Welcome to Teachers as Thinkers: Compassion and Competence in the Classroom. This book is designed for the new teacher education student or those individuals who are exploring education as a possible career change.  This is a book for anyone who loves teaching others- past, present, or future, and it’s written by an award-winning educator. I have spent over 30 years as a teacher. You might say that I’ve been writing this textbook in my head for the past 30 years, from my earliest days volunteering with intellectually challenged children at my university’s laboratory school to my work with community college and doctoral level students.

I  wanted to give readers a guidebook that was down-to-earth and that was packed with practical information about the joys and challenges of this great profession. I wanted to create a textbook that enabled readers to share the great richness that comes from instructing a diverse student population. My goal is to shed light on the complexities of teaching and educating while helping you, the reader, glimpse the joy and challenges of helping students maximize their potential. Teaching is thinking and the effective educator is a thinking educator.  Teachers make thousands of decisions each day, often split-second decisions, that directly impact lives. Compassion is the bedrock of these decisions. It is the “secret sauce”, the essential element for connecting with students, maximizing their learning, and succeeding as an educator.  

Teachers as Thinkers: Compassion and Competence in the Classroom is divided into 11 chapters for use at colleges and universities whose programs operate on the quarter or semester system.  Faculty looking to adopt the textbook have the option of having the chapters reorganized according to their preferences. This textbook can also be read in any order, depending on user interest.

Teachers as Thinkers: Compassion and Competence in the Classroom provides the reader with a description of the process of becoming an educator, an in-depth analysis of today’s diverse student population,  a deep-dive into multiple perspectives on learning and the role of educational philosophy, a historical perspective of the development of the American educational system, an overview of basic instructional strategies applicable to any educational setting, and the role of curriculum and assessment. Finally, readers won’t want to miss exploring Ch 11: Teacher Stories and the last chapter in the book. Teacher Stories is a collection of 24 true teacher profiles,  written in the teacher’s own voice, describing their work as educators in the K-12 system as well as in higher education. These stories are filled with great wisdom, insight, humor, and unforgettable advice.

In summary, Teachers as Thinkers: Compassion and Competence in the Classroom is a superb guide for future educators in these troubled times.  It offers the reader a reflective look at education along with a wealth of practical information and sage advice. Above all, it invites you the reader into the world of teaching and how you can make a difference, one student at a time.