The Happy Teacher Habits: 11 Habits of the Happiest, Most Effective Teachers on Earth

I was frustrated that none of these habits are backed up by anything but his opinion/experience. For instance “spartan classrooms” are better than decorated classrooms. And he know this to be so because he “only knows one effective teacher” who doesn’t have a bare classroom. Okay, but is that significant? I mean that’s the definition of anecdotal. Does he know a significant population of both kinds of teacher? And What does he mean by effective? (Happy students, graduating students, improving students….)The bibliography is a full of a lot of the self-help bestsellers of the last decade, but there’s no education research. Which is….obnoxious. Especially when he is so confident in many principles that are straight up antagonistic to best practices I was taught by the best teachers I have ever been in the classroom with. Interesting theories, but without the research….it’s just some guy’s ideas.I don’t know, I got the feeling the author really just dislikes things female teachers do. He doesn’t like pretty classrooms. He doesn’t like clubs/parties. He doesn’t like kneeling down to speak with individual students. He doesn’t like chatty teachers. He doesn’t like stickers. And he mentions multiple times, how his habits will make you more respected and revered like that is an obvious goal in and of itself. He tells a particularly uncomfortable story about being treated “deferentially” by his female administrator in response to being straight up rude and disrespectful to her. No thank you. Feeling superior is not the same thing as being superlative.I believe in the value of saying “no” but I can’t value it in a vacuum where community and teamwork don’t exist. And this guy doesn’t even mention it. So it feels maybe the author is the kind of teacher who lets his coworkers do all the necessary but odious jobs is in his school/department since he’s “focused on his classroom” (which is rude as heck to say to colleague. Like there is someone who isn’t?) So his habits might be the path to happiness for him, but he certainly didn’t express himself in a way that felt like he meant that happiness for everyone. It just comes as someone else’s expense.

I loved the story telling, the examples from all sorts of places, the simplicity of focus and the wise advice. I have been teaching for 43 years, and I didn't find one thing I disagree with. I recommend this book to the new teachers who need guidance and experienced teachers who need a kick in the butt about what really matters.

I think my expectations were set too high for this book. I began visiting Michael Linsin's blog Smart Classroom Management in response to the first negative evaluation I've received in 20 years. I receive email tips from him as well.I thought I knew how to teach after doing it for so long and with moderate success and positive feedback. Realizing that there are serious problems after having so much experience is upsetting and embarrassing.I am burnt-out. I keep trying to escape the classroom but I keep ending up back where I started. I tried administration. I tried other roles in education. I'm now taking a class for a certificate outside of education. But while I'm here, I still need to teach. And it would be nice to be effective, happy, and calm. I've turned into a version of myself that I don't like. My negative attitude is also affecting my personal life.So, I'd say the book is a start. It's the first step in the journey. Linsin packs lots of stories and anecdotes into the slim volume and that falls in line with his advice for teaching with storytelling and improvisation.He does a good job with empathizing with the reader and pointing out that education has changed. He discusses its flaws and explains how poor classroom management lets students off the hook. We should not be doing the heavy lifting of education; students must take on this responsibility. It builds grit and growth mindset.He helps with tips about organization and finding balance in life. He mentions Marie Kondo and talks about working less, not more. The chapters remind me a little of clickbait, circumventing the ultimate point with the results of the strategy before stating what it is. Interesting but a little formulaic and slightly annoying..It's good advice and good motivation. There are thoughtful and memorable points. It's good for novice and veteran alike.But I wanted more, perhaps from seeing specific tips and how to implement them on Linsin's blog and emails. I wanted something that would help me love teaching when I'm so frustrated by it that sometimes I fantasize about walking out in the middle of class and never looking back. I suppose that's probably too much to ask from a book.

Wish that this information had been available when I began my career 20 years ago! But, hey! Old dog, new tricks… really looking forward to transforming my teaching.

Linsin Book ReviewOne thing is his personality shines through. When he describes hamming it up for laughs in the classroom he is likeable and I think this is part of why he resonates. He offers some deceptively simple advice about the best way to build relationships, like always being pleasant - the Law of Reciprocity - or the value of setting simple goals which I think most teachers would agree with and which I think most at least attempt unless stress wears them down. Simplifying the essential skills of successful teaching is sort of the goal of his book.So Linsin conveys a spirit of relaxed enjoyment and humour that has helped him reduce stress in the job to a minimum. He is not unswervingly positive or optimistic. He is irritated by the onerous time burdens of many new programs that are constantly being introduced. Throughout the book Linsin argues that teachers are overburdened with information, that they need to cut back and simplify, to protect their time and concentrate on the essential skills of effective teaching. I agree with his observation and it is a sentiment shared by many of the teachers I work with. He sees it as an act of strength to be able to say 'No' and believes that you should protect your time politely but firmly.Linsin's blog and his earlier books give the nut and bolts of his classroom management approach and his teaching style. As many of the comments on his website attest, implementing these practical ideas often proves transformative. They really are empowering ideas and I would encourage anyone who is struggling with classroom management to discover them. They give you a sense of clarity and control - self control mainly, control of your emotions, thoughts and actions - plus a sense of agency, of being able to successfully achieve desired outcomes - that makes the job feel organised, that makes it harmonise like a delightful piece of music played by a large number of instruments.I identify strongly with some of the practises Linsin advocates. The use of humour, the abolition of anger, the enjoyment of the kids, the relationships, the irritation at boring meetings. And there are areas in which I have taken his advice on board and improved my practise. Having less permeable boundaries with my rules. Protecting the relaxed, respectful, attentive atmosphere in the room as a matter of the utmost importance. Watching like a hawk at certain key points. Modelling extensively. I have eliminated anger, scolding, nagging, long winded counselling and negative emotional interactions in general, I have reduced my teacher talk and I have a renewed sense of where I am heading with a group.This book tries to stretch his ideas into wider, more general, integrative theories and concepts, it encourages us to explore techniques like improvisation and visualisation and storytelling to really engage students, it attempts to take the idea of successful teaching to a higher level. On his blog you will find practical, down to earth techniques which definitely have the capacity to transform the management aspect of your job, to empower you and give you an amazing sense of clarity. And you will find scattered through his blog entries and earlier books many of the ideas he has gone on to develop in this latest book. So they are complementary. One follows naturally from the other as a sort of stretching of the wings.There are some moot points in his latest book and some overstating of the case at times, for example with regards to the extreme damage caused by rewards or the 'you can achieve anything' transformative power of grit, or the idea that 'adding sofas, bean bag chairs, floor lamps, and excessive decorative items translates to clutter.' (not an idea that accords with the Reggio Emilia philosophy of my school). This is a habit many writers employ because it is more dramatic and attention grabbing. I have seen it recently with John Hattie, an Australian education writer appearing in a television series called 'Revolution School,' where he says that most things most teachers talk about are a waste of time and that he has all the answers. But both Linsin and Hattie do have valuable ideas so gaining attention by overstating the case might be useful as they both deserve attention. And in Linsin it is kind of a likeable offshoot of his enthusiastic personality.In this latest book Linsin advocates rolling out the strategies one by one and I think tidiness would be the first one for me. I am not terribly untidy but I could definitely do better. After that I am exceedingly curious to use storytelling to bridge the gap between the head and the heart and engage kids more. I acknowledge that I am not great at improvisation or thinking on my feet and will come more to that later. I already use and value visualisation although I cannot do it as quickly and efficiently as he suggests is possible.To transform your teaching practise I would recommend starting with his earlier books or blog entries which have similar content. The books are slightly more discursive and personal, with more anecdotes and illustrative tales. And then I recommend travelling on through the great ideas in this book to help you stretch your wings.Just before ending the book I had the thought that it would be nice to have a short summary of each chapter heading. Then a few pages on there it was.Sent from my iPad

Read the book in a few hours. Plenty of practical ideas and a game plan to take away, with clear messages to begin implementing.

This is a concise book with wonderful anecdotes explaining the value of the habits Mr. Linsin says can make you a happier teacher. Personally, I like his realism. He is not trying to tell you something because it's going to make the school or the board look better. He is talking to the average teacher who wants to do a great job but at the same time realizes that you need balance in your life. In fact I highly doubt if this book will ever be bought and endorsed by school boards because of some of the practices he advocates (learning to say 'no', for example ) go against what boards are demanding of teachers. Someone will surely write out his 11 habits in a blog somewhere but do yourself a favor, read this little book, think about the stories and then find a way to put them in practice for the sake of your sanity.

It allows me to look at teaching from a more efficient place. I am eager to put these habits to use.