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FOREWORD

by Harry K. Wong

I remember the first time I met Alex Kajitani. I had just finished speaking at a conference when he approached me and introduced himself as a new teacher in a struggling, inner-city school. We chatted a bit, and he thanked me for my work. Before turning to leave, he handed me a CD filled with rap songs he’d created that he said were helping his students learn the mathematics lessons he was teaching.

Given that I’m more of a Broadway musical type, it took at least a week before those rap songs made it out of my bag and into my stereo. But from the first beat, I realized that what Alex had created was much more than a collection of songs. He had created a solution—a solution that got his students engaged, gave them the skills they needed to learn the concepts he was teaching, and motivated them to come back the next day. Moreover, he had created something that other teachers could use to do the same.

Quite simply, Alex was owning the challenge of engaging his students where they lived, while teaching them academic content they would use in their future lives. Instead of turning away from his struggles (and his students’ struggles), Alex embraced them. He tried and found ideas that worked and put them in a format that other teachers also could use to be highly effective.

That’s what this book is as well. No jargon. No fads. Instead, every chapter contains straightforward solutions, which you can use immediately, at no cost, to enhance your success as an educator. Owning It offers the kind of real answers that real teachers seek, for all the roles they play—from working with students in the classroom, to interacting with colleagues in staff meetings, to representing this crucial profession in the community.

Since writing The First Days of School, I’ve spent my career highlighting the work of highly effective teachers who provide well-managed, safe learning environments in which students thrive. I’ve followed Alex as one of these teachers. No longer a new teacher, he has grown to represent a new generation of education leaders who are using innovative, yet commonsense strategies to push the boundaries of what is possible for our students, our schools, and our profession.

Authentic, creative, and, above all, effective, I hope you find this book as relatable and real as Alex himself. I hope it stays on your desk as a resource that you return to as often as necessary. And I hope the solutions in these pages help you on your path to truly owning it as a teacher.