Teaching, A Life's Work: A Mother--Daughter Dialogue

A must-read for new teachers and seasoned practitioners, this unique book presents Sonia Nieto and Alicia López, mother and daughter writing about the trajectories, vision, and values that brought them to teaching, including the ups and downs they have experienced and the reasons why they have stubbornly remained in one of the oldest, most difficult, and most rewarding of professions. Drawing on their extensive experience as educators in school and university classrooms, they reflect on what it means to teach young people, prospective teachers, and future academics in our complex, dynamic, and multicultural society. Teaching, A Life’s Work is at once theoretical and practical, reflective and critical, personal, professional, and political. Nieto and López document their reasons for becoming teachers and share some of the most important lessons they have learned along the way. Using journals, blogs, current writings, and their research, they explore how their views on curriculum, pedagogy, and the field of education itself have evolved over the years.

“Riveting and beautiful! This book offers a full basket of wisdom wrapped up in personal stories of learning to teach.”
—Christine Sleeter, California State University Monterey Bay

“Nieto and López give us the gift of two lifetimes of loving commitment to teaching children and changing the world.”
—Wayne Au, University of Washington Bothell

“A genuine rarity! This dialog allows us insight into the differences and similarities across generations in teacher education, curriculum, and classroom practices.”
—David C. Berliner, Arizona State University

1129621774
Teaching, A Life's Work: A Mother--Daughter Dialogue

A must-read for new teachers and seasoned practitioners, this unique book presents Sonia Nieto and Alicia López, mother and daughter writing about the trajectories, vision, and values that brought them to teaching, including the ups and downs they have experienced and the reasons why they have stubbornly remained in one of the oldest, most difficult, and most rewarding of professions. Drawing on their extensive experience as educators in school and university classrooms, they reflect on what it means to teach young people, prospective teachers, and future academics in our complex, dynamic, and multicultural society. Teaching, A Life’s Work is at once theoretical and practical, reflective and critical, personal, professional, and political. Nieto and López document their reasons for becoming teachers and share some of the most important lessons they have learned along the way. Using journals, blogs, current writings, and their research, they explore how their views on curriculum, pedagogy, and the field of education itself have evolved over the years.

“Riveting and beautiful! This book offers a full basket of wisdom wrapped up in personal stories of learning to teach.”
—Christine Sleeter, California State University Monterey Bay

“Nieto and López give us the gift of two lifetimes of loving commitment to teaching children and changing the world.”
—Wayne Au, University of Washington Bothell

“A genuine rarity! This dialog allows us insight into the differences and similarities across generations in teacher education, curriculum, and classroom practices.”
—David C. Berliner, Arizona State University

31.95 In Stock
Teaching, A Life's Work: A Mother--Daughter Dialogue

Teaching, A Life's Work: A Mother--Daughter Dialogue

Teaching, A Life's Work: A Mother--Daughter Dialogue

Teaching, A Life's Work: A Mother--Daughter Dialogue

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$31.95 

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Overview

A must-read for new teachers and seasoned practitioners, this unique book presents Sonia Nieto and Alicia López, mother and daughter writing about the trajectories, vision, and values that brought them to teaching, including the ups and downs they have experienced and the reasons why they have stubbornly remained in one of the oldest, most difficult, and most rewarding of professions. Drawing on their extensive experience as educators in school and university classrooms, they reflect on what it means to teach young people, prospective teachers, and future academics in our complex, dynamic, and multicultural society. Teaching, A Life’s Work is at once theoretical and practical, reflective and critical, personal, professional, and political. Nieto and López document their reasons for becoming teachers and share some of the most important lessons they have learned along the way. Using journals, blogs, current writings, and their research, they explore how their views on curriculum, pedagogy, and the field of education itself have evolved over the years.

“Riveting and beautiful! This book offers a full basket of wisdom wrapped up in personal stories of learning to teach.”
—Christine Sleeter, California State University Monterey Bay

“Nieto and López give us the gift of two lifetimes of loving commitment to teaching children and changing the world.”
—Wayne Au, University of Washington Bothell

“A genuine rarity! This dialog allows us insight into the differences and similarities across generations in teacher education, curriculum, and classroom practices.”
—David C. Berliner, Arizona State University


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780807777503
Publisher: Teachers College Press
Publication date: 02/01/2019
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
File size: 2 MB

About the Author

Sonia Nieto is professor emerita at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Her bestselling books include The Light in Their Eyes: Creating Multicultural Learning Communities, Why We Teach, Why We Teach Now , and What Keeps Teachers Going?. She is the recipient of the 2019 LRA Distinguished Scholar Lifetime Achievement Award and the 2021 Mass Humanities Governor's Award. Alicia López is an ESL teacher and former assistant principal at Amherst Regional Middle School.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vii

Introduction: Teaching Across Generations 1

Who We Are 1

About This Book 3

1 Becoming Teachers 7

Sonia: The Enthusiastic Beginner 7

Alicia: The Reluctant Beginner 18

Different Paths, Similar Insights 27

2 Learning to Teach, Teaching to Learn 29

Alicia: The Che-Lumumba School 29

Sonia: Trying Things on for Size 32

Creating Our Teacher Identities 35

Teacher Identity and Student Learning 39

An Emerging Social Justice Consciousness 43

What Does It Take to Be a Teacher? 48

3 Learning About Students and Their Communities 51

The Limits of Personal Experience and Professional Knowledge 52

Alicia: Getting to Know English Learners 54

Sonia: Learning with, About, and from Preservice and Practicing Teachers 63

Finally, On Love 67

4 Curriculum Beyond the Textbook 71

Our Evolving Notions of Curriculum 71

Curriculum, Power, and Creativity 74

Mary Ginley: The Honors Assembly 90

Reimagining Curriculum 92

5 Pedagogy Beyond Methods 95

Pedagogy, K-12 and Beyond 95

Alicia: Pedagogy for Expanding Teaching Practices 103

Sonia: Pedagogy for Current and Future Teachers 107

Final Thoughts on Pedagogy 108

6 The Power of Writing 109

What We've Learned from Writing 110

All Teachers Can Use Writing in Their Classes 119

Why Write? 123

7 A Talking Chapter: On Hope, Resilience, and Creativity 125

What Keeps Us Going? 125

What Might You Have Done Differently? 127

Reflecting on the Hard Times 128

The Highlights 130

How Do You See the Future of Teaching? 134

Advice for a New Teacher on the First Day 136

What Would Your Students Say About You? 139

8 Lessons Learned and the Way Forward 141

What We've Learned Along This Journey Called Teaching 141

Sonia: Teacher Anxiety Dreams, Even After Retirement 145

Alicia: Advice for Teachers Who Want to Keep Their Sanity and Love Their Job 147

A Few Reflections on the Current State of Education 151

The Way Forward 154

References 157

Index 161

About the Authors 168

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Riveting and beautiful! Teaching, A Life’s Work offers a full basket of wisdom wrapped up in personal stories of learning to teach. Through loving and reflective dialogue, mother-daughter duo Sonia Nieto and Alicia López probe the heart of what it means to teach, as they challenge us to reflect on what we stand for as teachers and who we stand with."
— Christine Sleeter, professor emerita, California State University Monterey Bay


"The book is a testament to public education while providing an honest appraisal of the problems and successes inherent in the educational endeavor. As teachers and teacher educators, we found the advice for teacher educators and pre-service, novice, and experienced teachers to be relevant: understand that teaching is transactional, take time to write, respect and care for your students, find a mentor, make a friend, be kind, creative, and efficient, get outside once a day, have stamina and courage, engage in professional development, and be thoughtful and critical about curriculum and pedagogy. We encourage both in-service and pre-service teachers to read this book as they reflect on their teacher identity. As the authors note, teaching is not always easy, but it is a profession worth fighting for."
—Teachers College Record


"In Teaching, A Life’s Work, Sonia Nieto and Alicia López share with us a beautiful and powerful inter-generational conversation between a mother and daughter about education, identity, and teaching for social justice. Standing together in defense of public education and in defense of students and their communities, Nieto and Lopez give us the gift of two lifetimes of loving commitment to teaching children and changing the world."
—Wayne Au
, professor, School of Educational Studies, University of Washington Bothell


“A genuine rarity! A mother and daughter—a seasoned pro and a young pro—talk about their educational lives. Their dialog allows us insight into the differences and similarities across generations in teacher education, curriculum, and classroom practices appropriate for the kinds of students faced today, and into the politics of education. To be able to share their thoughts about education in contemporary times is as delightful as it is informative.”
—David C. Berliner, Regents’ Professor of Education Emeritus, Arizona State University

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