Focusing on how education can better equip pupils for the challenges of real life, this book will be useful and interesting for teachers looking to introduce creative techniques into their classes.
An ethic of excellence: building a culture of craftsmanship with students
Synopsis
Berger blends his experiences of teaching and carpentry in this instructive book. Focusing on the importance of school and classroom culture as essential components for developing an ethic of excellence in pupils, Berger provides teachers with three ‘toolkits’: a school culture of excellence; the work of excellence; and the teaching of excellence. For each toolkit there are examples from the classroom and tips to help teachers promote an ethic of excellence.
Berger lays out important ideas for teachers to bear in mind if they want to create and cultivate a school culture that respects and illustrates excellence for pupils so they can imitate and maintain it for themselves, long after they’ve left the school. He recommends that teachers collect examples of excellent work that can help pupils visualise quality, but also emphasises the importance of helping pupils to realise that quality is rarely in a first draft, and that feedback and an openness to change can help them achieve a new level of excellence in their school work and wider life.