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Copyright © 2016 Darrian Tanner
All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
Dedication
In Loving memory of my mother, Eleanor Tanner, my Grandma Walls, Granny Tanner, and Granddad Thanks to God for His encouragement and guidance. I dedicate this book to my sister, brother and father who have been my biggest support system To my Aunt Dr. Stephanie Carpenter who has been my inspiration in moving forward in the education field To my mentor, Dr. Stacia Pierce, who gave me the motivation and the instructions on how to accomplish my goal in becoming an author
Contents Call My Mama 1 Buddies 5 Bad Attitudes 7 Not Scared Straight 10 Outlast Them 13 Ballet Class 15 Be Like Florida 17 First Impressions 20 Practice Again 22 New Authors 25 Time Them 27 A Taste of Your Own Medicine 29 One Good Apple Inspires the Bunch 32 Something is Behind the Red Nose 35 Sister Act 37 I Have Not A Home 39 Duke’s Place 41 The Long Haul 43 Cell Phone 46 Everyone Can’t Win the Game 48 Survival 50 Over Prepared 52 Teacher Friends 54 The Painter 56 Dorothy 58
Shut Your Mouth 61 Walking Shoes 64 The Suicide Note 65 Calculus 67 Voice 70 There’s No Fun in Rigor 72 A Different View 74 The Bank Account 76 Burgers and Fries 78 Granddaddy’s Piece of Cake 80 I Understand MLK 82 Are You Smarter Than a Teacher? 83 Basketball Girls 85 High Heels in the Classroom 87 No Eggshells 89 Chalkboard vs Smart Board 91 Sleeping Pills 93 Respect Me When I’m Gone 95 Transform 97 New York Bond #9 99 I Want to Know 101 From Homeless to Millionaire 103 Mrs. McGee 105 Stolen Imagination 107 Do the Right Thing 109
Introduction “Ms. Tanner, I don’t think I can do this,” said Ms. Thomas. At the time, Ms. Thomas was a 1st year teacher. She graduated from Central Michigan University where she received her teacher certification. She was in her first 3 months of teaching 9th grade English at a local high school in Michigan. I was in my 1st year of teaching at the time as well. I had just received my certification from Michigan State University. I met Ms. Thomas earlier that year at a conference. One of the speakers created this exercise called Teacher Buddy where we had to meet a new teacher and exchange contact information with them. We had to be each other’s support system throughout the new school year. “You can do this. You fought to become a teacher. You and I both did. You have what it takes,” I said. “I don’t know. The students are too much to handle. I have never known a generation of kids to be so disrespectful. I can’t get most of them to do the assignments. I spend most of the day trying to discipline them. I don’t know. This is not what I expected. I haven’t forgotten about our agreement to make it until the end of the year, but I just don’t know Ms. Tanner,” she said. I tried to be an encouragement to my teacher buddy, but I really didn’t know how to help her. I was new to teacherhood too. We would normally talk at least once every 2 weeks. As the weeks went by, I wasn’t able to reach her. Two and half months later, she called to tell me that she left her job and that she went back to school for nursing. There are many stories like this one. Today we are losing our unsung heroes because of the lack of preparation for classroom management and handling student behavior. Though there are many elements that play a part in the decline of people entering the teaching field and the increase of those leaving it, I wish to focus on the teacher and the classroom experience. As a classroom teacher for over 7 years now, I decided to write this ebook in hopes of motivating, inspiring and instructing secondary ed classroom teachers across the world. I mixed in my love for storytelling with the use of creative analogies and practical solutions as I answered 50 questions from educators across the country. I hope that this book paints a picture of not only the reality of this journey, but also the possibilities and countless rewards of changing the lives of young people.
The End of the Preview
All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
Dedication
In Loving memory of my mother, Eleanor Tanner, my Grandma Walls, Granny Tanner, and Granddad Thanks to God for His encouragement and guidance. I dedicate this book to my sister, brother and father who have been my biggest support system To my Aunt Dr. Stephanie Carpenter who has been my inspiration in moving forward in the education field To my mentor, Dr. Stacia Pierce, who gave me the motivation and the instructions on how to accomplish my goal in becoming an author
Contents Call My Mama 1 Buddies 5 Bad Attitudes 7 Not Scared Straight 10 Outlast Them 13 Ballet Class 15 Be Like Florida 17 First Impressions 20 Practice Again 22 New Authors 25 Time Them 27 A Taste of Your Own Medicine 29 One Good Apple Inspires the Bunch 32 Something is Behind the Red Nose 35 Sister Act 37 I Have Not A Home 39 Duke’s Place 41 The Long Haul 43 Cell Phone 46 Everyone Can’t Win the Game 48 Survival 50 Over Prepared 52 Teacher Friends 54 The Painter 56 Dorothy 58
Shut Your Mouth 61 Walking Shoes 64 The Suicide Note 65 Calculus 67 Voice 70 There’s No Fun in Rigor 72 A Different View 74 The Bank Account 76 Burgers and Fries 78 Granddaddy’s Piece of Cake 80 I Understand MLK 82 Are You Smarter Than a Teacher? 83 Basketball Girls 85 High Heels in the Classroom 87 No Eggshells 89 Chalkboard vs Smart Board 91 Sleeping Pills 93 Respect Me When I’m Gone 95 Transform 97 New York Bond #9 99 I Want to Know 101 From Homeless to Millionaire 103 Mrs. McGee 105 Stolen Imagination 107 Do the Right Thing 109
Introduction “Ms. Tanner, I don’t think I can do this,” said Ms. Thomas. At the time, Ms. Thomas was a 1st year teacher. She graduated from Central Michigan University where she received her teacher certification. She was in her first 3 months of teaching 9th grade English at a local high school in Michigan. I was in my 1st year of teaching at the time as well. I had just received my certification from Michigan State University. I met Ms. Thomas earlier that year at a conference. One of the speakers created this exercise called Teacher Buddy where we had to meet a new teacher and exchange contact information with them. We had to be each other’s support system throughout the new school year. “You can do this. You fought to become a teacher. You and I both did. You have what it takes,” I said. “I don’t know. The students are too much to handle. I have never known a generation of kids to be so disrespectful. I can’t get most of them to do the assignments. I spend most of the day trying to discipline them. I don’t know. This is not what I expected. I haven’t forgotten about our agreement to make it until the end of the year, but I just don’t know Ms. Tanner,” she said. I tried to be an encouragement to my teacher buddy, but I really didn’t know how to help her. I was new to teacherhood too. We would normally talk at least once every 2 weeks. As the weeks went by, I wasn’t able to reach her. Two and half months later, she called to tell me that she left her job and that she went back to school for nursing. There are many stories like this one. Today we are losing our unsung heroes because of the lack of preparation for classroom management and handling student behavior. Though there are many elements that play a part in the decline of people entering the teaching field and the increase of those leaving it, I wish to focus on the teacher and the classroom experience. As a classroom teacher for over 7 years now, I decided to write this ebook in hopes of motivating, inspiring and instructing secondary ed classroom teachers across the world. I mixed in my love for storytelling with the use of creative analogies and practical solutions as I answered 50 questions from educators across the country. I hope that this book paints a picture of not only the reality of this journey, but also the possibilities and countless rewards of changing the lives of young people.
The End of the Preview
