Twenty Years Before the Blackboard

Although I do agree with the comments of Mr. Steuben's supporters, our teacher from Colorado has a valid point--many of his techniques will fail or become much less effective under a regular class. Recall that Mr. Steuben has been teaching at Jefferson--a magnet school, for nearly his whole career. There is a great possibility that public school students find his style far less enlightening.

The book is fabulous! If you like math you'll love the math problems and humor in it. If not still a great book. I personally know the author, and am living proof of his teaching methods. He doesn't spoon feed and his classes are hard, but if you ask for help he does everything he can. Just remember as he says in his book if the teacher doesn't build up a good relationship with the students, they'll just make fun of the jokes, and if the teacher don't teach well and gives more work instead of intellectually stimulating work it will just backfire. It's not just the knowledge thats taught, but the thinking and life skills that the students take away with them and keep with them for the longest at the end of the course and he does a great job on focusing on that.

Precalculus QuizM. Stueben (March 5, 2003)IT HAS come to my attention that some students do not like my quizzes. Consequently, until morale improves, all quiz questions will be written in Mandarin Chinese. Good luck!DIRECTIONS: Choose the best answer to the following question from the choices below.(Chinese text you don't need to know to solve it)A. All of the below.B. None of the below.C. All of the above.D. One of the above.E. None of the above.F. None of the above.aaand that is the kind of teacher he is. I'm in his precalc class; he may seem like a strange kook (especially if you've seen him in person), but he is truly an excellent teacher. And I personally attest that Dan Tran and Mr. Stueben are two people who will never lie if they can manage it. And this book will do you good to read.

You will get sick of hearing this again and again, but here goes: I am currently a student in Mr. Stueben's computer science class. You may think this is a biased opinion, but I assure you that the fact I am in the author's class will not hinder this review. It will strengthen the points I make and disprove some other comments make by other reviewers.As you read this book, you will get a lot of fun out of it. As many people say, his methods may be a bit bizarre, but it has worked magic on his classes. It depends on if you know how to use this information correctly and make your class enjoyable; if you do, then please use it - it will make 99% of your students leaned toward your side. Mr. Stueben does not lie ever - and he will not lie in his book. Keep in mind that all the information in the book has been used on his students and has been tested and approved. Read it to enjoy the story of his life as a math and CS teacher, or read it to use it for your teaching career. Either way, in my opinion, this has been one of the most enjoyable books I have read so far!Quoted from another person below, "It is obvious that the author made up many, if not all of these stories about his successes, because he is obviously a failed teacher. I pity all of the students he has taught." I must respectfully disagree with this statement, as 1) Mr. Steuben never lies, 2) Mr. Stueben is NOT a failed teacher, and 3) As a part of the student body of his class, I must say that this offends me and other students. Authors don't write books to lie - authors write books to benefit the population.

I am a student in the author's computer science class. Having read this book and attending his class three times a week, I can assure everyone (especially "a reader from Denver, CO USA") that his stories are not made up and that Mr. Stueben is not a failed teacher. While he does teach his class in an unusual manner sometimes, I can say that it has been the greatest learning experience I have ever been part of. And I can also tell you that 95% of his students will say the same.While teaching Computer Science every day, Mr. Stueben also seeks to improve us as learners and human beings, something many of my former teachers have been utterly unsuccessful in doing. Mr. Stueben believes that people do learn through failure, even if it stings a lot and ruins a report card. This was the case with me, too; I did poorly on a few of his tests in the first grading period. However, Mr. Stueben did take a conscious interest in me and my fellow students and he did encourage us to study and start passing (and acing) his tests. Guess what? I finished the class with a 4.0.It is unfair to judge the author simply by reading his book. Mr. Stueben is undoubtedly the greatest teacher I have ever had. Don't take my word for it; read the book and instead of instantly putting the author down, try to believe that what he says is the truth, as I and 125 other students of his each year can testify.