Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1104 in Books
• Published on: 2006-03-31
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 258 pages

Synopsis
Features two chapters on managing confrontation and working with parents.

From the Author
Tearing Your Hair Out?
In floods of tears in the staffroom? If you are, I know exactly how you feel, because I've been there too. And that's why I wrote this book. With 5 years of teaching experience, I realised that I had a lot of tips and advice that might help those teachers experiencing difficulties with 'getting the buggers to behave'.

There's no theory in my book. Just lots of ideas about what you might do to help you survive in the classroom. Why not try it and see? And just to whet your appetite further, here's a little of what Tim Brighouse said about my book in his TES review:

"This book is rich and realistic: rich in the array of strategies and examples that work, and realistic in that it is based on vivid examples of how youngsters misbehave."

Customer Reviews

A good one for english teachers
The title of this book may lead you to believe the author to be of a strict and dominating character in the class room. This perception is wrong. Instead you can find a calm 'firm but fun' attitude to behavoirable management and teaching in general. I would definately guess Ms Cowley to be an english teacher and describes lesson plans for conceptual subjects; the arts.

The book explains throughly ideas and tips for getting a student's attention and respect though uses a possibly naieve view of the average student. As a young teacher I remember being a student myself recently and I think that some of these methods wouldn't work on badly behaved students because they rely too much on the analysis of self the author explains will calm them down and the idea that explaination of the rules will calm a hot headed student.

I prefer to be a bit more strict than Ms Cowley when I'm teaching and would not reason with a misbehaving student as much as she does, but I certainly share her philiosophy of a fun teacher being a better teacher. I found very few tips useful for science lessons in this book, but theres a science teaching book available by the author should you enjoy the style of this book.

This said, I certainly believe that these tips will be very useful in my future carreer for dealing with the average student, rather than the badly behaved. This book was excellent fun to read; I got through it in one night! Well worth the price.

Oozing with good advice
OK, so I admit I started reading this with a giant pinch of salt at the ready. It was unnecessary. I've been teaching for almost thirty years now, I've seen many ( too many ) changes in that time and if I had to give a book to a trainee teacher then this would be the one.

Children are not the enemy - they are children - even the 18 year olds - and this book offers much sound advice to keep you sane and happy through your teaching career.

This is an excellent guide to one of the best professions in the world.

A little thin on the ground
I found this a little simplisitic and thin on the ground. Having been lucky enough to be lectured by her on behaviour in person on my PGCE I know she really does know what she's talking about and can communicate with great clarity and humour. I prefer Bill Roger' "You know the fair rule" as a far more comprehensive guide to behaviour management.