Owning It : Proven Strategies to Ace and Embrace Teaching

With foreword by Harry K. Wong

Change is coming at us from all angles: technological, cultural, social, and environmental. This presents a great challenge (and a great opportunity) in schools and in the teaching profession. With Owning It, you'll discover an array of easy-to-implement strategies designed to help you excel in the myriad of modern-day responsibilities of teachers and educators: classroom leader, mentor, colleague, team member, and public professional.

This book will empower teachers to own their careers, teach effectively, and develop strong relationships:

• Acquire straightforward strategies for dealing with everyday situations found in classrooms, schools, and communities.
• Understand the multifaceted role of a teacher in today's schools and how to balance the numerous responsibilities -- from classroom management to relationships with colleagues.
• Feel inspired and motivated to bring out the best in yourself as well as in your students.
• Observe creative approaches to improve teaching strategies and student engagement.
• Answer reflection questions to connect with and relate to the strategies covered in the book.

Contents:

Part 1: Owning It in Your Classroom: Strategies for Creating an Environment of Achievement
Chapter 1: Revisit Your Personal Philosophy's Value
Chapter 2: Make the Most of the First Five Minutes of Any Class
Chapter 3: Increase Your Classroom Presence to Seem Like You're Everywhere at Once
Chapter 4: Never Sabotage a Teachable Moment
Chapter 5: Help Students Learn Out Loud and Still Keep a Handle on Your Classroom
Chapter 6: Transform Your Perception of Data and Help Your Students Succeed
Chapter 7: Think Outside the Bubble on All-Important Standardized Tests

Part 2: Owning It With Your Most Challenging Students: Strategies for Succeeding With At-Risk and Struggling Student Populations
Chapter 8: Bring Ethnic Identity and Culturally Relevant Curriculum Into Your Classroom
Chapter 9: Close the Achievement Gap With At-Risk Students
Chapter 10: Succeed With At-Risk Youth
Chapter 11: Manage Disruptive Classroom Behavior
Chapter 12: Establish a Negotiation With At-Risk and Struggling Students
Chapter 13: Reel Parents in With Three Basic Strategies
Chapter 14: Empower Students by Putting Them in Charge

Part 3: Owning It at Your School and District: Strategies for Succeeding as a Member of a Staff Team
Chapter 15: Turn "Not Another Meeting" Into "Let's Get to Business!"
Chapter 16: Help Your School's New Teachers Succeed (and Stick Around)
Chapter 17: Improve Schools by Minding Collegial Generation Gaps
Chapter 18: Approach a Colleague About a Conflict
Chapter 19: Five Ways to Make Shared Positions Work for Teachers, Students, and Administrators

Part 4: Owning It in Your Community: Strategies for Making a Positive Impact Beyond Your School and Classroom
Chapter 20: Turn Potential Foes Into Supportive Allies
Chapter 21: Put the Spotlight on Your School
Chapter 22: Get Teachers Into the Community and the Community Into Teachers
Chapter 23: Step Up and Share Your Ideas With Fellow Educators
Chapter 24: Make Blogs an Essential Support Mechanism for Teaching

Alex Kajitani is the 2009 California Teacher of the Year and a top-four finalist for National Teacher of the Year. He speaks nationally on a variety of education and leadership issues and delivers powerful keynote speeches and workshops to educators and business leaders. Also known as "The Rappin' Mathematician," Alex is on a mission to make sure all students master their times tables, so they can be successful in mathematics and life. Thus, he created the first-of-its-kind, interactive, online times tables training program (MultiplicationNation.com).

Alex is the coauthor of Chicken Soup for the Soul: Inspiration for Teachers, has a popular TEDx Talk, and has featured in many media stories, including The CBS Evening News.

To learn more about Alex's work, visit AlexKajitani.com. To book Alex Kajitani for professional development, contact pd@SolutionTree.com.

Mindy Crum is a fourth-grade teacher at a Title I school in North San Diego County, where the majority of her students are second-language learners who live in shared housing. Mindy has taught first, third, and fourth graders.

Pete Fisher is a former behavior specialist and the 2006 Teacher of the Year for Escondido Union School District in California. He is a five-year standing cadre member of Southern California's Positive Environment of Network Trainers (PENT) and a trainer of crisis de-escalation and crisis control.

Megan Pincus Kajitani is a professional writer, educator, and former university career counselor and career columnist for The Chronicle of Higher Education and Inside Higher Ed. She is happy to have the opportunity to advocate for win-win-win job shares in education.