Because participants in our workshop series, Instruction for All Students, often ask, "Why didn't we learn this in college?" that question provided the inspiration for the title of this new book for teachers new to the classroom. This title is in no way meant to condemn those who direct our collegiate experiences. The realities are that we may well have studied these topics and earned a good grade on a test over the theoretical aspects of this information but had no classroom teaching experiences on which to hook the information, that we took an alternative approach to entering the profession, that our focus was elsewhere at the time or perhaps, in fact, it was not taught. Whatever the case may be, teachers new to the classroom clearly need support and a repertoire of effective teaching strategies during their first years of classroom work.
Why Didnt I Learn This in College? is based on the constructs that:
+ the best management program is a good instructional program,
+ if the end we have in mind is student learning, we do not want to concentrate on control and compliance but rather on building learning centered environments, and
+ we need efficient and effective organizational systems for ourselves, our students, and our classroom.
