Why Do We Gotta Do This Stuff, Mr. Nehring? by James Nehring

And when pressed, we say it’s on the test or it’s just something that an educated person should know. So we tell the kids with knuckleheaded determination that they gotta do it, so just do it. Worse yet, I fear we’ve stopped asking ourselves. Teachers have grown weary of telling kids why they gotta do stuff. Later on, when Nehring is talking about explaining the reason for “why we gotta do this” to a low-achieving class, he turns the lens inward: The question, of course, is in the title of the book, and Nehring returns to it on multiple occasions. There is much that can be said about Nehring’s commentary – perhaps the most important part of the book, although the narrative is entertaining and engaging – but I want to return to that dreaded question that I wrote about a few days ago *. I say “are” because I don’t think things have changed a whole lot in the 20 years since this book was written and published in fact, if you replaced all instances of “Walkmen” with “iPods,” there would be virtually no dissonance with the reality of education in 2009. Nehring does a great job of telling the story of education – not a history, but the way things are. It is a very compelling book, equal parts narrative and commentary but all contained within a narrative framework that is very approachable. Nehring?: Notes from a Teacher’s Day in School by James Nehring, and I have to give it my highest recommendations for any junior high or high school teacher (although it will be more topical for the latter). I finished the book I’ve been reading this week earlier today, Why Do We Gotta Do This, Mr.

Why Do We Gotta Do This Stuff, Mr. Nehring? by James Nehring