My Students Taught Me How To Teach

About the Title

If you're reading this back cover, you obviously have read the title of my book. And if you read the title then you must be thinking to yourself: "What is he talking about?" How is it possible for students to teach the teacher how to teach? They spend 5 years in college securing their teaching certificate, then several months student teaching in a teacher's classroom. This is followed up with district training throughout each year and after-school weekly learning sessions. So let me explain how this title is both appropriate and accurate. My style and persona are one of having fun and bringing smiles and laughter into people's lives. I wanted this to include my students. But I wasn't sure if I could bring the "real me" into the classroom. I was concerned that if I acted silly or a little crazy or played a prank, the students would not be able to re-focus and immediately get back on track. I told my students on their first day, "I could be strict or we could have fun. It's up to you." Every year my students chose laughter and fun and as a result, they tried harder and scored higher than most classes in the district. They surely did teach me that by utilizing unorthodox teaching methods, they would rise up and excel (as if I were teaching an honors class).

About the Author

Jim Seaman is now a retired 5th and 6th-grade teacher who relocated to the Seattle area after losing his home in the 1994 Northridge, California earthquake. He pursued a nagging desire to become a teacher and went back to college at the age of 52 to receive his teaching certificate. His hobbies include Photography in which he and his wife, Karen, have received numerous awards, writing magazine articles, downloading his favorite songs (about 1100), writing poetry, and writing books. He has recently published, Where Does the Trombone Go? The Sex Ed Questions You Won't Believe Kids Ask (and answered by their teachers) and Partly Sunny with a Chance of Laughter, Poems that will make you think, wonder, question, and smile. He is currently in the process of completing, 54 Years (and counting) of Love, Laughs, and Lunacy: A Marriage lived as a T.V. Comedy Show. Be sure and check out his website: www.authorjimseaman.com.