''Walking Trees: Teaching Teachers in New York City Schools'' is a book by

Ralph Fletcher Ralph Fletcher (born March 17, 1953) is an American writer of children's picture books, young adult fiction, and poetry. He is also an educational consultant, and author of books for both children and professional educators on the art of writ ...

. It was first published in 1990. It was published again in 1995 under a slightly different title ''Walking Trees: Portraits of Teachers and Children in the Culture of Schools''.

Summary

''Walking Trees: Teaching Teachers in New York City Schools'' is the story of Ralph Fletcher's introduction to the

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

school system as a

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

trainer in a writing

staff development Professional development is learning to earn or maintain professional credentials such as academic degrees to formal coursework, attending conferences, and informal learning opportunities situated in practice. It has been described as intensive ...

program.

Reception

Brenda Miller Power in her review for Educational Leadership said "''Walking Trees'' is a wonder", she believes that Fletcher has "done a superb job of cataloging in specific ways the difference between a burned-out teacher and a bad teacher" and that "its greatest contribution to our field may be that it helps us begin to ask more of the right kinds of difficult questions". Nancy E. Zuwiyya in her review for Library Journal said that "Fletcher's early encounters often prove frustrating, and his description of a typical uncooperative teacher as a "snarling lump of inertia" will make educators uncomfortable. At the end, Fletcher reveals that not only have the students and teachers learned but he two has acquired a wisdom that he lacked in the beginning." Curriculum Review said that this book was "a funny, hopeful, angry, but most importantly, beautifully written book chronicling one teacher's first year instructing New York City teachers how to teach writing."

Notes

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External links

Ralph Fletcher's website
1990 non-fiction books Heinemann (publisher) books Books about education Books about New York City