Becoming Mr. Henry

By Peter Henry

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1585010871
• ISBN13: 9781585010875
• Release Date: September 2005
• Publisher: Sterling House Pub
• Length: 192 Pages
• Dimensions: 8.2" x 0.5" x 5.3"

Customer Reviews

A Must Read for Teachers

I loved this book- plain and simple. The voice in here is intelligent and original, yet remains easy to relate to. When I was reading the about Henry's experiences and anxieties as a child, I felt like I was back in my own childhood, back in my high school. It was the same feeling I had reading Salinger for the first time-the character's uncertainty, the newness of every action and thought, the alienation, the search for truth. As someone who is a teacher, I find the perspectives the author gives about his time in the classroom to be invaluable. It is refreshing to read about his focus on developing an environment that inspires students to think deeply, to exceed the normal and mundane. Henry's ideas regarding group dynamics in the classroom and how to assist students in taking ownership of their aspirations should be considered by all teachers. The analysis of education reminds me of the best Peter Elbow has to offer, but with more practicality and attention to detail. Highly recommended.

A teacher responds...

Becoming Mr. Henry succinctly lays out the conundrum presented to anyone teaching in public education today: How does a teacher best serve his or her students in the current educational climate? Becoming Mr. Henry is one person's answer. I found the book thought provoking and inspiring. To paraphrase Frank McCourt, the classroom teacher is the last person anyone consults when determining educational policy. Should that situation ever change, Mr. Henry would be an excellent person to start with.

Worthwhile Read

This is a unique book, a mix of story, philosophy and some almost political elements. Henry does a good job of reflecting on the job of teaching and the role of public education in this country. He is well-informed and tells engaging stories along the way. Highly recommended.

Teacher Man with values and a philosophy

I know that Framk McCourt is a hell of a writer, but the job of teaching is a social/civic position, and as such, should involve more than just memories of the years. There should be some actual thought and structure to what the person who was teaching was up to. In his book, Becoming Mr. Henry, we get a full dose of the man as well as the philosophy that guided Peter Henry's efforts at teaching. This is helpful for the parent, as well as the would-be teacher, or anybody interested in what happens between the walls of an average suburban high school. I know I enjoyed it a great deal. Funny at times, richly narrated, poingnant and full of reflection on the life of trying to help kids become better themselves, this is a book that would be especially loved by teachers themselves. Often abused by others, especially politicians, what we get with this book is a look at the life of a real teacher, a real human being, grappling with the social milieu that comes into his room. Read it for yourself, and come to know a part of American society long-ignored, criticized and berated. If this is any indication of what the teacher's lot is like, public education is in better shape than any of us imagine.

Check This Out

The concept, inspired by Parker Palmer's The Courage To Teach, is to sketch the inner landscape of a teacher, revealing how early experiences in family, school and beyond contribute to an educational philosophy which values the journey of young people above the mania of public school norms and test scores, which mean little, in the end, about one's essential character Here is the backdrop: The author's parents, both teachers themselves, raise nine children during the baby-boom years. While it is not a study of that era per se, the post-war saga-get married, get degrees, rain children, and, as careers peak, discover things are haywire with the kids-lurks in the background. The essays follow the doings of a ponderous but adventurous child who learns to adapt to his family's oddities through sports, friends, academics, and the usual conceits of adolescence. Each chapter employs narrative episodes to inform and ground important issues about learning and education-how a boy went completely astray but nonetheless crashed on the shores of becoming a teacher. On the whole, the book speaks optimistically and realistically about the process of learning: how it happens, what roles are played by family, friends and school. And it is a process. One requiring love, energy, humor and persistence. But the book also departs from its personal point-of-view to find fault with today's schools, as well as criticize America's naïve faith in its own righteousness. It asserts we are doing a disservice to youth, ill-preparing them for the future: emphasizing a "standardized" agenda and exams over the time-tested importance of relationships, intrinsic motivation and critical thinking. It also critiques America's continued embrace of profound inequities between black and white, rich and poor-the whole precept that America's public schools are mere preparation for today's corporate economy rather than about developing an informed and independent citizenry. The book touches upon family, learning, teaching, and ultimately, America's self-confident but overtly paradoxical character. Its spokes emanate from a common hub-school-but ineluctably, follow the lens of one teacher's seeing: a mix of story, memoir and pointed ideas about the nature, pitfalls and inescapable humanity which adheres to education. It is not a book about pedagogy, methods, theory or school reform, but walks the delicate line of revealing through story the essential-and sometimes thorny-truths about being schooled in America and growing into a central role as teacher. In simplest terms, Becoming Mr. Henry celebrates the importance of stories themselves, even one as simple as a man falling for teaching unexpectedly, then being consumed with getting-it-right for those in his tracks and the country he loves.