Educating Esme
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Educating Esme: Educating Parents, Educating Everyone
Educating Esme - Diary of a Teacher's First Year by Esme Raji Codell
"I wanted to teach so I could lead, not follow."
Madame (people better get that right) Esme is one interesting teacher. If all teachers were anything like her, energetic, creative, witty, and spunky, I'd probably still be in school.
Esme's diary of her first year of teaching makes for entertaining and educational reading and this does not hold true only for teachers. Parents and anyone who has to deal with challenging bosses, people, and situations can benefit from this book.
Why do I like this book? I like it because of the lessons it teaches, its witty-one liners, its suggestions of books/stories that 5th grade students should be reading, and tips to make learning more interesting.
The Golden Rule of treating people the way you want to be treated applies to everyone, no matter how horrid the other person may be. The goal is not necessarily to succeed but to keep trying ("...if I don't aim, how will I hit anywhere near the target?"). These are just some of the lessons the book imparts.
Want to find out what books your 5th grader should read? Here are some titles that Esme takes up in her class: The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes, The Bat-Poet by Randall Jarrell, King Matt the First by Janusz Korczak, Number the Stars by Lois Lowry, and The Stories Julian Tells. I'm 32 years old and haven't read any of these books... I guess I now have my year 2000 summer reading list.
As for some of the witty one-liners:
On her classroom which she took great pains to decorate differently: "This room is so fun, it's sickening, I feel sorry for any kid who is not in this classroom."
On teaching: "It's not our job to be liked, it's our job to help them be smart."
On her nemesis: "I tend not to share things unnecessarily with those I despise."
On how you should stand up for the things you believe in: "If you let people walk over you while you're young, you should get used to wearing feet marks across your face for the rest of your life."
On people who need to compromise: "Compromise is fine for people who aren't as right as me."
On the difficult people that we encounter in life (Note: This is my personal favorite of all my favorites): "What sort of Jedi would I be if I don't really face the Dark Side?" I told you. This is one cool teacher...
So, what were some of the things that Madame Esme did to make her classes interesting and which teachers or parents can adopt in working with their students or kids:
Calling subjects by different names: Math is Puzzling, Science is Mad Scientist Time, Social Studies is TTWE or Time Travel and World Exploring. In this way, children who already have some preconceived notion of not being good at Math, for example, can discover that he/she is good at Puzzling.
Asking kids to give a new word which they have heard and encountered but which they don't know the meaning of upon entering the classroom. They thus learn a new word everyday.
Having a Thinking Cap: kids who need more time to think of an answer put this on.
Having a Happy Box: Esme has a nicely decorated box containing small gifts (e.g. stickers, erasers) to reward kids who answer a difficult question, do a good job.
Turning an old ref box into a "time travel" machine by covering it with foil, putting lights, and lots of books inside. Kids then take turns "time travelling" thru books and each kid has to write about his/her experience upon exiting from the "time travel" machine.
Reading in groups where each kid has a role. Different roles are: a discussion director (one who thinks of questions to ask about the book); the literary luminary (reads out the best parts); the language lover (defines the most difficult words); the practical predictor (tries to guess what will happen next) and the process checker (tracks the participation of each kid in the group).
Doing fun things in relation to specific topics being learned in class: Mounting shadow puppet shows to learn about light; Having a bubble festival to learn about air; Making sushi while studying about Asia; Having a cereal box supermarket where kids learned to give change, among others.
Grab the book for yourself and learn. Parents, teachers, everyone…As Esme says: "...The only other job with so much sharing is parenting…" She writes towards the end of the book: "Thirty-one children. Thirty-one chances. Thirty-one futures...Everything they become, I also become. And everything about me, they helped to create." I could have sworn she was talking about parenting and kids if not for the mention of thirty-one children. As for me, I think I'm going to get another copy to give to Adi's pre-school teachers...
July 21, 1999
By Angel Viloria
Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill - 1999