Customer Rating:
Summary: Amazon's deceptive practices taint excellent supplier effort
Comment: Product from supplier was fine and condition was as promised. I paid for 1 day delivery from Amazon; AMAZON DOES NOT MEAN 1 day as in 'overnight'. BUYERS BEWARE- EVEN IF "IN STOCK," the '1 day' term only means it is in somebody's warehouse somewhere in the US - not necessarily their's. So '1 day' means AFTER whenever it gets to wherever AMAZON starts counting from. You have no idea how mnay days it will take for it to get from Egypt to Amazon's ware house, but in the meantime, they have your top dollar "1-day delivery' money, so do they care? So you pay LOTS of money for NOTHING that will help speed up the time of your delivery. For a real giggle, click the customer service button. Good heavens. Not the type of Amazon experience I am used to!!

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Strengths
Comment: I believe it is an important step to look at strengths and how to use them to benefit others instead of weaknesses. Good book for teachers and leaders.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Don't buy this book USED because ...
Comment: While the first part of this book speaks generally about teaching, the second half addresses your individual strengths as found through the website Strengthsfinder.com and how they apply to teaching.
In order to access this information you go to their website and type in the access code on the inside of the dust jacket. The access code can only be used ONE time, and evidently the person I bought the used book from had used the access code, so I was not able to find out my personal strengths. Consequently the book was of little use.
This book is one of a series of books which use the Gallup Strengthsfinder website and happily I had purchased Strengths Finder 2.0 (by Tom Rath) new and the access code was sealed inside the book so I finally had access to the website.
Once enrolled I took a preference test (about 20 minutes) and received information on my 5 strengths. These correspond for the most part with those listed in Teach With Your Strengths. This information on my strengths is not earth-shaking but it does support Gallup's contention that we shouldn't waste time or energy trying to "fix" our lesser talents but instead develop what we do naturally (172).
As with anything it is not a magic wand, but instead an interesting way of thinking about maximizing our individual potential.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: The first two chapters or so were good
Comment: I was really happy with the book through the first two or three chapters. The book said a lot of things that I already feel about teaching. Essentially, it says, "Teachers are good because of who they are, and they're better when they teach with their strengths."

That's a great sentiment.

However, the middle chapters quickly devolved into a promotion for a particular personality trait test. I felt like bit like I was being lured into a Dianetics room. I felt slightly hesitant while moving on past the initial chapters, because the authors kept talking about one particular personality test.

I checked this book out from the library, and I had just finished telling my wife how I was going to be purchasing the book to have at school. Then came the Clifton test advertisements.

If you don't mind reading books that are intended to advertise a product, then by all means, please read this book. If that sort of thing offends you, then don't get it. If you don't care either way, only read the first few chapters. You won't know the difference.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: This book just makes sense
Comment: I was at first apprehensive about buying this book. After all, what would the Gallup Poll know about teaching? Well, it turns out that they know a lot. Being a "highly qualified teacher", i.e. having a license to teach a subject is not enough these days. Good teachers must also be able to "connect" to students. The authors are realistic and their findings are extremely helpful. For example, working on ones weaknesses won't work. If you are an introvert, taking classes in public speaking won't help that much; it certainly won't make you an extrovert. This book is an excellent read for anyone who works with or is interested in working with students.

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