Exciting Classrooms

Frank Thoms has been an innovative public and private school teacher known for his unique ideas and ability to connect with colleagues, students and parents. He has taught in four countries: the US, England, Mexico, and Russia and the former Soviet Union and has served as a consultant in more than one hundred-twenty-five schools.

• Meet Dan HilliardIntroductionI: What Can We Do Immediately? 1 Implement 10-2 Thinking 2 Instill Skills 3 Teach Literacy 4 Design Invitations 5 Make Meaning II: How Can We Expand Our Teaching Practice?6 See the Big Picture 7 Search for Wisdom 8 Stay Current 9 Seek the Higher Road III: What Must We Change? 10 Abolish Tracking 11 Abandon the Crabs in the Cage 12 Stop the Interruptions 13 End One-Size-Fits-All Teaching IV: What Can We Learn from Beyond the Culture of Schools? 14 Become a Gadfly 15 Leverage Tipping Points 16 Teach As If 17 Take the Long View 18 Imagine the Ideal 19 Invoke the CosmosV: How Do We Find Our Calling? 20 Grow Our Seeds 21 Rethink Our Philosophy 22 Achieve Our Dreams 23 Become Stakeholders 24 Begin at the End CODA: Make a Difference EPILOGUE: Hidden Expectations APPENDIX: Teaching Manifesto IndexAcknowledgments About the Author

Frank Thoms is a passionate teacher, and his powerful book is all about ‘stance’––how a teacher places himself or herself physically, emotionally, intellectually, and organizationally—with respect to students, knowledge, and learning. Every teacher, from a first-timer to an old hand, will learn much that is practical, and even more that is inspirational, from reading this book and so will everyone else who cares about the classroom.