Book Review: Teach Like a Pirate

Confession Time - I hate reading professional development books. It isn't because I don't like to learn or I don't think I need to improve. I love to sit through a well developed professional development course. I seek out educational articles, blogs, and YouTube videos. I like learning from my colleagues.  I just don't like to read books about teaching. 

I have picked up many books that have been recommended to me and I have gotten through very few of them.  I might browse the activities, but I just can't bring myself to sit down and read them cover-to-cover. I often find them too dry and clinical to keep my attention. (I am not a huge nonfiction reader in general.)

Recently, I accepted a new position in a new district. I was handed a copy of Teach Like a Pirate by Dave Burgess.  The campus used this as a book study last year, and I was told that it was a big part of their campus culture. So, I sat down to try to get it read with about as much excitement as I suspect many of my high school students had when we read anything longer than a page in class. 

I was, as I hope my students are, pleasantly surprised. 

The book itself isn't very long which makes it less intimidating and it is far from what I would call dry. It is to the point but includes humor and examples.  The ideas are simple and only require that you are willing to try something new. 

The book is broken down into three sections: 

   

1. Teach Like a Pirate! - This is the theory section of the book.  It goes over the PIRATE System and it is simple to understand.  
2. Crafting Engaging Lessons - This is what I would refer to as the toolbox section of the book.  Burgess goes over different types of hooks, what questions you should ask yourself when trying to craft a lesson, and throws in some examples.  I have already started to create YouTube playlists of possible Mozart (musical) Hooks. This is the section of the book, I suspect I will revisit for inspiration and ideas.
3. Building  Better Pirate - In this section of the book, Burgess address some of the excuses teachers may have to not get started and offers more encouragement. 

Like anything, how well the PIRATE system works for you will be your mindset.  I tend to be a cynic (I actually prefer the term realist), and I know that I can be my own worse enemy.  For the PIRATE system to work, you have to be willing to try and be willing to fail.  This is something he is very honest about. I know there will be days I don't succeed (especially when it comes to faking enthusiasm during a draining week) but if I can succeed to teach like a pirate at least one day a week, I think I will see some great improvements in my classroom. 

Have any of you read this book? What did you think? Any other professional development books I should give a try?

Note: I am an Amazon partner, and if you choose to purchase this book at the link above a small portion of the sale does go back to supporting Good Chicken Teaching Resources.