The Eleven Commandments of Good Teaching: Creating Classrooms Where Teachers Can Teach and Students Can Learn

By Vickie Gill

"Full of tactics and techniques, straightforward and interesting, this book is loaded with good examples drawn from Gill′s own trials and errors. Its best contribution may be the expression of a mind-set for successful teachers--dedication, empowerment, and positivity--that can help fulfill the promise of a teaching career."
--James Lent, Professor Emeritus
Vanderbilt University

"I utilized this book as summer reading for our entire faculty and received an excellent response It was the basis for an interesting, provocative, and productive discussion during the first faculty meeting of the year."
--Tom Holmes, Director of Upper School
Dunn School, Los Olivos, CA

Straight talk from a veteran teacher

Vickie Gill offers both new and veteran teachers practical advice on how to achieve a classroom environment that promotes exemplary teaching and learning. In this updated edition of her best-selling book The Ten Commandments of Good Teaching, she has added an eleventh commandment to help teachers combat the feeling of failure.

Whether you′re a new teacher or a not-so-new teacher, this book offers you the courage to follow your instincts and illuminates the ideas you need to succeed. Gill′s casual, conversational tone, communicates the joy she has experienced in the classroom. Drawing on experiences from her 21 years in the teaching profession--the good, the bad, and the ugly--she illustrates each commandment with real-life classroom stories and offers concrete guidance for staying enthusiastic and committed to excellence.

The suggestions here will help you:

Focus on why you became a teacher in the first place See your students as individuals with differences Ask for the help you need from your principal or from school support staff Maintain an open mind and a flexible attitude Pick your battles with care Use your own good common sense Gill′s strategies can change the way you feel about teaching and about your students, and help you make rediscover the joy of teaching.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0761978100
• ISBN13: 9780761978107
• Release Date: April 2001
• Publisher: Corwin
• Length: 104 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.3" x 0.3" x 6.3"

Customer Reviews

Inspirational

"The Eleven Commandments of Good Teaching" was easy to read and full of down to earth practical advice. Undoubtedly, new high school teachers will find Vickie Gill's advice based on her own experiences helpful. As a veteran teacher, I found the message of "focusing on the students and their needs" to be inspirational.

An Inspirational and Practical Pep Talk for Teachers

Reading this book made me excited about being a teacher. Gill's ideas are so practical and so ... USEABLE. In fact, after reading each chapter I'd have to get out a notebook to write down the many tips suggestions I didn't want to forget. I have highlighted or underlined passages on practically every page. As a young teacher, I utilized as many of Gill's suggestions as I could, and it made teaching a great deal more enjoyable because I felt like I was prepared -- I was armed with her tools -- I could handle everything that came my way. If you are a new teacher you must get this book! It will help you as much or more than all the teaching courses you ever took in college. If you are an experienced teacher who needs a pep-talk to reinvigorate your enthusiasm about your profession, this book is also for you. I found the chapters about organization and classroom discipline especially helpful.I have also seen Vickie Gill present her strategies at a seminar. She is a funny, down-to-earth, and dynamic speaker. If your school has a lot of young teachers, or if the faculty needs a shot in the arm, get your administrator or school district to bring Gill in to inspire your teachers. She is a terrific mentor.