Why Write a Book?

To tell a story that engages readers deeply, with practical and philosophical ideas which help educators and young people.

I have created this blog/newsletter¹ to continue sharing content related to my book, Meet Every Learner's Needs. I enjoyed writing that book, but it was a lot of work, and I don’t yet know if anyone will actually read it.

My book - and this blog/newsletter’s namesake.

So I think a decent place to start is by explaining why I did all that writing in the first place. There are four related reasons:

1. To tell a story,

2. that engages readers deeply,

3. with practical and philosophical ideas,

4. which help educators and young people.

I’ll explain each reason now.

To tell a story…

I’m extremely proud of the Modern Classrooms Project (MCP). We provide training and resources that help educators around the world create classrooms in which all students can truly learn. When you learn about our work, you’ll discover an instructional model that empowers teachers and students alike.

The Modern Classroom instructional model. It’s a beautiful thing.

That model, however, doesn’t just exist. It came from somewhere. I developed it, in fact, as a series of practices that solved two pressing problems which I faced as a teacher: (a) my students weren’t learning, and (b) I was miserable. What we now call “the Modern Classroom model” is just a refined version of those practices.

And while it’s easier and more efficient to present this model as a straightforward set of evidence-based techniques—which it now is—I think the best way to really understand it is to tell the story of where it came from, and why. If you recognize the problems it solved for me, its value to you becomes clear.

My book aims to tell that story.

… that engages readers deeply …

I love MCP’s online courses. In fact, I think our free online course and Virtual Mentorship Program are the best PD on the planet! They have engaging videos from real teachers, classroom-tested templates teachers can use right away, and every other resource a teacher could possibly need to implement our approach effectively.

Resources galore. And they are all amazing!

That’s a wonderful thing. But it can also be overwhelming. And when you’re on your screen exploring an online course, distractions abound.

When you’re sitting down with a book, however, you can focus in a different way. You can devote your attention to learning and understanding something new. You can, if you’re lucky, get lost in the narrative. And you can interact with a book—writing notes, highlighting, bookmarking or dog-earing pages—in a way that a computer makes difficult.² You can, in other words, do something that’s increasingly rare. You can really engage.

That’s valuable, and I wrote my book to create space for it.

… with practical and philosophical insights …

Meet Every Learner’s Needs is relentlessly practical. On almost every page you’ll find something that a teacher can do, tomorrow, to create a better learning environment for their students. It has Action Steps and Best Practices and Teacher Tips throughout.

A snapshot from the Table of Contents. These are all things you can do right away.

To understand why these practices are so valuable, however, it helps to understand why they are necessary in the first place. And that’s where a little bit of philosophy comes in. As Kurt Lewin would say, “there’s nothing as practical as a good theory.”

I wanted to explain, therefore, why a traditional lesson—one new piece of content, delivered simultaneously to the students who happen to be in class on any given day—can’t possibly meet every learner’s needs. I wanted to explain why any course taught at the teacher’s pace will inevitably be too slow for some students and too fast for others. And I wanted to explain why age-based promotion is the biggest problem of all.

The practicality of the Modern Classroom approach is what makes it special. But the underlying philosophy is why it works.

… which help educators and young people.

At the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about. I was a teacher then, and I’m a parent now. And I know from both perspectives that the world really is in educators’ hands.

Trying to teach my kids something. They may or may not be listening.

I realize that there are tons of other good books out there on teaching. And I like to think that I’ve come to terms with the fact that my book may well flop.

But I also feel that if one educator—or school leader, or parent—reads Meet Every Learner’s Needs, then uses one of the many strategies in the book to better meet the needs of a learner they know, that effort will have been worth it.

And I hope that reader will be you.

1. I’m still not sure exactly what this is or will become. Blog/newsletter seems right for now.

2. Don’t worry—the book will be available on e-readers too. I still think those are much better than computer screens. And if I’m lucky enough to have demand for an audiobook, you may be able to enjoy the book while you take a nice walk outside.