Teaching is a lifelong challenge, but the first few years in the classroom are typically a teacher's hardest. This expanded collection of writings and reflections offers practical guidance on how to navigate the school system, form rewarding relationships with colleagues, and connect in meaningful ways with students and families from all cultures and backgrounds.

What if excellent teaching were guaranteed in every classroom? This is a guide for anyone who is serious about making that possibility a reality.

I need a new bum! Mine's got a crack. I can see in the mirror a crack in the back. What to do when you need a new bum? Should you get one that's blue or yellow spotted? A Chevy bum, a rocket bum that's all fire and thrust, or a robo-bum? The options are endless - but wait, Dad's bum crack is showing too? Maybe this is contagious.

Who controls today’s conversation about what education should be in the classroom? Bill Gates? Arne Duncan? Michelle Rhee? Media? Politiicans? Who has gained more and more control of what actually goes on in the classroom? Bill Gates? Arne Duncan? Michelle Rhee? Media? Polticians? Why? Where are the voices of the thousands of talented and loved teachers whose classrooms should be models of what works regardless of the socioeconomic environment they are located. I am but one of many. Each of us has gotten to be who we are as teachers through our own set of circumstances. We, like all other professionals learn our craft through our experiences as well as our academic preparation. Some of us get to pass on what we have learned about our craft by becoming supervisors, mentors, or university lecturers. I have mentored new teachers. I have taught a graduate education class. But those endeavors have reached relatively few. I have even spawned new teachers, inspired by me, but those are even fewer. Initially it is why started writing this book. Much of it started as advice to give to my mentees. Then some suggested to me to write a book. So I did!

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A groundbreaking history of 175 years of American education that brings the lessons of the past to bear on the dilemmas we face today—and brilliantly illuminates the path forward for public schools. “[A] lively account." —New York Times Book Review In The Teacher Wars, a rich, lively, and unprecedented history of public school teaching, Dana Goldstein reveals that teachers have been embattled for nearly two centuries. She uncovers the surprising roots of hot button issues, from teacher tenure to charter schools, and finds that recent popular ideas to improve schools—instituting merit pay, evaluating teachers by student test scores, ranking and firing veteran teachers, and recruiting “elite” graduates to teach—are all approaches that have been tried in the past without producing widespread change.

"FIRED UP TEACHERSHIP IS AN INFERNO!" It's no secret that we are on the precipice of a massive teacher shortage with a dearth of passionate people entering the field of education. Our students need teachers who will carry the spark long into their professional career. Fired Up Teachership aims to ignite the spark and keep it lit by taking you on a journey with a noble mission along with two Fired Up educators who strike the perfect balance of knowledge, strategies, and techniques, enhanced by heart warming anecdotal stories of teaching. Frank and Michele take you on a practical walk through the challenges and joys of teaching, all the while, inspiring you to never lose your spark! This book is about remembering your "why" and creating a legacy of being a difference maker. This book should be in the hands of every pre-service teacher, those who are new to the profession, and teachers who want to reignite their spark. Get Fired Up, teachers! EDITORIAL REVIEWS Through stories, ideas, and reflections, Frank and Michele inspire us to stay "Fired Up" and bring passion to our work each day! They have created a blueprint to develop and embrace the leader that lives in each of us without leaving the teacher behind because, as the reader learns, great leaders are teachers! Evan Robb Principal Author Many teachers are creating diverse, equitable and inclusive spaces that welcome and honor students and families. These spaces are created intentionally and, in this book, Hill and Rudnesky share practical, actionable strategies that teachers can implement immediately. This book is for all educators who are passionate about creating and nurturing caring, supportive, and culturally responsive classrooms. Paul Forbes Former Executive Director of Educational Equity, Anti-Bias and Diversity, NYC DOE Founder of Leading with Hearts and Minds There is a worldwide battle for the hearts, minds, and souls of the next generation going on as we speak, and teachers have been and always will be the greatest warriors in this fight. This book arms teachers with a good balance of practical knowledge and techniques, along with the wisdom of great thinkers and the personal experience of two fired up educators who are on a noble mission. This book is a powerful and important read for both the newest and the most experienced members of the profession. Joseph Pegues, MA/MED In Fired Up Teachership, Michele and Frank offer practical ways to help you grow as an educator and leader in the classroom. Their strategies will help keep your passion stirred while making an impact on the lives of your students. Dr. Brad Johnson Inspirational Speaker Author of Dear Teacher

Reclaim Your Fire "Teaching with Fire is a glorious collection of the poetry that has restored the faith of teachers in the highest, most transcendent values of their work with children....Those who want us to believe that teaching is a technocratic and robotic skill devoid of art or joy or beauty need to read this powerful collection. So, for that matter, do we all." ?Jonathan Kozol, author of Amazing Grace and Savage Inequalities "When reasoned argument fails, poetry helps us make sense of life. A few well-chosen images, the spinning together of words creates a way of seeing where we came from and lights up possibilities for where we might be going....Dip in, read, and ponder; share with others. It's inspiration in the very best sense." ?Deborah Meier, co-principal of The Mission Hill School, Boston and founder of a network of schools in East Harlem, New York "In the Confucian tradition it is said that the mark of a golden era is that children are the most important members of the society and teaching is the most revered profession. Our jour ney to that ideal may be a long one, but it is books like this that will sustain us - for who are we all at our best save teachers, and who matters more to us than the children?" ?Peter M. Senge, founding chair, SoL (Society for Organizational Learning) and author of The Fifth Discipline Those of us who care about the young and their education must find ways to remember what teaching and learning are really about. We must find ways to keep our hearts alive as we serve our students. Poetry has the power to keep us vital and focused on what really matters in life and in schooling. Teaching with Fire is a wonderful collection of eighty-eight poems from such well-loved poets as Walt Whitman, Langston Hughes, Billy Collins, Emily Dickinson, and Pablo Neruda. Each of these evocative poems is accompanied by a brief story from a teacher explaining the significance of the poem in his or her life's work. This beautiful book also includes an essay that describes how poetry can be used to grow both personally and professionally. Teaching With Fire was written in partnership with the Center for Teacher Formation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Royalties from this book will be used to fund scholarship opportunities for teachers to grow and learn.