The Together Teacher - A Book Review

I recently read the book The Together Teacher by Maia Heyck-Merlin and was truly impressed with the book! (I am not being paid to write this review!) I can honestly say that I would highly recommend this book to all teachers, new or experienced. I have always said that organization is a key to good teaching and this book actually reinforces what I’ve been saying.

This book doesn’t just say “Get organized!” It says it and then goes step by step and explains how to do this. There are ideas that everyone can use at any time in their life. I also like the fact that the organization tips can be customized to fit my own life. Sometimes when I read these kinds of books I tend to think that certain things just don’t fit my style or way of life. This author shows how I can personalize all of the steps to make it work for me. Of course, this takes away all of the excuses of why I can’t get organized.

I also like the fact that tools are mentioned but not specific tools are required. This means that I find the tool that works for me not just use the tool that worked for the author.

There are also tons of examples to show how the steps are completed by different people who have different organizational styles. There was always one that fit my style.

Included is a CD containing learning objectives, reflection questions, key summaries, and sample templates. This CD is chock full of useful information!

Every year I mentor a preservice Special Education teacher through Council for Exceptional Children. I plan to order one of these for my mentee and use it throughout the year in order to have an ongoing discussion. This is a great resource to use in the classroom too. I could see it used in college classrooms as well as a faculty project.

If you haven’t been able to tell you, I’m totally thrilled with this book! Please check it out!