Fred Jones Tools for Teaching

Dr. Jones is great! He uses research based concepts to create his theories of classroom management, with an added bonus of humor throughout. I would highly recommend Tools for Teaching for any grade level.

This was not all that I had wanted it to be. I have gotten way better books on teaching.

This is a must have for any teacher. I have been teaching for over 10 years and benefitted greatly from the information in this book. Every teacher has students that are described in this book. This book gives information on how to handle even the most difficult students. If you are a new teacher, I would also suggest The First Days Of School: How To Be An Effective TeacherI review both books every August.

First, I must admit that I have not yet read this book, since I only just now discovered it: I will remedy this immediately! I have, however, attended Dr. Jones' wonderful classroom management workshops, and I can't recall how many times I have related the opening exercise.

We, a group of anxious beginning teachers, were asked by the instructor to list all of the behaviors that our students demonstrated that drove us MAD! As we called out these iniquities, the instructor wrote them on the portable board in front of the room: "they talk when they should listen, they eat, drink and chew gum, they get up and walk around without permission, they don't pay attention, they always want to go to the bathroom, they answer without raising their hands, they play around with their friends, they show neither common courtesy, nor appropriate respect for authority...".etc.)

When we had finally begun to run out of crimes, the instructor, turned the board around and asked us to list behaviors we had observed during our last faculty meeting...

Natural human behavior is just that - whether it's observed in a seventh grader or a nearing retirement teacher. It's the context of learning to understand and work with human beings that makes Dr. Jones' methods so powerful. His workshops were the most valuable I ever attended as an educator, and I feel certain this book will also prove to be a gem. I am now an Assistant Principal, and I look forward to sharing his work with my teachers.

This book gets right to work on how to create a successful time-on-task classroom. Very logical and well thought out. Presents a well developed strategy. It does not jump around. Each sections answers some questions and raises others which are them taken up in detail.

Begins with Learning from 'Natural Teachers' who know how to manage and motivate. Teaches how the teacher can work smart and make the students work for speed and accuracy.

Jones answers the difficult "why should I" questions. Students ask, in effect, why should I care, behave, work, hurry, strive. Jones designs a multilayered answer to those questions including how to present material verbally, visually, and physically. How to 'work the crowd' and deal with the helpless and the disruptors. How to motivate. How to invest the time saved on dicipline to raise the quality of work. How to create positive incentives. Finally, how to deal with the most difficult situations.

This book is packed with specifics. Theoretically it applies to Kindergarten through High School. Some methods like preferred activity time would seem to apply more to earlier grades. The discussions of how to deal with disruptive students really speaks to the challenges of teaching high school.

This book is highly prescriptive. This is Fred's approach. You may not decide to handle everything the way he recommends, but you will certainly know his approach in great detail. Highly recommended.