The Education Animal: Thoughts Of A U. S. Army Infantry Sergeant Turned Schoolteacher On Life, Experiences, Education, Values, And Leadership-..

Sergeant Andrew Swapp, the author of this thought-provoking book, is a retired United States Army Infantry Sergeant who is just completing a decade and a half as an engineering and technology teacher in a small public school in rural America. By his own admission, his county has more cows than people. With insight, courage and passion, he brings a crystal clear voice to modern education issues from the person who has walked the walk and talked the talk. This is a book every parent, every teacher and every education administrator in America should read so that they could see not everyone thinks the same about education. It is respectful, well-argued and thoughtfully considered, but it is a barn-burner to established thought on many education issues. With the insight and simplicity of a Thoreau, the author cuts through mountains of data, lakes of statistics and miles of theory, and brings readers back to long-forgotten basics. In this book you will discover some simple, basic truths about effective education: -Students with involved parents almost always do better. -Students in small classes do better. -Students who want to go somewhere with their lives do better. -Teachers who respect all types of students do better. -Teachers who put themselves into their lessons do better. -Teachers who can put things into an analogy do better. Sergeant Swapp challenges the idea that improving an education system just means throwing money and a new program at it. He suggests it would be more pertinent if society questioned whether young people in school are getting the essential instruction needed to lead a happy and fulfilling life and become a productive citizen. He questions whether a teacher can teach without values and says the most patriotic act in America today is good -parenting. The author has suffered for his opinions because his voice does not join a common chorus. He has been accused of being a radical by various education administrators. That has not silenced him. In his own words, he makes his case: "I have gone to a foreign country and thrown lead at people and had lead thrown back at me in the name of protecting our Constitution. Don't think for one second that I will ever not voice my opinion on this level. I have fought for my country and for my Constitution and you are making me out to be a radical?" This is a book for anyone who wants to look at education from a different perspective. It is for those who seek insight into what a man who has stood up for his country and shapes the lives of hundreds of students has learned and is willing to share. It is a thoughtful voice, and a voice that is very much needed to fuel further debate on the future of this country's educational systems.