;
- encourage meaningful engagement;
- help students find their voice;
- incorporate edutainment and pop culture;
- motivate towards excellence
- hold students accountable and responsible;
- foster perseverance and the ability to learn from failure;
- teach effective communication;
- and much more!
Each chapter includes insightful research, thought-provoking stories, and practical strategies that you can take back to your own classroom.
Meet the Authors
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Chapter 1: Promote Leadership
Chapter 2: Allow Competition
Chapter 3: Help Boys become Readers
Chapter 4: Inspire Creativity
Chapter 5: Encourage Meaningful Engagement
Chapter 6: Help Students Find Their Voices
Chapter 7: Incorporate Edutainment and Pop Culture
Chapter 8: Motivate Towards Excellence
Chapter 10: Hold Students Accountable and Responsible
Chapter 11: Foster Perseverance and the Ability to Learn from Failure
Chapter 12: Don’t Childproof Education
Chapter 13: Instill Vigor
Chapter 14: Model Flexibility
Chapter 15: Create Kids of Character
Chapter 16: Integrate Technology
Chapter 17: Promote Teamwork
Chapter 18: Teach Effective Communication
Chapter 19: Instruct the Individual
Chapter 20: Authenticate Relationships
Chapter 21: Merge the Real World into the Classroom
References
Biography
Dr. Brad Johnson is an international speaker in the field of education. He has spent over 20 years in the education field, with experience as a teacher, curriculum director, and administrator.
Dr. Julie Sessions has worked in education for 21 years. She is currently a fifth grade science teacher and Lower School curriculum coordinator at Porter-Gaud School in Charleston, South Carolina.
"What Schools Don’t Teach offers relief for test-weary students and their teachers by encouraging the development of creativity, leadership, flexibility, passion, vigor, teamwork, and more as essential for success in school and in life. Johnson and Sessions challenge educators to pursue excellence and innovation despite testing limitations and offer practical, proven methods for getting students motivated, engaged, and excited about learning. This is a must-read for passionate educators who want to bring excitement to their classrooms and fully tap the potential of their students."
--Gail Connelly, Executive Director, National Association of Elementary School Principals
"What Schools Don’t Teach will be a significant new voice in the national discussion about the future of education. From personal experience and knowledge of the research, the authors make a compelling case for a new approach to the education of students. In addition to providing an articulate, research-based argument for rethinking our current approach, the authors provide very meaningful stories from their personal experience as teacher/educator and highly-relevant ideas for the practitioner. This is one of the books that should be read by educators who are serious about teaching for the future."
--Steve Robinson, Ph.D., President, Southern Association of Independent Schools (SAIS)
