How Would You Handle It?: Questions for Teachers to Ask Themselves Paperback – June 9, 2013

What I really like about How Would You Handle It? is the wisdom of the book's essential premise ... that teaching is a complicated and highly intellectual enterprise that will present many decision points every day for which there are no "one right answer"s. Teaching requires deep thought, reflection on practice, if it is to be done well and to have a positive impact on students, colleagues and the entire community. The genius of Podolner's work is to give prospective, beginning, and practicing teachers the opportunity to consider what they might do BEFORE a problematic situation arises, rather that in the heat of the moment or with 20-20 hindsight. I can see it used within professional learning communities to spark conversations among teaching colleagues in order to establish a shared vision for their classrooms and their school. It's definitely destined for classrooms in schools of education where prospective teachers can gnaw on the scenarios and questions it presents. And it would make an ideal gift to your son or daughter, or for any young person, who is about to enter the profession or is still relatively new to the classroom. This is definitely a book I would have welcomed when I was a beginning teacher, and as a veteran, I still find it thought provoking. Although the questions are challenging, the format is very accessible and invites both a cover to cover reading (accompanied by journaling, perhaps) or a more random dipping in to consider whatever question your eye happens to fall on. Highly recommended!

It's been a long long time since I've been in a classroom, and teaching preschoolers meant no worries about drug sales or abortions. But having taught, I recognize a great resource when I see it! Podolner's goal of engaging students AND managing a classroom in an efficient and fair manner is evident, and he clearly shows how being prepared for all the 'what if..' situations in today's educational environment is crucial to achieving this goal. I'm very impressed with his complete openness and honesty about situations he faced and how he did or didn't handle them -- which he then segues into having the reader ask hard questions of him/herself. Also very helpful is his idea that there are no right or wrong specific answers, and that everyone has to develop their own style which best fits themselves, their students, and the environment they work in. It's great that he clearly states that a new teacher will NOT be very good at first -- but that's okay -- because each day one learns and grows and gets more command of the class and their own teaching style. What a relief to a new teacher to have this view!! I'm sure it results in much less anguish for the beginning idealistic teacher. It's a mystery to me how/why this type of book had not already been written! Congrats to Podolner for having filled a gaping void in books for teacher preparation!!

I'm a first year teacher, and during the teacher prep/certification process I didn't encounter a single book like this. Unlike the other books I read, this one is immediately accessible to teachers at any level: a teacher who has not yet set foot in a classroom can benefit from this book. One reason is that this book isn't a how-to book - it doesn't offer recipes for success, like so many other publications. What it does is prompt the reader to think about many of the situations in which a teacher will find herself during a typical day. The author offers hundreds of specific situations taken directly from the classroom that the reader can think about and build the personal and professional philosophies necessary to respond effectively when such situations occur in the classroom.Podolner doesn't suggest there are any silver bullets when it comes to success in the classroom. On the contrary, he does a great job of portraying the classroom for what it is: a steady stream of complicated decision-making that is often of a completely unanticipated nature. This book should be a big help to teachers who want to improve that decision-making process.

The exhaustion and frustration of the typical first-year teacher is due in large part to the necessity of making literally hundreds of decisions on the spot, decisions both macro and micro: do you grade effort? what if there's a bee in the room? what if parents tell me I'm too new to know what I'm doing? what if a student becomes convulsive? It never ends when you spend you day with upwards of 125 teen-agers. College courses for teacher preparation are fine for theoretical and foundational information, but colleges do not tell pre-service teachers what to do when a student cheats, throws up or tells you she just had an abortion. This amazing book helps the pre-service teachers (and the rookie) to prepare mindsets and protocols for those endless decisions. This is the most valuable teacher prep book I've seen in 40 years of helping new teachers make their way into the profession with confidence and joy.

As a teacher going into my third year, I'm finding this book to be essential to making positive changes to my practice. Each year, I think back on how things went and make adjustments for next year, but my thoughts have been primarily about curriculum and organization. With "How Would You Handle It?" I have a guide to reflecting that asks me to think about everything from my classroom management to my interactions with others about teaching.The best feature about this book is how it is set up. Sometimes, I read straight through part of a chapter and think about those questions. Other times, I'll hop around from one question to another. Some questions I just think through while others I'm planning to journal about and reflect on again next year. I appreciate the flexibility.I wish my college professors had had this resource available for us to use; it would have enhanced our curriculum and instruction classes!