Customer Reviews

5 reviews

• Pedro Noguera, Ph.D. Distinguished Prof. of Education, Emery Stoops and Joyce King Stoops Dean, USC Rossier School of Education

  “Every great teacher knows that positive relationships rooted in trust and respect, are the foundation for teaching and learning. Juanita Coleman-Merritt knows this well, and in this compelling and passionate new book, she shares her journey as an educator and the lessons she acquired along the way as she built long-lasting relationships with her students. For educators and anyone concerned about education today this book will be a source of insight and inspiration.”

• Keffrelyn Brown, Ph.D. Suzanne B. and John L. Adams Endowed Professor of Education Distinguished University Teaching Professor, University of Texas at Austin

  This memoir reflects the life of a real teacher—one who cares for their students, is culturally responsive, and is committed to helping them to realize their fullest potential. The starfish metaphor that frames this account and represents the life’s work of master teacher, Dr. Coleman-Merritt, serves as inspiration for all educators who value and nurture the lives of their students. New and experienced teachers alike will find this narrative powerful, insightful, and useful as they seek to deepen their practice and awareness of students in the classroom.

• Anthony Brown, Ph. D. Professor of Curriculum & Instruction, Faculty Director, McNair Program,

  I enjoyed JColemanMerritt’s Lessons from Starfish immensely! A cornerstone of teacher education is reflection. So, to see a teacher reflect on their life from childhood through their evolution into becoming a teacher serving in classrooms from Atlanta, to Moreno Valley and Los Angeles, CA, is quite moving. What stood out was a powerful and persistent ethic of care and inquiry that went into all of Juanita’s starfish! As a teacher, she poured her whole self into all her students. This teacher memoir is genuinely humanizing pedagogy.

• Adria Merritt, Director of Diversity, Opportunity and Inclusion Pathways,

  I see this as a tool for early career teachers and even schools of education. I like the narrative style and the fact that each student (starfish) illuminates a different, concrete approach that teachers can walk away with, adding to their toolkit. They learn that relationships are the path that allows educators to see the specific way to best help students reach their potential.

• Judith Falloon-Reid, LIterary Commentator, Shelf Life

  All of life’s lessons coalesced in a single book, Lesson from Starfish, an insightful look at the things the author learned while teaching others. Juanita’s journey from her Harlem home to her beginnings as a young, green horn teacher and her growth into an accomplished, educator who has impacted countless young lives, is more than a collection of stories about her students, whom she calls her starfish. It’s more than a narrative about recognizing their uniqueness and her ability to mould them into their best versions of themselves. Lessons from Starfish is about relationships, nurturing and building them, creating safe environments, navigating rough waters, listening for deeper meanings behind words and patiently awaiting an opening to make a difference. Juanita skillfully and in easy-to-read language, draws the reader into her world where each student has a voice, challenges are met and problems are solved using creative and imaginative techniques that can be applied to any relationship at any stage of life. There are lessons for us all in Lessons from Starfish. Masterful writing , powerful storytelling and more than worth the read.

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