Mary Bigler's Lessons Learned: Teaching and Speaking

By Mary Bigler

Mary Bigler's Lessons Learned is a compelling examination of what Mary has learned as a student, teacher and speaker. Her amusing, insightful and inspiring stories gleaned from a lifetime in the classroom and on the speaking circuit are addressed to all teachers everywhere. She will charm you with her humor, optimism and thoughtfulness. With wit, warmth and wisdom, she explores both the joys and the tribulations of teaching and celebrates renowned educators as well as the unsung heroes who teach next door to us or down the hall. She magically weaves her experiences, philosophy, observations, values and enthusiasm in such a way as to light up your eyes, tickle your funny bone, touch your heart and elevate your soul. It is a privilege to read the riveting lessons that this extraordinary educator has learned. It should be required reading for every teacher, administrator, and parent -- for anyone who cares about raising and educating young people. Whether you are: -learning, teaching or speaking -teacher, administrator or parent -novice or veteran Mary Bigler's Lessons Learned will: *Put a twinkle in your eye, a smile on your lips and a glow in your heart *Empower you to make learning fun and exciting *Give you parenting and teaching treasures *Help you to get your students to believe in themselves *Connect you to talented, caring educators *Add adventure to your classroom *Inspire you to do your best each and every day Don't miss this opportunity to experience the best of Mary's stories while she lightens your load, brightens your life, and re-kindles your passion for the wonderful and vital career that you have chosen.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0977031608
• ISBN13: 9780977031603
• Release Date: January 2005
• Publisher: Reading Success Center
• Length: 239 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Excellent resource and entertainment

Dr. Mary Bigler, you helped me realize my early teaching mistakes were all part of the learning/teaching experience. There are so many of my own stories that came to mind. Your stories helped validate some of the decisions and '"experiments" that were part of my teaching career.

A Teacher of Teachers

I had the honor of being in this woman's class while recieving my teacher's certification and remember her teaching well. This book takes me back into that class and lets me listen to her again. Her stories warm the heart and remind me of what it is to be a teacher and why I love my job. This book also reminds me of the lessons she taught me so I may continue to incorporate them in my classroom. I recommend this book to any teacher who needs a reminder of why we do what we do. This book holds a prized place on my shelf next to my other teaching books.

Like having coffee with a thoughtful and wise educator

If I were a 'new' or mid-career educator, school counselor or parent, I would treasure this book as a gift. Reading Dr. Bigler's "Lessons" is quite like having coffee with this thoughtful and wise woman. She speaks directly and with passion; her soup-to-nuts experiences have left indelible impressions on her, and they will leave them on you. Parents, mentors, administrators and those considering teaching will both learn from and empathize with Dr. Bigler's expressions of concern and hope for students, teachers and families, alike. The book's format lends itself to several fast, shorter reads. Or you can do what I did and not set it down once until you've read and considered each "Lesson." If you've heard Dr. Bigler speak, you'll instantly recognize her voice as it jumps from the pages. If you haven't heard Dr. Bigler speak, you will want to, as you nod with an innate recognition of and appreciation for some of the dilemmas and joys she shares. You may also find yourself shaking your head with a sense of disbelief or amazement that often, one person - a principal, a teacher or a parent - can so influence the self-esteem, and the success and failure of another. Her stories remind us all of the important role we play in the lives of others. Story-telling is the oldest form of educating and conveying history. How fitting for this educator, speaker and now author, to commit to print a few of the many "footprints" along her career path.

Inspiring, heart-warming, thought-provoking and often hilarious

Having heard Dr. Bigler speak on several occassions, I was eager to read this, her first book. It's a compilation of stories and reminiscences based on her experiences as a 40 year veteran in the U.S. public school system (as a teacher in K-12 and a university professor) and on her work as a speaker who, for more than 30 years, has specialized in the promotion of literacy. The book is divided into two sections, Teaching and Speaking, reflecting her two vocations. In each section are the "lessons" she's learned in her long career. Her stories will entertain, enlighten, inspire, concern, perhaps shock, sometimes delight, and, if you're like me, keep you reading for more. I can guarantee they will cause you to think more deeply about the delicate and somewhat mysterious process we call "education." This book contains no ideas for lesson plans, no ed school cant, no models for evaluating or testing "learning outcomes." In their place Dr. Bigler tells sometimes funny, sometimes poignant, sometimes hauntingly sad, and always thought-provoking stories: about the great and the not-so-great teachers she's known; about her own, sometimes painful, experiences as a student; about that rare alchemy that makes a person able to excite the desire to know in others; about individual students who taught her much more than she was able to teach them; about the daunting challenges all serious teachers continually face in the classroom; about the frustrations and limitations of the educational bureaucracy; and much, much more. With each of her stories she makes not just points for pondering but, refreshingly, a suggestion for change or an exhortation for improvement. She asks a great deal of teachers, parents and students and she gives examples, again and again, of what the true meaning of success in education really means. This is a good book for the general reader, an especially important book for parents and young people, and an indispensible book for anyone who is working with young people in any kind of educational environment. Mary Bigler has a great deal of wisdom to share about what it means to teach and to learn and she's done so in this book in an easy to access, humorous, yet memorable way. A real winner.