Evaluating "The No Excuse University"

The No Excuse University

 The textbook, “No Excuses University” written by Damen Lopez, is a manual about creating the perfect school for 21^st-century learning. I found the text to be encouraging and informative.

Structure of the Text

The chapters in the text are structured in a way that made it easy for me to follow. Each chapter is one page long. At the top of the page, the key concepts are listed, creating an outline of the chapter. The main body of the text explains the key concepts. At the bottom of the page, the “Theory to Practice” sections asks questions on how you apply what you learned in the chapter.

Important Applications

            The concepts presented in this book are very useful in creating my tutoring business. I want to be able to fill my students with the knowledge they will need to make it in the 21^st century. This text is like a guidebook on how to create a successful 21^st-century school.

Key Concept. “Successful schools simplify their focus” (Lopez, 2013, Ch. 4). I am currently working on opening my tutoring business, and this statement made me stop and think about my curriculum plans. After looking at my curriculum choices, I realized I was incorporating too many different programs into my lesson plans. I am now re-evaluating my choices, and choosing what would work best.

Theory to Practice. “As a school, decide on one goal that drives everything that you do. Get it in writing and live by it. If you have several goals, stop thinking of them as “goals” and start thinking of them as steps to help you achieve your ONE GOAL” (Lopez, 2013, Ch. 5). I have many goals for my business, and it was a bit overwhelming. By deciding on ONE GOAL, it seems more achievable.

Experiencing “My Moment”

I have always enjoyed working with children. When I was a teenager, I helped my mother with the children’s group in church. But I did not always want to teach children. I earned my Associate’s Degree in Psychology, and was working toward my Bachelor’s when my son was born. I decided to take time out to raise him, and would finish when he started school. When he was in preschool, he started having panic attacks in crowds. Going to school was going to be very difficult for him. Homeschooling was the answer. When he started high school, I decided to go back to school so I could start work as soon as he graduated. Going back to psychology didn’t interest me any longer. I had been involved in teaching for so long, I felt like I belong in the teaching field. I decided to pursue a degree in education, and I really love it.

 Avoid Losing Commitment  

As teachers, we need to be careful that we don’t fall victim to stresses that cause us to become jaded and lose their enthusiasm. Families that are poor and barely able to provide for their children can dishearten good teachers. Parents can cause undue stress on teachers which causes them to lose faith in their ability to help the children. Other teachers who have become jaded are filled with negativity which can be contagious. The biggest cause of teachers becoming jaded is the stress of the government changes in education and standardized testing.

If negativity starts getting to us, we need to look for ways to regain their enthusiasm. First, we need to turn to other teachers who are filled with enthusiasm. Positivity can be as contagious as negativity. Find ways to remind yourself of the students with who you were successful. I suggest a file with little notes written about each success. When I get down, I can go back and read about my students. This will help me remember why I started teaching in the first place.

References

       Lopez, D. (2013). No excuses university: How six exceptional systems are revolutionizing our schools (2nd ed.).Turnaround Schools Publications.