“Teaching is incredibly complex, and it can be difficult to say anything meaningful about it. But education is far too important to be timid. At some point, new teachers need sound practical advice on how to do their important work. Tried & True does not traffic in nuance. It is unabashedly prescriptive in that it tells readers how they ought to do their job.”

 —from the Preface

 

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Tried & True: A Primer on Sound Pedagogy offers practical advice to new and existing teachers through fourteen succinct, easy-to-read chapters. Dr. Coupland connects high-level topics like the school’s mission with practical advice to inform a teacher's lessons, assessments, classroom management, and parent communications. He considers how teachers can best lead students to success, including how to engage student interest and use simple strategies to run an efficient classroom. Tried & True, though concise, is able to dive deeply into the most imperative aspects of teaching. It will become an essential reference for new and experienced teachers alike.

About the Author

Dr. Daniel B. Coupland is the Dean of the Graduate School of Classical Education, the Chairman of the Education Department, and a Professor of Education at Hillsdale College, where he regularly teaches courses on English grammar, classical pedagogy, and classic children’s literature. Dr. Coupland has received Hillsdale College’s “Professor of the Year” award and was awarded the Emily Daugherty Award for Teaching Excellence. He was a Resident Scholar at the C. S. Lewis Study Centre in Oxford, England, and he sits on the advisory board for the Institute for Classical Education. He is the author of a new book on teaching titled Tried & True, published by Hillsdale College Press. He and his wife live in Jonesville, MI, with their three children.

Praise for Tried & True

 

“Drawing on Daniel Coupland's experience as a young teacher of high school Spanish and as Dean of Hillsdale College's MA in Classical Education, Tried & True: A Primer on Sound Pedagogy illustrates essential aspects of K-12 teaching, including how to shape positive classroom behavior, how to lesson plan, how to begin and end each class well, how to assess and encourage students, etc. Coupland presents clear, practical tips to help novice teachers become successful professionals. Every beginning teacher will want to read and follow Daniel Coupland's Tried & True.”

—E. Christian Kopff, author of The Devil Knows Latin: Why America Needs the Classical Tradition

 

“Dan Coupland has succeeded in a challenge that many attempt but few accomplish. He has provided concise, clear, actionable advice to the new teacher and valuable reminders for the veteran. His primer is what a primer should be: easy to read, easy to understand, and easy to remember. It is a combination well crafted to maximize a new teacher’s success and enjoyment of the work and the students.”

—Leslie Moeller, Chairman, Society for Classical Learning

 

“Every teacher in the country ought to read Daniel Coupland’s Tried & True. As a teacher of teachers, Coupland is a field general in the national movement for educational renewal. He knows how teachers can succeed as cultural leaders in their schools. In concise, lively prose he gives us a treasure of proven teaching strategies: what environment best draws students into learning, what pedagogy most effectively guides them to proficiency, what practices make the best sense of grading and assessment, and much more. This is the field manual America needs for winning back the best education for our students.”

—Andrew J. Zwerneman, President of Cana Academy, author of The Life We Have Together: A Case for Humane Studies, A Vision for Renewal

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