Haberman, Martin. (1995). Star Teachers of Children in Poverty. Reviewed by Eric L. Brown

Haberman, Martin. (1995). Star Teachers of Children in Poverty. Bloomington, IN: Kappa Delta Pi. Pp. xii + 100 $15.00       ISBN 0-912099-08-9 Reviewed by Eric L. Brown Ohio University and Chillicothe City Schools July 22, 1999           Teachers who work in urban schools are faced with many complex and challenging situations. Often these teachers feel overwhelmed by the challenges confronting them, and they leave the profession. There are, however, some teachers who succeed and are respected by students, peers, supervisors, and the public for being successful. A study of the traits of these effective teachers can be found in Martin Haberman's Star Teachers of Children in Poverty. In this well-written and thought-provoking book, Haberman discusses the characteristics and the practices that are shared by these successful teachers.           Martin Haberman, a professor of education at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, bases his discussion of "star teachers" on information gathered from research that he carried out over many years. Haberman claims to have conducted over 1,000 interviews with members of the teaching profession. By analyzing data from observations of and interviews with teachers, Haberman discerns differences between successful and weak teachers. Discussion of these differences forms the substance of the book.           The book is divided into four chapters. The first chapter contains an explanation of what the author takes to be poor teaching practices--practices typically avoided by successful or "star" teachers. Haberman (1995, p.3) argues, "teachers who quit or fail frequently cause many of their own problems; in other cases they exacerbate the situation needlessly." Such teachers often become involved in direct confrontations with students or their parents over issues such as discipline, homework, or parental support. Star teachers, by contrast, do not focus directly on these issues, tending instead to approach them obliquely. For example, star teachers don't punish, but instead use logical consequences to guide and direct students to learn appropriate behavior. Also, star teachers believe that many of these issues, such as discipline, will be addressed by making instruction interesting, meaningful, and engrossing to the students who are in their classes.           In the second chapter of the book the author introduces the practices of star teachers. Surprisingly, this chapter is very short and concise, a mere six pages. Here the author briefly gives an argument for why teachers ought to instill in their students the belief that learning is important for its own sake. Haberman found that star teachers do not motivate students by exploiting the linkage between learning and the likelihood of obtaining a good job. Instead, successful teachers attempt to reach their students by relying on the children's intrinsic motivation to learn. In addition to learning content information, Haberman contends, the students of star teachers learn to accept responsibility for maintaining a safe environment, conducive to learning.           The third chapter discusses the strategies of star teachers, and it is by far the largest section of the text (72 out of 100 pages). In this chapter Haberman reveals what he discovered through his research about the methodologies and beliefs of successful teachers.           One strategy of the star teacher is to be persistent. Haberman argues that a successful teacher continues to try new methods and approaches in an effort to reach each student and promote his or her learning. The teacher does not simply have a single approach for all learners. A particular approach to working within the school bureaucracy is identified by Haberman as a second strategy of star teachers. Star teachers do not try to undermine their school district's administration nor do they completely ignore the directives sent from officials in the bureaucracy; however, star teachers avoid using bureaucratic dysfunctions or administrative directives as reasons to keep from achieving the objectives they have set for their students. Finally, assuming responsibility for their students' learning, star teachers engage in a practice that Haberman calls "gentle teaching." Gentle teaching promotes kindness in classroom interactions. It strives to eliminate the discord that can accompany interactions in traditional classrooms where focus is often directed as much on compliance as it is on learning.           The fourth and final chapter of the book presents a brief argument for incorporating new criteria for selecting teachers. Haberman contends that individuals need to be selected for the teaching profession on the basis of criteria other than (or in addition to) good grades and test scores. It is Haberman's belief that the selection of teachers should involve an effort to find individuals who share the attributes commonly found among star teachers. In Haberman's view new teachers--like star teachers--ought to be non-judgmental, tolerant and not moralistic, open and not easily shocked, understanding, and communicative with colleagues. In addition, they should enjoy working with children and, in general, have a positive outlook.           This is an excellent book written for beginning teachers who are considering whether or not they have what it takes to teach children of poverty in urban school settings. The book is also a superb reference for more experienced educators because it embodies a powerful educational philosophy. Experienced educators may find either reassurance or guidance by reading this volume. The teaching practices that are explained in this book can easily be extended from the urban school settings that Haberman studied to other settings, such as rural or suburban schools. These other school settings may not face exactly the same challenges as urban schools, but many of the practices of star teachers will still apply.           Martin Haberman appears to have reached the conclusion that the purpose and content of education should be focused on developing the interests of children and youth. The specifics that Haberman presents in this book, such as his point that star teachers focus on intrinsic rather than extrinsic motivators, suggest that he believes that the role of a teacher should be as a nurturer of the individual differences and interests of his or her students. This reviewer contends that this underlying belief serves as a guidepost for directing Haberman to see particular instructional strategies as more effective than others. In addition, Haberman seems to disagree with the view that the central goals of schools should be the preparation of individuals as citizens or workers.           From the perspective of this reviewer, Haberman's underlying premise that the goal of education should be to nurture the development of each individual student's interests fails to promote balance between the claims of the individual and the claims of society. Haberman's educational philosophy is limited because it ignores the need for schools to teach children the importance of acknowledging and making sacrifices on behalf of a common good--an entity larger than the self. Of course, Haberman's attention to individuals is not altogether misguided: it is, after all, our individual differences that add richness and depth to society.           For all its strengths, the book does have some additional shortcomings. The value of the book to practicing educators would, for example, be strongly enhanced if the book were to include more information about how to implement the successful teaching practices of star teachers. Its value would also be increased if it were to provide some suggestions for ways to change the teaching practices of current teachers or to teach the practices of star teachers to individuals enrolled in teacher-preparation programs. In addition, the text seems to ignore the fact that many urban schools face difficult problems that even the most outstanding teachers are powerless to solve. Many urban schools are, after all, plagued by limited resources and dysfunctional organizational cultures. Haberman's claim that approximately 92% of the teachers in urban schools fail to achieve the successes of star teachers seems to argue for reforms much more widespread and thorough-going than the changes (e.g., in teacher selection) that he recommends.           One glaring weakness of this book is the author's failure to provide a detailed description of his research methodology. Although he claims to have conducted numerous interviews with and observations of urban teachers from across the United States since 1959, Haberman does not explain how these teachers were identified, how his data were collected and analyzed, nor how his conclusions were rooted in the data. Haberman does not even offer a clear operational definition of what he means by an "urban school."           The practices and beliefs of star teachers highlighted by Haberman are stimulating; but as prescriptions for practice, they too have shortcomings. For example, according to Haberman, star teachers tend to focus only on the learning environments of their classrooms; they do not pay much attention to the other parts of the school organization. From the perspective of this reviewer, such an approach is selfish and narrow-minded. When star teachers by-pass normal school channels in order to garner resources for their own classrooms, they simply deprive other classes of the use of those resources. When star teachers defend their instructional time against the intrusion of other professionals, such as school psychologists and administrators, they may deprive their students of needed services and supports. The description of some of the particulars of how star teachers act leads one to wonder if star teachers are as much focused on their own "stardom" as they are on the needs of their students.           Martin Haberman has written a sincere and useful book that summarizes the results of his personal quest for knowledge about successful teaching practices. Taken as a personal story, the book offers hope, encouragement, and a few practical suggestions. Taken as research, it clearly falls short. As a set of solutions to the problems of urban schools, Haberman's, and perhaps anyone's, book leaves much to be desired.