Book Review: The Power of a Teacher

| By: Committee for Children

by Adam L. Sáenz
Reading Level: Adult

According to a survey conducted by the National Teacher of the Year award and the ING financial institution, 88 percent of Americans identified at least one teacher who had a significant, positive impact on their life. Ninety-eight percent believed that a good teacher can change the course of a student’s life.

Many teachers start their careers with the hope and idealism borne of this understanding. Unfortunately, many wind up disillusioned and burned out. What makes the difference for those who power through and find fulfillment and happiness in teaching?

“Forever changed by teachers”

In The Power of a Teacher, author and school psychologist Adam Sáenz helps teachers at every stage of their career begin to create a balance in their work, finances, relationships, health, spirituality, and emotions. Having gone through a troubled childhood himself, punctuated by two excellent teachers who helped him see beyond his seemingly hopeless situation, he refers to himself as “an outlier whose life trajectory was forever changed by teachers who cared.” His hope in this book is to help teachers continue doing what they do well without collapsing under the weight of frustration, ill health, bureaucracy, and changing pedagogy.

Tools for change

Sáenz energetically tackles each area of a teacher’s life with a clearly laid-out chapter. For example, in “Financial Wellbeing,” he describes what financial wellbeing is, provides “keys” to achieve it (“Identify External Factors That Impact Your Finances,” and “Identify Internal Factors That Impact Your Finances”), then presents a conclusion, a summary, recommendations for action, a true story about how a teacher changed someone’s life, and questions for discussion. After presenting the case for wellbeing, and describing the kinds of wellbeing teachers (and everyone else) need, he offers two straightforward and helpful tools: the Teacher Wellness Inventory and the Change Organizer. These tools allow the reader to identify areas that need work and make realistic plans to change.

The Power of a Teacher is not only a fantastic practical guide for anyone in a stressful environment to find balance, it’s also a really good read, jam-packed with fascinating stories of real people, including Sáenz himself, who went from being a “sixth grader in handcuffs” to a psychologist with two doctorates, trained at Harvard Medical School, Brown Medical School, and Oxford University.