Why We Teach: An Evening With Sonia Nieto
Sonia Nieto, Profoessor at the UMass Amherst School of Education, will read from and discuss her new book Why We Teach at Food for Thought Books in Amherst. She will be accompanied by several local contributors to the new book, who will also speak of their experience grappling with why they came to the profession of teaching and why they stay in it, when the rewards sometimes seem scant. The teachers in this book, like so many across the country, do the kind of work that may not grab headlines but is far more important than even the highest test score. These teachers listen closely to their students. They share in their students‚ struggles and successes. They create a classroom climate that encourages growth, direction, and purpose. They help students develop into thoughtful, engaged citizens. The teachers in this book show us the kinds of learning that really matter, and the kinds of lessons that students can take with them for their entire lives.
"This book is timely and needed; it is an important continuation of a conversation she [Nieto] started in What Keeps Teachers Going" -Bernadette Anand, Bank Street College of Education.
"These essays offer a more complex, thoughtful, and progressive view of the possibilities of schooling, at a time when teachers need support for preserving alternative visions for teaching and learning."- Lee Anne Bell, Barnard College.
"I learned an important lesson almost immediately: Be yourself."
Bob Amses (4th grade teacher).
Why We Teach focuses on the quintessential values of teaching, challenges current notions that focus on only accountability, testing, and standardization, and provides a compelling message of hope for public education.
Sonia Nieto is Professor of Language, Literacy, and Culture at UMass Amherst and the author of over ten other books on education, Nieto has worked for over 30 years in the field. Her work focuses on multicultural education, the education of students of culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, and the need for social justice in higher education. She can be reached at (413) 549-1414
For more information contact: Joan Barberich, (413) 253-5432 joan@foodforthoughtbooks.com or Sandy Mandel (413) 545-5827 smandel@admin.umass.edu.
