This is a review of the book- Teaching to change lives, seven proven ways to make your teaching come alive- by Dr. Howard Hendricks. It is a 150+ page book and has mainly 7 chapters. The books contents are exactly what the title reads. It is a teaching method for "every parent, teacher, pastor, leader, coach, and mentor" it writes in the back of the book. The author is Dr.Howard Hendricks, a professor from the Christian leadership at Dallas theological seminary.
The book Starts by introducing 7 ways called "laws" for a teacher to use in effectively teaching a student. In chapter 1 " the law of the teacher", speaks about why and how a teacher should continue to keep improving in their craft. In page 18-19 says "(God wants to) use you as his instrument, but he wants to sharpen and cleanse that instrument so it becomes a more effective tool in his hands". It goes on in explaining how a teacher can improve on himself/herself - mentally, physically, spiritually and improving on the audience - in communication and understanding.
In chapter 2"the law of education" is mainly focused on the teacher and how well they perform based on the students reaction. In page 39 says " the teacher is primarily a stimulator and motivator... Not the player, but coach who excites and directs the players." this part if the book explains the teacher teaches the student to -think, to know how to learn, and how to work(apply) what was taught.
In chapters 3 "the law activity" speaks on how involved the teacher gets with the students in helping their learning process. In page 55 says " your task as a communicator is not to impress people, but to impact them; not just to convince them, but to change them" this part of the book explains the importance of activity in a learning process. It give 5 ways to approach this;
activity that provides direction without dictatorship:
Which basically means helping the students draw out what they want.
Second- activity that stresses function and application: Which is to know the
students capabilities and to not put to much work for them. Because too much work may
negatively affect what the student learns.
The third is - activity with planned purpose: which means having a clear goal of why do
the activity the teacher plans to do and seeing if it will really help the student learn.
Activity 4 is all about letting the student know why they are learning the material.
Activity 5 is- giving the student problem-solving situations: It helps the student apply the
material taught and challenges them to think deeper on the material.
The next chapter is 4 -"the law of communication" this part of the book explains why communicating is very important in a teacher-student relationship. The teacher must also have three main components : thought, feeling, and action. Which basically teaches that a teacher must really know and own what he/she teaches to have good grounds to communicate to students.
In chapter 5 "the law of the heart" which writes about how a teacher must teach from the heart. The heart which is defined in the bible in totality of character- compassion-content. The book convincingly explains this.
In chapter 6 " the law of encouragement" is explained in page 100 "the law encouragement is this: teaching tends to be most effective when the learner is properly motivated." this part of the book explains how the teacher should be motivating and give a list on how to approach that.
In Chapter 7 " the law of readiness" speaks on how a teacher prepares and how the teacher should prepare the student(s). This part of the book explains how to effectively teach the lesson and how to let the student(s) be engaged by the subject. The book concludes and also has a lesson plan that teaches this book chapter by chapter.
The book has many methods and approaches to effectively teach. In my own personal time, I would definitely reread this book for guidance and also to use the lesson plan it provides in the last pages. Although it is only less than 200 pages, its teachings and ideas can be easily elaborated by the reader to dwell in, ponder, absorb, and apply.
The book Starts by introducing 7 ways called "laws" for a teacher to use in effectively teaching a student. In chapter 1 " the law of the teacher", speaks about why and how a teacher should continue to keep improving in their craft. In page 18-19 says "(God wants to) use you as his instrument, but he wants to sharpen and cleanse that instrument so it becomes a more effective tool in his hands". It goes on in explaining how a teacher can improve on himself/herself - mentally, physically, spiritually and improving on the audience - in communication and understanding.
In chapter 2"the law of education" is mainly focused on the teacher and how well they perform based on the students reaction. In page 39 says " the teacher is primarily a stimulator and motivator... Not the player, but coach who excites and directs the players." this part if the book explains the teacher teaches the student to -think, to know how to learn, and how to work(apply) what was taught.
In chapters 3 "the law activity" speaks on how involved the teacher gets with the students in helping their learning process. In page 55 says " your task as a communicator is not to impress people, but to impact them; not just to convince them, but to change them" this part of the book explains the importance of activity in a learning process. It give 5 ways to approach this;
activity that provides direction without dictatorship:
Which basically means helping the students draw out what they want.
Second- activity that stresses function and application: Which is to know the
students capabilities and to not put to much work for them. Because too much work may
negatively affect what the student learns.
The third is - activity with planned purpose: which means having a clear goal of why do
the activity the teacher plans to do and seeing if it will really help the student learn.
Activity 4 is all about letting the student know why they are learning the material.
Activity 5 is- giving the student problem-solving situations: It helps the student apply the
material taught and challenges them to think deeper on the material.
The next chapter is 4 -"the law of communication" this part of the book explains why communicating is very important in a teacher-student relationship. The teacher must also have three main components : thought, feeling, and action. Which basically teaches that a teacher must really know and own what he/she teaches to have good grounds to communicate to students.
In chapter 5 "the law of the heart" which writes about how a teacher must teach from the heart. The heart which is defined in the bible in totality of character- compassion-content. The book convincingly explains this.
In chapter 6 " the law of encouragement" is explained in page 100 "the law encouragement is this: teaching tends to be most effective when the learner is properly motivated." this part of the book explains how the teacher should be motivating and give a list on how to approach that.
In Chapter 7 " the law of readiness" speaks on how a teacher prepares and how the teacher should prepare the student(s). This part of the book explains how to effectively teach the lesson and how to let the student(s) be engaged by the subject. The book concludes and also has a lesson plan that teaches this book chapter by chapter.
The book has many methods and approaches to effectively teach. In my own personal time, I would definitely reread this book for guidance and also to use the lesson plan it provides in the last pages. Although it is only less than 200 pages, its teachings and ideas can be easily elaborated by the reader to dwell in, ponder, absorb, and apply.
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