The Buzz About the Book
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This inspiring book helps us understand that all students have intrinsic motivation and ability. Cushman’s stories and examples show us how to find and unlock that capacity and help students accomplish more than they— or we—thought possible. —Ben Levin, author, How to Change 5000 Schools
A unique approach to exploring the question of how teachers can better engage and inspire today’s students. —Anthony Rebora, Education Week/Teacher A relief and a wakeup call to anyone who worries about the apathy of today’s youth. —Daniel Greene, Education Review If you are looking for a book that is inspiring and motivating, this is the one. This is educational reform within the four walls of your classroom! —Megan Palevich, Good Reads Depicts all kinds of kids as deeply passionate and self-propelled learners, who don’t need adults driving them to get started, to get interested. They figure out how to be good, because they are profoundly engaged in wanting to know something. —Kirsten Olsen, author, Wounded by School Knowing that students spend roughly ten thousand hours in high school and college combined lends debates about best teaching practices and how students learn more urgency. Kathleen Cushman and her teen collaborators present some suggestions for using those hours to students’ and teachers’ best advantage. Their answers and ideas are what make Fires in the Mind so compelling; chock-full of anecdotes, the book gives voice to the most important stakeholders in education—students. –School Library Journal Stimulates educators to pay attention to the words, wisdom, and practical suggestions that grow out of students’ school experiences. Fires in the Mind is well documented research that grows directly from the “consumers” of our educational systems. It should be studied by teachers and used as a model for eliciting the many fires in the minds of their students. What better way to learn how to transform our practices? —Bena Kalick, Learning and Leading with Habits of Mind As a nation we need to return our educational focus to true scholarship– beyond test scores, we need to support students to strive for excellence in their academic, artistic and civic work. In this volume Kathleen Cushman brings her celebrated collection of student voices to this crucial issue. —Ron Berger, Chief Program Officer, Expeditionary Learning Schools A wonderful book that gave me lots of new insights about what motivates and inspires young minds. —Michael Klonsky, Director, Small Schools Workshop (in Catalyst Caucus) No matter what stage we’re at as educators, every teacher can mine this book for many helpful nuggets to support student mastery. We can help ignite “fires in the minds” of our kids, and this wonderful book makes an excellent fire starter. –Kathie Marshall, LAUSD teacher, in Teacher Leaders Network blog of the Center for Teaching Quality Five-star ratings on Amazon! In Fires in the Mind, Kathleen Cushman reveals that kids have lots to tell us about motivation and mastery. She skillfully draws on the collective wisdom of 160 young people, weaving together their words and insights into a vivid exploration of “what it takes to get really good at something.” It’s impossible to choose just a few highlights from this book because it’s filled with over 200 quotes from the students who participated in the Practice Project, each one contributing a valuable perspective on the journey towards expertise. —Honor Moorman, teacher Five-star reviews on Barnes and Noble! Once again Kathleen Cushman takes the voices and insights of students and applies them to the teaching profession. Starting from the broad question of how one trains for mastery, she quickly establishes a persuasive model and then shows how it helps teachers give direction and focus to classroom work and homework. As a teacher of history for 25 years, I was especially struck by the argument for “deliberate practice” with assignments attuned to the actual needs of individual students. Throughout the book, I found gems that will also help me as a tennis coach of individuals and teams, I have already recommended this engaging book to several new teachers I am mentoring. It is a must read! What a refreshing book! Rather than asking the timeworn question “How can we motivate these kids?” Kathleen Cushman performs a lovely act of conceptual Jujutsu and instead asks “What can the kids tell us about motivation?” The answers are smart and thoughtful and brimming with good advice. — Mike Rose, author of Why School? Reclaiming Education for All of Us |
“Become passionate” is easy to say, hard to do, impossible to compel. Drawing on the insights of young persons, parents, teachers, and experts, Kathleen Cushman reveals the paths to passionate pursuit of something worthwhile. — Howard Gardner, Professor of Cognition of Education, Harvard University
   From the Publisher |
