Annette Breaux - Quick Answers for Busy Teachers: Solutions to 60 Common Challenges

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We dedicate this book to the memory of Amy Simon Breaux Annettes mother, Todds biggest fan, and devoted teacher.

Annette Breaux is one of the most entertaining and informative authors and speakers in education today. She leaves her audiences with practical techniques to implement in their classrooms immediately. Administrators agree that they see results from teachers the next day.

Annette is a former classroom teacher, curriculum coordinator, and author of Louisiana FIRST, a statewide induction program for new teachers. Annette also served as the teacher induction coordinator for Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, Louisiana. She coauthored a book with Dr. Harry K. Wong on new teacher induction.

Her other writings include 101 Answers for New Teachers and Their Mentors; Real Teachers, Real Challenges, Real Solutions; 101 Poems for Teachers; Seven Simple Secrets: What the Best Teachers Know and Do; 50 Ways to Improve Student Behavior; Making Good Teaching Great; and The Ten-Minute Inservice.

Teachers who have read Annette's writings or heard her speak agree that they come away with user-friendly information, heartfelt inspiration, and a much-needed reminder that theirs is the most noble of all professions.

Dr. Todd Whitaker has been fortunate to be able to blend his passion with his career. He is recognized as a leading presenter in the field of education, and his message about the importance of teaching has resonated with hundreds of thousands of educators around the world. Todd is a professor of educational leadership at Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Indiana, and he has spent his life pursuing his love of education by researching and studying effective teachers and principals.

Prior to moving into higher education, Todd was a math teacher and basketball coach in Missouri. He then served as a principal at the middle school, junior high, and high school levels. He was also a middle school coordinator in charge of staffing, curriculum, and technology for the opening of new middle schools.

One of the nation's leading authorities on staff motivation, teacher leadership, and principal effectiveness, Todd has written thirty books, including the national best seller What Great Teachers Do Differently. Other titles include Shifting the Monkey; Dealing with Difficult Teachers; Teaching Matters; Great Quotes for Great Educators; What Great Principals Do Differently; Motivating and Inspiring Teachers; and Dealing with Difficult Parents.

Todd is married to Beth, also a former teacher and principal, who is a professor of elementary education at Indiana State University. They are the parents of three children: Katherine, Madeline, and Harrison.

Do you remember your first year of teaching? When you couldn't wait until your second year because surely you would be less busy? When you would have all of your lesson plans from the previous year already completed, ready to be implemented? When you would have this teaching thing mastered? It doesn't take any teacher very long to realize that teaching is time-consuming, no matter how many years you've been doing it. A teacher who's not busy is a teacher who's not effective! But please don't take that to mean that all busy teachers are effective teachers. They're not. In fact, some of the most effective teachers are not nearly as busy as their less effective coworkers. Effective teachers do work hard, of course, but they don't have to put in as many hours as some of their less effective counterparts. And they're not nearly as stressed.

These teachers often appear to lead a charmed life. They seem to get the good students every year. They walk the halls smiling. The administrators like them. The parents like them. And everything just seems to fall into place for them. The truth is that they do sort of lead a charmed lifeat least at school. They're simply implementing basic techniques that less effective teachers don't yet know about. If that sounds overly simplified, it's not.

As educators, authors, and consultants, we have made it our lives' work to study the secrets of successful teachers. And it continues to be our privilege to share these secrets with teachers worldwide. We've learned that all teachers want to be better. We've learned that teachers are some of the most genuinely good people on the planet. We've learned that all teachers face common classroom challenges. But the best teachers handle these challenges much differently from all the restthus, their charmed lives.

This book will address common challenges that many teachers face on a daily basis, regardless of grade level or subject area taught. The tips, suggestions, and answers within the book come from studying what separates the best from the rest. Nothing in the book is difficult or time-consuming. (In fact, you might learn that what you're currently doing is much more difficult and time-consuming than it needs to be.) Reading it should help you reevaluate how you typically deal with common challenges at school. Implementing the strategies will help to increase your effectiveness as a teacher. Do you want to see increased student achievement and better student behavior, while experiencing more joy in teaching and less stress in your job? Then learn just what it is that the most successful teachers do.