Hello, my name is Mr. Malley

At the end of last year, I asked my principal what I should do about my Psychology textbooks considering the 60 students signed up for AP Psychology the next year; the books on the shelf were tattered and very outdated. He recommended that we buy new textbooks, and this summer we did just that.

Shopping for textbooks was interesting. I’ve never been a fan of textbooks, so I found very little fun in the process. Although, I did like the concept of free books from blood-sucking publishers. My shopping got me 6 - 8 college-level Intro to Psychology books. It was like Christmas, only nerdier.

I chose the book that was a) easiest for me to read, b) highly recommended, and c) popular. I made the right choice by going with Psychology 8th edition by David Meyers (Worth Publishers), 2006. Here’s what a student wrote, unsolicited, on my course web-page:

Though i don’t like to read much, this book makes me feel like i am someone. It actually has a voice and speaks to me as if I was listening to someone read it.

-Tuba Steve

It’s always nice when a pedagogical tool does what it’s supposed to do. Thank you, David Myers. Thank you, Tuba Steve.

Having shiny new textbooks is one thing; getting students to read them is another. While I don’t know what percentage of students actually read the textbook before coming to class, I like to think that my methods are encouraging:

• random quizzes designed to check understanding of topics before I present them.

• tests that are quite difficult to ensure that more than surface knowledge is necessary in order to score well.

If you’ve ever sat through my class, you know that it is nothing but a proverbial “carrot” on a daily basis. I like to have fun; I like to entertain my students with the content that I teach. I demonstrate, I poke fun, and I laugh. They laugh, too.

For this reason, students are frequently surprised by the rather abrasive “stick” that I use get them to study outside of class.

My quizzes and tests are that stick. They prevent students from simply “attending the Malley show” as I put it today in class. I don’t show up to school on a daily basis to put on an information session; I show up to teach. Teaching is a silly word in the absence of learning.