Dragons in My Classroom by Barbara Kennard Book Tour, Guest Post & Giveaway! {Ends 7/15/22}

Review By LAWonder10:

In Barbara Kennard’s memoir, Dragons in My Classroom, she not only shares with her readers the struggle she went through in holding high expectations for herself and others, but she also gives helpful advice to others who may struggle with a similar dilemma. The author also shares her efforts in overcoming some learning problems as she grew up.

If ever one thinks a teacher is overwhelming and too strict, do not be too strict to judge harshly. This teacher exhibited these tendancies because she truly cared.

This memoir was quite interesting. Her relationship with her husband was also very endearing.

The Title wa slightly confusing until one advanced further into the story then realized the “play on words” she used.

The book was very good. The only thing I feel would have made it better is if she would have gone into slight more detail in the teaching technique differences, and at what point in her career she met her husband and “felll in love”.

I offer a Four Stars rating.

This book was gifted me with no pressure to post a positive review. This is my honest review.

What do I feel is missing in the education of this generation?

Our education system has greatly diminished emphasis on reading, writing, and critical thinking skills. Let’s change the acronym STEM to SHEAM: science, history, English, Arts, Mathematics. (Technology is a type of science and we need history to show us “History never repeats itself. Man always does.” ― Voltaire)

My greatest concern for this generation is this: we aren’t teaching students how to write correct syntax that uses challenging vocabulary and correct paragraph structure.

To teach students these elements of English invite them to read a few pages from a classic piece of literature silently, so they have a personal experience with it first. Then, ask two or three students to each read it aloud to hear the beauty and mechanics of the English language. Ask students to look for words they don’t know and make an educated guess at their meanings using the syntax of the sentence- where they are placed in relation to other words. (This is course presumes students are learning grammar, or at least the parts of speech.)

Next, have them identify a well-constructed paragraph by its engaging topic sentence, vivid supporting details, a strong opposing point of view, and an intriguing concluding sentence which asks a question or points to the next topic sentence. Such a paragraph can be a piece of great writing in itself.

But all this means very little if we don’t grasp that we write what we read. If we read poorly constructed syntax that doesn’t challenge our point of view or teach us original ideas and new vocabulary, we will emulate those weaknesses in our own writing. To avoid this, students need to read classic literature. Here are two short lists of must-read books for middle and high school students:
Middle School: (Grades 5-8)
Around the World in Eighty Days, by Jules
Verne
So Far from The Bamboo Grove by Yoko
Kawashima Watkins
The Red Pony, by John Steinbeck
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, by Mildred
Taylor
The Giver, by Lois Lowery
The Call of The Wild, by Jack London
My Side of The Mountain, by Jean
Craighead George

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle
The House on Mango Street by Sandra
Cisneros ( 7-8th grade)
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, by William
Shakespeare (Grades 6 and 7)
High School: (Grades 9-12)
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Things Fall Apart, by China Achebe
Deep River by Shizuko Endo
The Woman Warrior by Amy Tan
A Raisin in The Sun, by Lorraine Hansbury
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty White (9th grade)
Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
In The Time of Butterflies by Julia Alvarez
Hamlet, By William Shakespeare
Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare

In reading great literature, we can move students away from narratives that focus on who’s right and who’s wrong. Instead, they will enjoy a more intimate experience with texts. Reading classic literature holds up a mirror to our lives, and make us grateful for what we have and who we are, no matter what our circumstances. Great Literature gives us hope for the long haul of life. These stories also engender compassion in us for others. For we are Oliver in Dickens’ classic novel, Oliver Twist; we are the cross dressing Viola in Shakespeare’s hilarious comedy, Twelfth Night; we are Esperanza Cordero, the reluctant heroine of The House on Mango Street; we are John Grimes in James Baldwin’s autobiographical novel, Go Tell It on The Mountain. In reading these and other “Great Books”, we can be changed. CS Lewis said it best, “By reading great literature…I transcend myself; and am never more myself than when I do.”

We also learn to appreciate something else that’s just as important: the beauty of English language, how it works and thus how to best write our own stories.
©Barbara Kennard, author of Dragons in My Classroom, A Teacher’s Memoir