Dan Henderson

Reviews

That's Special: A Survival Guide to Teaching by Dan Henderson tells the story of a teacher who is still surviving in spite of some pretty wacky student behaviors he has faced along the way. Dan follows real stories in each chapter from his career with tools that other teachers can use to survive in difficult situations. If you buy the book, 10% will go back to local schools.

-Dr. Doug Green

http://www.drdouggreen.com/2015/thats-special-a-survival-guide-to-teaching-by-dan-henderson

This is not your everyday "how to" for teachers. Though many of those offer a lot, we found that this book also offered good advice, but was presented in a much different format than others we have read. Each chapter begins with a scenario and what reads like a "case study" of a student that Dan struggled with for whatever reason. These are delivered in very humorous ways, which admittedly at times took a second read to really take in and understand, but were very funny nonetheless. As much as you want to cringe at the brutal honesty, teachers with some experience will most likely also find themselves relating to many of the situations in one way or another and even chuckling at how Dan handled them.

​-The Curriculum Corner

http://www.thecurriculumcorner.com/thecurriculumcorner123/2015/10/14/book-review-thats-special-a-survival-guide-to-teaching/

Reader Views

A career in education that covers three different inner city schools provided author Dan Henderson the experience to write, “That’s Special: A Survival Guide to Teaching.” Through this book, he teaches teachers how to improve their skills in the classroom, especially when dealing with some very unique students. He begins each chapter detailing a very entertaining situation that happened in the classroom and then offers tools to help others in similar situations. Most of the situations discussed are the kind that you might not find so entertaining in the moment, but you know that you will laugh about them some day. Keeping humor in the classroom is a great way to avoid burnout, and in many cases, it is a necessity for the teacher in order to get through the day.

I love that the ten teaching tools offered are all very concise and not just opinions. Many are backed up with resources like links to websites, and some offer citations. The author’s enthusiasm radiates throughout the pages, in spite of having a career with special education students in inner city schools. It doesn’t get much tougher than that, and for someone to figure out how to resolve classroom issues and still maintain their sense of humor is a huge gift. Some of his suggestions will also help you prevent the situation before it occurs.

As a college instructor of students with disabilities, I have experienced many moments in the classroom that I will truly never forget. Most of them are ones that I can laugh about now, but I still have a few that weren’t so funny for me. Having an opportunity to learn some new skills, especially in the area of classroom management is wonderful.

I have already messaged two friends who are in the K-12 system to let them know that they need to read, “That’s Special” by Dan Henderson immediately. I have to admit they do share some entertaining stories with me of which they are not at the point where they can laugh yet, so I have to chuckle quietly. Maybe, I need to go ahead and send them this highly recommended book!

-Reviewed by Paige Lovitt

About the Author

I create humor in situations that went horrible wrong. Providing advice for the young teacher or parent to endure. I have been a special education teacher for a variety of inner city schools primarily in the United States. I have taught in Title 1 schools teaching inclusion and pull-out models.

When I wrote That's Special I set up the book in a different way than traditional educational textbooks. I failed at teaching, I fixed the problem, I became a better teacher from my mistakes. I am very blunt and am extremely open about what happened to me while teaching. Just as you would share your teaching tragedies to friends as war stories from a time long ago. I create scenarios that went awry in a humorous fashion. I want my reader to realize they are not alone in the struggles of child rearing. Plus, if you told these stories to a friend in hindsight you would make them funny. I want to hear your concerns or funny stories that have happened in your schools?

Email me at:

danhendersonthatsspecial@gmail.com

If you want to hear more free stories follow my:

blog:http://danhendersonthatsspecial.blogspot.com