It Doesn't Take a Genius

Karen O,lead singer of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, gets it: "It's important for kids to feel bigger than they usually do. We're trying to make you feel a little bit cooler than you might actually be." Many American teachers don't get it. A lot of teaching today is either boring [2/3 of classroom time is talk and 2/3 of that is the teacher talking] or painfully judgemental[grades, the red pen, do and don't instructions]. It doesn't take a genius to see kids natural talents and creativity are being stifled. Enter McCutcheon and Lindsey--Lindsey is a MacArthur Foundation Genius Grant recipient--with their Five Truths. These "Truths", explored in a clever anecdotal style,are a summation of what the authors discovered during years in the trenches of high school teaching. But undergirding all the truths are the authors strong commitment to finding value in each student, understanding each student's interest or problem, and chalenging each student toward full potential by helping each student to feel special. McCutcheon and Lindsey get it and now every teacher and parent can too.

While this inspiring book tells us that "it doesn't take a genius" to help students succeed, passage after passage show us how these two dedicated educators manage to bring out the genius in each of the students whose lives they touch. This is powerful testimony to the commitment, passion, wisdom, and strategies of skillful teachers who, first and foremost, believe in their students and honor them as human beings, thereby enabling them to attain excellence, not only in high school but also in life. This is a must-read book for teachers, parents, and others who might be moved by stories of student success against all odds posed by living in an inequitable, race-based society.

This book is a fascinating mix of direct and indirect communication. The book's basic points are made directly by its coauthors and then exemplified indirectly by the vignettes provided by an interesting assemblage of their former students. The coauthors' arguments are clear and unlittered with academic jargon. (For example, what academics would call "intertextuality" is discussed without invoking the guild's current buzzword.) Many of the brief student contributions are surprisingly moving. In characterizing one of Tommie Lindey's emphases, a student writer (Joseph Riley Whitfield Jr.) in fact aptly describes the book: "...a complex message delivered in common language [that] does not lose its sense of the profound." My advice to readers would be to read each of the "five truths" sections, breaking off reading after each to ponder what it means for them. Considered and pondered, the book has practical and uplifting messages that have made, and will make, a difference.

Just two days after completing this book, I've already been motivated to implement these lessons and pieces of advice in the classroom as a high school teacher. While the advice is not exactly convenient to execute, it provides help in areas many teachers have never known how to amend. I used to think that the California Public School System and the federal public school system were doomed for failure, but this book actually provides a realistic hope for our lackluster public education system. The text is also straight forward and concise. A pleasant and easy read.

Reading "It Doesn't Take A Genius" was an inspirational experience. Having been more than a little disillusioned by our nation's crumbling public education system, this book reaffirmed my faith in it. This should be required reading for all teachers, because it helps them truly recognize the tremendous impact that they can have on the lives of children who might otherwise have nothing else.