Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire: The Methods and Madness Inside Room 56

From the man whom The New York Times calls a genius and a saint comes a revelatory program for educating today s youth. In Teach Like Your Hair s on Fire!, Rafe Esquith reveals the techniques that have made him one of the most acclaimed educators of our time. The two mottoes in Esquith s classroom are Be Nice, Work Hard, and There Are No Shortcuts. His students voluntarily come to school at 6:30 in the morning and work until 5:00 in the afternoon. They learn to handle money responsibly, tackle algebra, and travel the country to study history. They pair Hamlet with rock and roll, and read the American classics. Teach Like Your Hair s on Fire! is a brilliant and inspiring road map for parents, teachers, and anyone who cares about the future success of our nation s children. BACKCOVER: Praise for Rafe Esquith:

Rafe Esquith is my only hero.
Sir Ian McKellan

Politicians, burbling over how to educate the underclass, would do well to stop by Rafe Esquith s fifth grade class as it mounts its annual Shakespeare play. Sound like a grind? Listen to the peals of laughter bouncing off the classroom walls.
Time

Esquith is a modern-day Thoreau, preaching the value of good work, honest self-reflection, and the courage to go one s own way.
Newsday