Product reviews for Teachers Change Your Bait!

“If we teach kids to think, not what to think, they develop strong values, and the confidence to make their own decisions later on in the face of peer pressure” (Barbara Colorosa)

This book is definitely about helping teachers to help children do exactly what the quote above says. As someone who went through institutional “education' some time ago and frankly today am certainly not competent in any of the subjects I undertook at school, which is why I believe learning is more than memory and passing of a test. Martha Kaufeldt has set out to help teachers reinforce “learning' in a multitude of ways that will undoubtedly ensure that children of our future will be far more competent because true education is about drawing out from within. The suggestions for teachers within the book are great guidelines for teachers who feel stuck in a system where they want to create change and can do so by having the courage to change the way they teach material. In the personal development world there is a question “What is the height of insanity?” The answer to this question is “Keep doing the same things and expecting different results”. This couldn't be more true of education today and this is where Martha Kaufeldt has had the courage to address the problem at a root cause and to recognise that the children of today are “different' from 120 years ago when schooling first began en-masse. She encourages teachers to create a tacklebox of ideas, concepts, games, approaches to teaching instead of the “Spray and Pray” method as mentioned by Linda Darling Hammond at an international educational conference.

Martha has also included in her book an interesting perspective on what different age groups are looking for in their learning process which I believe would form a useful foundation for any educator and particularly for adult trainers who end up often training adults who can often display some very similar attitudes within a conference training. However, as a person who has developed a learning programme seeing Martha stipulating how long children can focus for before they need time out to allow their brains to “download' the information is wonderful, welcome and thank goodness educators will now be able to understand why people “absorb' information more easily when their learning is multi-faceted.

This is a book for educators who are committed, responsible and courageous. It is a book for those teachers who wish to maximise “brain/mind” understanding, as well as the eight intelligences into a format that will maximise the potential of learners. And one other thing ” in the business world various different roles are told to focus on the concept of a radio station “WIIFM” which stands for “What's in it for me?” Martha has summed it up well when she demonstrates within the book the importance of varying presentation in order to hook the students interest. Hooray ” our younger members of society will begin to love learning again as more and more techniques like Martha's are incorporated into the halls of learning.