Home > Consumer Reviews > The First Days of School: How to Be an Effective Teacher

I recently received a copy of the newly revised version of The First Days of School, and I love it! I'm enjoying it so much that I don't want to rush through it. I read it a little at a time, savoring it like a wonderful piece of chocolate. Everything is clearly written, and much of what is written is quite profound in its simplicity. I love the sidebars with extra information and inspirational stories, as well as the internet links to additional resources. The page layout is attractive and easy to read. Many people are familiar with this book as a "must have" for beginning teachers, but as a 27-year veteran, I can say that this book is just as powerful today as it was when I first read it years ago. There is much wisdom tucked inside its pages!

Last night I sat down and started reading this book from the beginning and somewhat past midnight I had to force myself to put it down to go to sleep.

Why is this? It's not that it's such a sweeping, romantic epic -- my
other bedtime reading just now is War and Peace. (Also quite good!)
Partly because I'm just very interested in teaching and everything to do
with it. But there's something also about how it exactly models the
behaviors and attitudes the authors are trying to cultivate. It's extremely well organized and well-paced -- in a nutshell, well-managed. It's also very inviting and warm. To make advice about posting assignments somehow draw you further into the text is quite an achievement.

Erica Schoenberger
Professor
Dept of Geography and Environmental Engineering
The Johns Hopkins University

I was required to buy this book for a class and read it as part of my student teaching preparation. I agree that the book contains some very good pieces of advice. However, the authors sound like motivational speakers on a mission in a stadium filled with thousands of people. Many statements sound like slogans even though they might lack logic. Consider this example: "The difference between an effective teacher and an ineffective teacher. There's only one difference: The ineffective teacher is simply not doing what the effective teacher is doing. Do what the effective teacher is doing, and the ineffective teacher will be effective - instantly" (p. 22).

It was difficult to force myself to read through dozens of pages of inspirational quotes and exclamation points to collect a few pages worth of useful material. Disappointing; even though the ideas behind the method are valid.

I am a high school science teacher. My principal gave my a copy of this book when I started teaching 13 years ago. Since then, I have read it every August before I start the school year.

I enjoy reviewing the components of good teaching (positive expectations, classroom management, and lesson mastery). However, my favorite part is the section called, The Teacher as a Professional. It helps me maintain a positive and professional attitude during the school year which is not always easy to do. Thank you Harry and Rosemary Wong for inspiring me to be a teacher-leader, not a worker!

I purchased this book for a teacher-preparation class and I have thouroughly enjoyed it! It gives great tips to teachers just starting out and I've noticed that my classmates and I have been feeling more ready than ever to get in the classroom. We keep describing it as "experience in a book", as it's full of inspiration and stories that give us confidence and prepare us for the classroom management that theory can't tell us how to handle. Love this book!