Schools of Fish!: Welcome Back to the Reason You Became an Educator

This book is concise and well organized. It is inspirational no matter what the age of your students. Heather Hanson, D.D.S. Dental Practice Management Consultant Former Junior School Teacher

I bought this book as my daughter has just started teaching and I love the philosophy in it. We have been using it in our school in Australia and it guides the way we teach and communicate.

FISH! A REMARKABLE WAY TO BOOST MORALE AND IMPROVE RESULTS by Stephen C. Lundin, Harry Paul and John Christensen has become one of my favorite business books . . . so when I saw that the principles have been applied to education in a book, SCHOOLS OF FISH! by Philip Strand, Christensen and Andy Halper, I knew that it was something that I had to read. And am I ever glad that I did, in that it inspired me with its ideas and techniques for better classroom management . . . though all the many examples were from grades K-12 situations, I do believe that they could be related to any level of education--up through and including graduate school. One quote from the book says it all: "We're very serious about learning; play is just how we feel while we're doing it." It got me thinking about the fact that education should be more fun . . . for the teacher, as well as the student . . . you don't have to be a rocket scientist to make this happen . . . just utilize some of the methods that have worked for others, apply them to your situation, and you'll be all set. There were several memorable passages; among the ones that I especially liked were these: * That duality also transfers to adult relationships. As daily pressures compete for our attention, it's amazing how people can seem rude or, equally, how simple gestures stand out. For example, a certain principal never answers his phone when talking with a visitor. "It will ring and the other person will say, "It's OK if you get that," he explains. "I tell them, `No, you're more important to me right now.' They're always surprised," Why? Possibly because it's such a powerful statement of respect and commitment. * When it came to dealing with parents, Puntenney wanted to make sure she not only called home to discuss problems, but also to congratulate students. She sent good-news postcards home, and sometimes she just called parents to tell them about their child's success. "Some parents were in disbelief when I called," she says. "They said things like, `Are you sure you have the right student?' One said, `Nobody from school has ever called with good news before! Thank you." * At Avon Intermediate School, there's room at the table for everybody. "Recently I bought furniture for the staff dining room--four tables with four chairs for each table," says principal Scott Raftery. "The next day, when I came in the dining room, the teachers had pushed all the tables together to create one huge table so they could eat like a big family." The above is just basic stuff, but it works . . . if you're looking for the ideal gift for any teacher (past, present or future), then you won't go wrong buying SCHOOLS OF FISH!

I happened across this book completely by chance in a bookstore. I was looking for new ideas for my elementary classroom. I remember thinking that the title seemed funny. Once I picked it up though, I was literally hooked (pardon the pun)! I couldn't put it down, and it has inspired a great many new ideas for me to use in the classroom. The advice and examples are so practical and inspiratioal. As a philosophy, it is a perfect fit for the classroom setting. It intends to make school what it should be... a place we all enjoy going and spending time.