"The book is a testament to public education while providing an honest appraisal of the problems and successes inherent in the educational endeavor. As teachers and teacher educators, we found the advice for teacher educators and pre-service, novice, and experienced teachers to be relevant: understand that teaching is transactional, take time to write, respect and care for your students, find a mentor, make a friend, be kind, creative, and efficient, get outside once a day, have stamina and courage, engage in professional development, and be thoughtful and critical about curriculum and pedagogy. We encourage both in-service and pre-service teachers to read this book as they reflect on their teacher identity. As the authors note, teaching is not always easy, but it is a profession worth fighting for."
—Teachers College Record
"Riveting and beautiful! Teaching, A Life’s Work offers a full basket of wisdom wrapped up in personal stories of learning to teach. Through loving and reflective dialogue, mother-daughter duo Sonia Nieto and Alicia López probe the heart of what it means to teach, as they challenge us to reflect on what we stand for as teachers and who we stand with."
— Christine Sleeter, professor emerita, California State University Monterey Bay
"The book is a testament to public education while providing an honest appraisal of the problems and successes inherent in the educational endeavor. As teachers and teacher educators, we found the advice for teacher educators and pre-service, novice, and experienced teachers to be relevant: understand that teaching is transactional, take time to write, respect and care for your students, find a mentor, make a friend, be kind, creative, and efficient, get outside once a day, have stamina and courage, engage in professional development, and be thoughtful and critical about curriculum and pedagogy. We encourage both in-service and pre-service teachers to read this book as they reflect on their teacher identity. As the authors note, teaching is not always easy, but it is a profession worth fighting for."
—Teachers College Record
"In Teaching, A Life’s Work, Sonia Nieto and Alicia López share with us a beautiful and powerful inter-generational conversation between a mother and daughter about education, identity, and teaching for social justice. Standing together in defense of public education and in defense of students and their communities, Nieto and Lopez give us the gift of two lifetimes of loving commitment to teaching children and changing the world."
—Wayne Au, professor, School of Educational Studies, University of Washington Bothell
“A genuine rarity! A mother and daughter—a seasoned pro and a young pro—talk about their educational lives. Their dialog allows us insight into the differences and similarities across generations in teacher education, curriculum, and classroom practices appropriate for the kinds of students faced today, and into the politics of education. To be able to share their thoughts about education in contemporary times is as delightful as it is informative.”
—David C. Berliner, Regents’ Professor of Education Emeritus, Arizona State University
