Entertaining an Elephant: A Novel About Learning and Letting Go

by William L. McBride

Book Overview

Entertaining an Elephant is the heartwarming story of a burned-out teacher struggling though his fifteen year of teaching. Through a set of unexpected events, this teacher becomes re-inspired with... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0965625400
• ISBN13: 9780965625401
• Release Date: June 1997
• Publisher: Under One Roof
• Length: 115 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Veteran Teachers

This a great book for those veteran teachers who have been teaching longer than I have been alive. I have a college profesor who uses this term "teachers who have taught one year thirty times" to make some comments on teaching. I feel that this book is a great example of that term. Those teachers that he is talking about should get a hold on this book.

A shot in the arm book for teachers,a real jewel!

Bill McBride takes a tired out teacher and shows how everyone can learn new things. The book is popular with teachers...and for good reason. It helps them see how there is always the possibility of renewal and transformation. The search for the title reference is worth the whole reading and it makes perfect sense. Especially now, as the end of the year begins to roll down, teachers will relate to the situation! Buy it now.

This is for anyone who has ever wondered, "Why do I teach?"

I hardly know how to talk about this book. On an emotional level, the main character, a teacher, grapples with some of the most familiar and soul-smearing struggles that teachers face. He discovers an unlikely teacher of his own who, as gentle as rain, teaches him the most fundamental lessons. Almost a week after I relished the last drop on the last page, I continue to feel my own sense of gratitude for having been audience to these simple, elegant, and profound lessons.On an intellectual level, this parable illustrates the real reform still needed in our public schools, those which teach humanity and academics at the same time; those which teach rigor of thought, not pre-packaged, neat "models." It's also a powerful argument for the role of stories in educating our children.I wish that every teacher, every parent, every legislator would read this book.

This book is a "must read" for every teacher!

As a 28-year veteran high school English teacher, I entered Entertaining an Elephant with minimal expectations. After all, I pride myself on being "up" on current research in the teaching of writing, language and literature. I'm not afraid to gut my curriculum when something better for my students comes along. However, after reading Bill McBride's book, I realized that I still had much to learn about "letting go." In fact, the book so influenced me that I have altered my annual plan for English I Honors for the year 2000 already! I found the book to be extremely realistic in its depiction of the broad spectrum of humanity we teach every day. It was equally on target in relating the kinds of conflicts, the stress, the burn-out many professionals experience, particularly in public education. I understand that over 20 colleges and universities around the country are using the book as required reading in various education departments. Every teacher, whether in English or not, and every wannabe teacher should read this truly insightful and inspirational text. Wannabes will gain insight; veterans will acquire either affirmation or an epiphany! Either way, our students win as well.

A truly uplifting read!

One of my all-time favorite teacher books is Bill McBride's Entertaining an Elephant: a novel about learning and letting go. The dedication is to those who have chosen to teach love rather than fear. McBride's heartwarming story is about a teacher who resisted change, clung to the grammar drill and kill and had trouble dealing with students. The janitor shows him a better way to relate to kids, people in general. "The future will depend on what we do in the present." Gandhi As we struggle with new strategies, reform movements, and the demand to change the way we are as teachers, this book can soften our hearts, relieve our stress, lessen our fears, and give us hope for the future.