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ir_sharp2's review against another edition
3.0
Not terribly impressive I guess because I've personally witnessed so much in my own room. Weird names, check. He may have had a 'Zaphalonia', but *I* had a LaFabio. Weirder parents, check. Yep. I'm not even goin into the nuttiness I've seen. And weirdest of all, the kids. Myyyyyy goodness! One of my best ever was the kid that used poop as a weapon. THOSE are the stories I was expecting.
daydreamer1983's review against another edition
5.0
As a teacher, I laughed throughout the book. Loved the writing style as well. Onto "Learn me Gooder"!
dogtrax's review
4.0
A few years ago, I picked up John Pearson's book, Learn Me Good, during a rather difficult year of teaching. His fictional book about a teacher (Jack Woodson) writing to a friend about all the craziness of teaching elementary school was a helpful reminder that some years are like that, and there is a way through it: finding your sense of humor.
I then found John's blog and even guest-wrote a post once. It was a nice connection.
Now, he is back with Learn Me Gooder, and I am making my way through this book with another wide smile on my face. His Jack Woodson character is like that voice in the back of my mind (the funny one) who shakes his head in exasperation at standardized testing, the quirky character of his students, the oddness of some parents and the head-banging-against-the-wall frustration with the "system" that often seems at odds with what is best for kids.
As I read this book, I am going to try to add updates here.
(PS -- John send me this one as a review PDF copy but I made no promises to give him a gooder -- eh, I mean -- good review. Still, Learn Me Gooder is an enjoyable read so far.)
Kevin
I then found John's blog and even guest-wrote a post once. It was a nice connection.
Now, he is back with Learn Me Gooder, and I am making my way through this book with another wide smile on my face. His Jack Woodson character is like that voice in the back of my mind (the funny one) who shakes his head in exasperation at standardized testing, the quirky character of his students, the oddness of some parents and the head-banging-against-the-wall frustration with the "system" that often seems at odds with what is best for kids.
As I read this book, I am going to try to add updates here.
(PS -- John send me this one as a review PDF copy but I made no promises to give him a gooder -- eh, I mean -- good review. Still, Learn Me Gooder is an enjoyable read so far.)
Kevin
jcpdiesel21's review against another edition
3.0
A quick and enjoyable read. The epistolary style both helps and hinders the book; it creates a unique feel that allows for an intimate look at the author's experiences, but after a while the format feels forced, especially since Pearson insists on starting each email passage with an awkward paragraph summing up the correspondence from his friend and former coworker instead of merely including the message itself to strike a more conversational tone. As I read these various tales of a first year teacher, many of my own teaching memories came flooding back to me, and I both related to and sympathized with the situations included here. Although the tone is not as humorous as I had been led to believe, Pearson's account provides a valuable look into the world of public education for those unfamiliar with what the field and a position within it truly entails. Teaching is no joke!
servemethesky's review against another edition
4.0
This book was hilarious, charming, and fun. I enjoyed every word. It's written as a series of emails between a witty new teacher and an ex-coworker and friend at the engineering company he was laid off from. As we hear about Jack Woodson's first year of teaching terrors such as Satan (spelled Sa'Tun) and kind-hearted kids such as Rejoice, we begin to cheer Jack on in his work. There were many moments when Learn Me Good actually made me laugh out loud. All in all, a really enjoyable read.
judyward's review against another edition
4.0
John Pearson earned a degree in Engineering from Duke University and then worked for nearly four years in Dallas, Texas as a thermal design engineer before being laid off. He decided to go back to college to be certified as a math teacher and found himself at the beginning of the next school year standing in front of a class of 3rd graders in an inner city school as their Math/Science teacher. This book is the journey of that year of teaching told through a series of emails to his friend, Fred Bommerson, who still worked at Heat Pumps Unlimited. The emails are full of sarcasm, a touch of despair, a huge helping of tenderness and respect, humor, and, ultimately, a lot of love. Pearson comments that he traded in conference calls, product testing, and business cards for parent-teacher conferences, standardized testing, and report cards while noting that the maturity level of the people surrounding him didn't significantly change. After reading about the 40 3rd graders that Pearson taught every day--two sections of 20--I was amazed to discover that they reminded me quite strongly of the college students that I teach (harass, conjole, perform for, etc.) every semester. His third graders have the same limited attention span, urge to get off subject, lack of respect for authority, behaviorial issues, family problems, procrastination, and indifference to detail (wait, I have some of those qualities too)as my college students and I have the same affection for my students as the author has for his. While students of any age can drive educators to distractions (and sometimes substance abuse) there are those moments when you realize why you gave up the big bucks to spend your time in the classroom. One of my favorite moments in the book was the last day of school when all of the students are on the buses pulling out of the school and the teachers "were waving, clapping, dancing, and shooting off pistols into the air. I think that I even saw someone hold up a sign that read 'John 3:16'." And then comes the realization that he's already looking forward to the next school year. I know the feeling.
spidergirl502's review against another edition
3.0
Enjoyable anecdotes, though it started to feel repetitive. Personally, I'm not a fan of the email/letter format in a book, so that probably affected my reading enjoyment. I could relate to the author's stories, as I once worked (for a very short time) as a teacher's aide. I have a lot of respect for teachers and this book shows a lot of what they deal with (the good and the bad) on a daily basis.
rachelleahdorn's review against another edition
4.0
This was an enjoyable quick read about a teacher's first year.
The book was funny and reminded me of my own real life experiences as a teacher and a parent.
The format is strange: a series of e-mails to an ex colleague. But the format makes the read quick and gives some more variety than a simple diary or journal or memoir of events. Though you don't read the replies, the e-mails reference them and give a sense of a two-way conversation.
The author likes his puns and jokes and funny names. I think they set just the right tone for this book, but beware, they were groaners. This should be read for fun, not for tips or life changing revelations. (Though I did notice techniques used by the teacher/author which were also described in [b:Teach Like a Champion: 49 Techniques That Put Students on the Path to College With DVD |7811877|Teach Like a Champion 49 Techniques That Put Students on the Path to College With DVD |Doug Lemov|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1275687357s/7811877.jpg|10825901])
The book was funny and reminded me of my own real life experiences as a teacher and a parent.
The format is strange: a series of e-mails to an ex colleague. But the format makes the read quick and gives some more variety than a simple diary or journal or memoir of events. Though you don't read the replies, the e-mails reference them and give a sense of a two-way conversation.
The author likes his puns and jokes and funny names. I think they set just the right tone for this book, but beware, they were groaners. This should be read for fun, not for tips or life changing revelations. (Though I did notice techniques used by the teacher/author which were also described in [b:Teach Like a Champion: 49 Techniques That Put Students on the Path to College With DVD |7811877|Teach Like a Champion 49 Techniques That Put Students on the Path to College With DVD |Doug Lemov|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1275687357s/7811877.jpg|10825901])
lbough's review against another edition
4.0
Whether you have ever been a teacher or not, these little tales are pretty funny, told from one friend to another via a chain of emails. Pearson frequently made me cackle, and so got me plenty of strange looks from other people in the room. And really, that's what reading is all about, right?