Miss Daisy Is Crazy!

This week as I searched for a book to read, I enlisted the help of my boyfriend's brother who is in the fifth grade.  He handed me a pile of books and "Miss Daisy Is Crazy," by Dan Gutman, just happened to be the first one I grabbed.  When I finished reading it in less than 20 minutes, he made sure to inform me that he had not read that book since the second grade so I would not think that it was something he was reading now.

In "Miss Daisy Is Crazy," Dan Gutman introduces us to a character named A.J. who begins the story by stating, "I love football and video games, and I hate school."  But come to find out, so does his new teacher, Miss Daisy.  That is not the only crazy thing about Miss Daisy, she does not even know how to read or do math.  What kind of teacher does not know how to do those things?  Instead of the teacher being able to teach the students, the students must teach the teacher.  Towards the end of the story, A.J. catches a glimpse of Miss Daisy looking at a piece of paper, and he is almost positive that she was reading.  Though he is not for sure, he starts to question if Miss Daisy really was as dumb as she let on, or if she actually did know how to read and do math.

Though this book is very extreme, it was a great read.  Dan Gutman takes the reader on an adventure from the point of view of a student, which in my opinion is a great way to get students engaged in a book.  He even includes a few pictures throughout the book to depict exciting parts of the story.

As a teacher, one thing that really stuck out to me was the idea of letting students have an active role in the classroom.  Though Miss Daisy may have played dumb a little too much, the concept behind her actions is very important.  Sometimes it is better for students to show their knowledge through teaching than through giving a test.  It gives them an opportunity to explain what they are doing and why and not just their ability to get the right answer.  I have always heard that sometimes students can learn better from peers, especially when they may not be able to understand the way that we are teaching.  If they look at the concept from the point of view of another student, it may just click, and in the end, I think that this was Miss Daisy's goal.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading "Miss Daisy Is Crazy" by Dan Gutman.  Though not to the degree of this book, it reminded me to let my students have an active role in the classroom, and allow them opportunities to show their knowledge in many ways, as well as use peer support.

Until next week,
Ashley