What have I learned from this book?

The main idea I take away from this book is a shift from thinking about teaching to instead think about the learning that must take place. While it seems like those two go naturally together, this book made it apparent to me that those who focus on the teaching only will miss the learning, sadly. Good teachers are focused on the learning and the teaching naturally comes out of that focus.

I also was encouraged that it is not about the method as much as it is the underlying heart of the teacher and what the objectives are. It is encouraging that all personalities, all styles and all methods can be successful (just as readily as they can be unsuccessful). Good teaching is about truly caring for and focusing on the students and HOW they are learning.

Overall, there was a reinforcement of what I have been learning on the subject. It also resonated with my worldview of human interactions and I liked that connection.

I would recommend this book (and already have to one person).

Regarding this blogging process, I already knew I am not a natural born blogger, but the discipline of slowly reflecting on pieces of a book and putting those thoughts into writing was beneficial. Probably due to the size of the class and the sheer number of blogs we could follow, the interaction wasn't huge but it was enough to know there were other people reading and processing similar books and to read their thoughts and to have some interaction on the subjects.