Product Description

Teacher Under Construction: Things I Wish I'd Known! is an indispensable survival manual for any teacher wishing to enter the wonderful world of middle schoolers! It provides practical, essential, and usable information to help new teachers set up and run a classroom, motivate students, and understand the unique setting that is "middle school". Crucial elements discussed include:

• Behavior management that works!


• The most important lesson a teacher will ever learn...


• Parent conferencing checklist


• Helpful Internet websites for teachers only!


• Room essentials!


• Surviving opening day!


• The 5-10-15-20 rule of time management


• The M.A.S.T.E.R.Y. Principle of successful teaching

Teacher Under Construction: Things I Wish I'd Known! is designed for Pre-service and new teachers. Helps are presented in a handy, quick-reference format. This is the book every experienced middle school teacher wishes they'd had their first year of teaching!

"Jerry has succeeded in describing the delicate balance between the technical-organizational aspects of teaching, and the relational, humanistic characteristics of the profession. It is gratifying to know that 'common sense' still plays a big part in the field of education."
--Dave Shepard, Middle Matters, former vice president of the Kentucky Middle School Association

"...an incredible blueprint for someone starting his or her career! Not only that, but...a great resource for teachers trying to improve their teaching and classroom management skills...needs to be used in college teacher-prep programs."
--Tommy Hurt, Principal, The Georgetown Middle School

"Dr. Jerry Parks truly understands teaching and learning at the middle school level. Teacher Under Construction: Things I Wish I'd Known! is a wonderful reading for beginning and experienced middle school teachers!"
--Dr. Dallas Blankenship, Superintendent, Scott Schools, Georgetown, KY

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #100761 in Books
• Published on: 2004-10-27
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 110 pages

About the Author
Jerry Parks earned a B.S., M.A., & Ed.S degrees in Education from Eastern Kentucky University. He is a National Board Certified Teacher, and regular speaker at the National Middle School Association conferences. He is currently department chairman, and instructor of social studies at Georgetown Middle School in Georgetown, Kentucky. Dr. Parks has two previously published works: With Joseph in the University of Adversity: The Mizraim Principles, a study of the life of Joseph the Hebrew, and So, You Want to be an NBPTS Certified Teacher?, a guide for teachers considering the National Board Certification Process.

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Customer Reviews

Insightful, easy reading, indispensable
Teacher Under Construction is an absolutely indispensable book for anyone wanting to teach in the middle school. Mr. Parks has clearly and accurately captured the necessary elements for setting up and running a successful classroom, and has done it with wonderful insights and stories that help illuminate his points.

The book is broken into easy to read chapters that take one essential element of middle school, and breaks it into workable pieces. Tips, ideas, and easy to follow instructions help the reader apply these truths to their own classrooms. This book deals with the practical elements as well as the theoretical and hierarchical elements of teaching. It is refreshing to see that common sense is still alive! Mr. Parks' helpful teachings are as useful as they are practical.

Mr. Parks has written and included a poem at the beginning of the book titled, "What is a Middle Schooler." What a wonderful poem! He has captured the essence of the middle school child, and portrayed him/her with wonderful word pictures, contradictions and just enough feeling that those of us who know and love the middle school child will recognize and embrace him/her within that poem.

This book has enough within its covers that I would recommend it for even seasoned teachers. It's a great refresher course for those of us who have taught in the middle school setting, and need to revive our own classrooms a bit. Practical, easy to read, and even entertaining, I recommend this book to anyone teaching at the middle school level.

"All new teachers should read before stepping into the classroom....purchased for my staff"
I have read "Teacher Under Construction: Things I Wish I'd Known!" and loved every word of it! I think all new teachers should read your book before stepping into the classroom for the first time. The principles are good for experienced teachers as well. I purchased copies of the book for my staff. I would like to use them for an in-service at the beginning of school...

A book you must have
*Update* I am now entering my third year of teaching and still suggest this book as a top read for any new middle school teacher. It by far is really the only book out there that covers everything you will face in the classroom. After now having two years of experience I can tell you most classroom management books do not deal with the pitfalls of teaching seventh and eighth graders. This is a must have book for all middle school teachers!

*Review* I got this book after being disappointed by Harry Wong's "First Days of School," feeling that it did not relate to middle school teachers and was very outdated. I abolutely loved "Teacher Under Construction." It wasn't overdone but was a concise resource for a new teacher. I found it also extremly relevant and timely. My book is already dogeared and highlighted and I have made a lot of notations of things I want to do in my classroom. I could not suggest this book enough for new middle school teachers.