Book: 32 Third Graders and One Class Bunny

I'm stuck at home again trying to recover from being sick, so I thought I'd pass the time by reading a book I actually bought for a friend.

The book is 32 Third Graders and One Class Bunny: Life Lessons from Teaching by Phillip Done. I read a few pages of it while at the bookstore and immediately realized it was perfect for a friend of mine.

I really enjoyed most of the book. I'm not a teacher in elementary school, but I definitely have the desire--only if it paid enough to feed my expensive taste. Phillip Done's stories from teaching third grade for 25 or so years are a great read.

He's got plenty of tips that actual teachers, especially new ones, would find helpful. But for someone like me who appreciates the roles that teachers play in society, I really enjoyed the brief journey into the mind of a teacher and what kind of challenges elementary school teachers come across on a daily basis.

"Mr. Done" writes about several teacher-stories, like the time a student brought his pet snake as a gift to the class. But many of the stories are great life lessons for all of us. He talks about how he was getting frustrated with a student not reading anything at home with his parents, and eventually finding out that his mom was not able to read. Or how he takes French lessons and it ends up giving him great insight into how his just-arrived-from-Japan student must feel in class, and how that same student has made amazing strides towards learning English. These stories help us realize to not judge others too quickly.

If you happen to be stuck at home sick, this is a fun book to read.