Every Teacher I Ever Had Summary

Television star Tony Danza embarks on a life-changing role as a tenth-grade English teacher. In his novel, I’d Like To Apologize To Every Teacher I Ever Had, Tony Danza shares his experience as a rookie teacher. Northeast High school is an inner-city public school in Philadelphia with over 3,500 students. Chronicling his first year of an English teacher, Mr Danza sheds light on the roller coaster of emotions and issues first year teachers go through and the struggles students face. Although, Mr. Danza struggled in the beginning with classroom management, he was able to adapt behaviorist strategies in order to get the desired behaviors he wanted from his students. Behaviorist theorists believe learning is most likely to take place by establishing reinforcements for desired behavior in the classroom. Mr. Danza was able to adapt these notions and give his …show more content…
Instead of teaching the class in a direct instruction approach, he made his students in charge of their own learning by making them use critical thinking and inquiry. Because of the scavenger hunts, his students were able to figure out the themes of the book, what the metaphors meant, the tone, and the moral of the story. Academically, the majority of his students would pass their exams. His innovated strategies truly encompassed the constructivist theory. They incorporate sensory input, social activity, and encourage exploration. A recommendation I have is to allow more “think time.” Giving the students a journal where they can jot down any questions or ideas they have about a certain topic will help them process information better. The students will later discuss with a group. This is giving each student a chance to talk and interact with other students, while the teacher is the observer. At the end, all the groups will share and the teacher leads a class discussion. With the implementation of the journals and groups students are better equipped to construct their own