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Book Details

Teachers Who Change Lives

Andrew Metcalfe and Ann Game

Teachers Who Change Lives concerns outstanding teachers, and the qualities that enable them to help change students lives for the better. It focuses on learning and teaching as a relationship.

Opinion

“ the principles of the book are illustrated by pithy recollections from a range of public figures and teachers. Neither sentimental non evangelical, Teachers Who Change Lives beautifully captures the transformative power of good teaching.” Age 8/07/2006

‘Overall, the challenges and insights presented by the authors outweigh the jargon in a book which might profitably be read and meditated by every teacher from novice to master” Canberra Times 15/07/2006

About this Title

Most of us can recall teachers who changed our lives, teachers who arrived to teach us what we needed to know just when we needed to know it. The amazing thing about such people is they change us so that we become ourselves. It's as if they have a magical ability to know us better than we know ourselves. How does this happen? Where does the power of great teaching come from?

In Teachers Who Change Lives, leading Australian educationists Andrew Metcalfe and Ann Game cast new light on the processes of teaching and learning. The authors argue that outstanding teachers do not mould students by pushing them towards the achievement of externally based measurements of excellence (the 'perfect TER score or bust' model), but instead encourage them to reach their full potential by teaching them to follow their passions and interests. In interviews, some of Australia's most respected names-including Stephanie Alexander, Dawn Casey, Greg Chappell, Betty Churcher, Helen Garner, Shane Gould and Michael Kirby-reveal the significant classroom experiences and influential teachers that helped shape their futures.

A book for parents of school-age children, for teachers and those interested in becoming teachers, and for all those who remember how teachers changed their lives.

About the Author

Andrew Metcalfe and Ann Game are both associate professors in the School of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of New South Wales. In 2003 they were awarded the UNSW Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching .
They have been teaching and writing together for more than 15 years. Their previous books include Passionate Sociology (1996), nominated for the Amalfi Prize in European Sociology; The Mystery of Everyday Life (1992); and The First Year Experience (2003).

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978-0-522-85175-5