Training, placing, and retaining highly qualified teachers in our nation's schools has become a very serious challenge in the 21st century. Many factors contribute to teachers' relative levels of satisfaction, or dissatisfaction, with their careers. Some of these factors are rather obvious and tangible; others are not. Many teachers fade, sometimes rather quickly, from unmet personal expectations, overwhelming external requirements, and subsequent "running out of gas." Some of the very simplest things in a teacher's day can have the most dramatic effect on their passion for their work. To keep teachers fully satisfied in their positions, they need to enjoy what they do daily; to enjoy what they do daily, they must approach their work inspired. The Subtle Side of Teaching offers 79 short essays with examples and applications to a variety of school subjects, pointing teachers toward fundamental guidelines for sustained energy, clear thinking, and a positive outlook in the classroom.
Preface Chapter 1: YOUR ENVIRONMENT Classroom purpose Student activity The sum of the parts Teaching and learning Need-to-know information Noticing learning Creating a need Delivering the challenges Student engagement Ripe opportunities Embracing mistakes "Correct" answers Nothing stays the same The right job The same class twice The best way Timing is everything Things going well Chapter 2: YOUR STUDENTS Find your fascination Never surrender Learning is easy Their best teachers Be a great student Genuine and phony Discovering needs Challenging and overwhelming Intrinsic motivation Skills and content The second time around Science, history, and people Doing what they know Asking "why" Reinventing the wheel Better ideas Sky as a limit Absence Chapter 3: YOUR MOVES Having and giving Giving it away One thing at a time Three steps ahead Going back Stating the obvious Saying something Choosing thoughts Choosing words Examples Modeling Your first move Saying nothing Leaving it out Ready with a reason Diagnosis Spelling it all out Being sneaky Doing it the hard way Wait Need-to-know content REAL questions Chapter 4: YOU Out of the picture Learn something Precious thoughts "Why?" and "Why not?" Accepting advice Your own advice Time for your mind Internal change Thoughts, words, and actions Your best self Needing nothing The wrong reasons Three weeks behind Anything is possible Quick thinking Taking the credit Keeping things fresh Teaching is easy Exercising your freedoms Enjoying your job Not about you
