To Teach: The Journey of a Teacher

I picked up this book because when Mr. Ayers was being called a "known terrorist" during the presidential campaign, I wanted to see if all the fuss was justified, or merely trumped up by the opposing team. When I found out he was an educator like myself, I had to dig deeper. Reading this book makes whatever he did 40 years ago seem irrelevant (especially in light of the passions of the times) compared to the dedicated, compassionate teacher he has been for most of his life. This book reminded me over and over again of the reasons I became a teacher in the first place, and renewed my commitment to always place the nurturing of growing intellects and emotions before the increasingly dehumanizing requirements of federal, state, and district guidelines that squeeze the spirit out of energetic and creative teachers and students. It should be required reading for aspiring and beginning teachers, and for those of us with more experience, I recommend it as a much needed shot in the arm to keep us teaching with the same hope and vitality with which we all stepped off into this honorable profession.

I really appreciated this book. Ayers is very passionate about a teacher's responsibility to help their students become complete human beings. Reading this book, and Grant Wiggins Understanding by Design, in a graduate class renewed my passion for teaching, which is really a passion for learning. Education should be about the big questions of life, not just the details and basic skills that are tested and required by the state and federal government. Ayers is committed to developing whole and complete human beings, not automatons. My only issue is with his emphasis on social justice as the focus of education. While I agree that a concern for social justice will emerge in people who think for themselves, it seems as if his recommendations force this concern on kids a little too heavyhandedly. If we are to be independent, complete people, then naturally what concerns us will not always be the same. Nevertheless, his emphasis is better than many who want us to just teach kids to read words and add and subtract, but don't really care if they can think for themselves. [...]

Ayers takes us on a journey unlike any other yet, with glimpses of ourselves as students and as teachers. Concepts, ideas and rememberances encapsulated in this book reveal the heart of a teacher who recognizes his own imperfections and shares his lessons learned. This book is insightful, intellectual reading that I would recommend to parents of school-aged children, prospective teachers, new teachers, veteran teachers and teacher-educators. This is a book I believe will become a teaching classic. Reading this book and Crossing Over Canaan will give readers some real-life insights of what it means to be a teachers in public schools. This is an excellent book!

This book offers an insight to teaching, the most students and teachers will never see. His use of words for discribing a teacher are to the point and wonderful. He offers thoughts and observations on how to handle various situations. This should be required reading for students and teachers. It would be refreshing for teachers to read and regain their passion.

Rarely does a book change your perspective on a subject and then provide you with on-going thoughts that then change you, especially books written about education. This one does. It is a must for all those involved in education that wish to further their view of creating learning environments for meaningful lessons. Teachers, preservice teachers, and teacher educators will benefit from this wonderful read. Ayers lifts the words off the page, tranforming them into carefully composed lyrics that are obviously written by a teacher who cares for the well-being of children in today's world.If you like kids, you'll like what you read in this book. If you want to improve your teaching, you'll receive some great ideas for doing so; expect no recipes or prescriptions, though, because this journey begins with you. Don't miss this opportunity.