Wednesday, July 21, 2010

All About My New Book: Teaching is Not a Four Letter Word

It took over a year of work and innumerable delays, but my new book is finally here. Teaching is Not a Four Letter Word: How to Stop Worrying and Love the Job is about overcoming the challenges that lead to abysmal teacher retention rates across the country.

The book is based around a single question: “What is the most important advice I can give to other teachers?” None of my answers are revolutionary, but rather straightforward ideas that teachers often take for granted (myself included). You’ll find a lot of common threads throughout the short lessons in the book:
  • Creating a positive classroom environment
  • Building strong relationships with students
  • Working constantly to learn, grow and improve
  • Finding an elusive work-life balance
  • Trying to influence change in and out of your classroom
  • Dealing with and avoiding problems with colleagues, school leaders, and your district
These are really the keys to surviving and thriving.  I don’t really focus on classroom management or lesson delivery too much; there are plenty of other books I would recommend for those topics. This book is about keeping you happy, sane, healthy and in the classroom or any position where you can deeply, positively impact students.

We’re on the cusp of the back to school season, and Teaching is Not a Four Letter Word is something you should consider giving to anyone you know who’s headed back in to the classroom—new and veteran teachers alike. It would certainly spark a lively debate and/or discussion in your teacher book club or PLN. No matter how you plan to use it, it’s a quick, easy read that you can literally carry with you (it’s pocket-sized).

Right now, the book is available exclusively through Lulu.com, but it will soon be available on Amazon and elsewhere. You can also download a PDF version and save some trees. Either way, I appreciate your support.

Thank you for reading, subscribing to and supporting this blog over the past 2.9 years (we’re about a month away from our third anniversary). Without you, there would have been no Ten Cheap Lessons, let alone this new book. I hope I can continue to pay you back for all the support you’ve given me over the years.

Teaching is Not a Four Letter Word: How to Stop Worrying and Love the Job by Tom DeRosa (paperback / download)