An Erratic Appeal, Book Review Example

An instructional text which lifts organization up is the next moment an example of an eccentric choice of logical chronology. In the course of instructional studies, there are often more questions than answers. With the organization of the 2007 book Middle and Secondary Class Management: Lessons from Research and Practice, Weinstein provides an intimate- albeit sometimes brilliant and at other point erratic- and unassuming source. Her efforts concentrate on the establishment of a physical environment conducive to learning, the organization and management of the material, and a protective foundation for order in the classroom. It has its minor faults, but it contains many transferable principles which are worthy of the prospective teacher’s attention, such as a description of the impact of special needs planning on the management of the classroom.

Harry and Rosemary Wong’s modern educational classic How to be an Effective Teacher: The First Days of School does not understate the importance of each included concept by trying to fit everything in, as informative instructional texts often do and praises an anticipatory approach to classroom organization, even writes that “the students must sit in such a way as to accomplish what you want them to accomplish” (1997, 14). Needless to say, the argument that Weinstein makes on behalf of the organizational arrangement of the classroom is not headline news. However, she makes a bold point: the psychological security depends upon matters both direct and indirect. If the English content area can acknowledge the reality of connotation and denotation, then it seems unthinkable, as Weinstein so aptly illuminates, that the National Science Teachers Association has developed regulations for the minutia of safety and continues to overlook the finer points of practicality and creativity. Chapters 3 and 13 explore two of the dominant concerns of most pre-service educators: showing appropriate affection and responding to violence. In particular, the warning signs for potential violence should be viewed weekly at the least. The realities of the modern world demand it.

Weinstein differentiates between potential violence and problem behavior, but many readers may be confused by the presentation of problem behavior as a pyramid of varying seriousness according to level. A student’s forgetfully blurting out an answer without first raising their hand is cited as an example of a minor misbehavior and not as an honest mistake. While Weinstein’s knowledge, skill, and passion are apparent and her goals are admirable, there are, of course, educational elements which are not accounted for. If classroom management and psychosocial growth are the two prevailing principles of Weinstein, then the author overlooks the vast and varied nature of education. Cooper (2007) writes of the schools as the transmitters of and embodiment of social culture, as intellectual brain trusts, as sites of civic inspiration, as an preparation for employment, etc.

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) identified six necessary principles for education in Mathematics: equity, teaching, learning, assessment, technology, and curriculum (McKinney, Chappell, Berry, & Hickman, 2009). If these factors are ably represented in the classroom, the NCTM guidelines disregard the input-feedback cycle of the complex learning process and fail to acknowledge the indirect environment as presented by Weinstein. The NCTM presents these principles as the sum of effectiveness. As many students can personally testify, even the best technology cannot compensate for the deficiencies of the teacher or of the curriculum. Weinstein (2007) does not address these standards point-by-point but rather supports an organization designed to optimize whatever resources are available- despite the frequent economic inequity between urban schools. In return for this momentous effort, the NCTM does not acknowledge student engagement as a contributor. The point was not missed by Weinstein, who included (in Table 3.2) the qualities of student cohesiveness, teacher support, involvement, cooperation, and equity as possible root causes of the lower quality of mathematical education which the NCTM standards sought to avoid (McKinney et al, 2009).

However, the NCTM would be appalled to have issued Weinstein’s subjective flow of reasoning and utilization of objective facts. The flow and organization may be derived from the author’s quirky personal word mapping, but it provides some very useful principles for organizing more difficult elements than the jumbled mass of new evidence and tried-and-true practices. The textbook can be found at many locations and websites for a relatively meager amount. Having examined the ups and downs of the text as an intelligible resource, the student can rest easy with paying little for a very rare gem.

References

Cooper, R. (2007). Those Who Can, Teach. Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

McKinney, S., Chappell, S., Berry, R., & Hickman, B. (2009). An Examination of the Instructional Practices of Mathematics Teachers in Urban Schools. Preventing School Failure, 53(4), 278-284. Retrieved from Academic Search Complete database.

Weinstein, C., & Novodvorsky, I. (2007). Middle and Secondary Class Management: Lessons from Research and Practice. New York, NY: the McGraw Hill Companies.

Wong, H.K., & Rosemary T. Wong (1998). How to Be An Effective Teacher: The First Days of School. Mountain View, CA: Harry K. Wong Publications, Inc.