This book complements teacher preparation and is based on three premises:
1) Despite training in educational history, theory and methodology, teachers often make critical decisions in challenging classroom circumstances based on their own educational experiences and feelings.
2) There are numerous ways for a teacher to deal with a given classroom issue that have equal validity in terms of their educational and social value for the student.
3) The worst time for a teacher to think about how he or she would handle a situation in class is while it is happening.
This book is primarily composed of 400 open-ended, reality-based questions and scenarios designed to encourage comprehensive thinking about everything involved with the teaching profession - from the reasons for entering the field to how the reader would handle challenges to his or her authority in the classroom. The questions are organized into eight separate chapters, the first of which challenges teachers to examine their own emotional and cognitive development at home and in school settings as they relate to their classroom decision-making process. Each successive chapter outlines how a self-reflective process can help teachers before, while and after they are in the classroom.
The book emphasizes that there are many different ways to be an effective teacher; what's most important is that teachers reflect on their decision-making processes so they can be the version of themselves that is best for the students in their classrooms.