Reviews

What others are saying about Teach and Reach for Classroom Miracles!:

Annette Siminski, Director of Children's Ministries, United Methodist Church, Clarkston, MI
"A week or so before receiving Wendy Byard's book Teach and Reach for Classroom Miracles! Lessons on Teaching With Love,  I had decided that the overall theme for our Sunday school teachers this year was to convey to the kid’s just how much God loves them.  I wanted our teachers to demonstrate this over and over.  I had no idea how to accomplish this. Then one week after making this decision, I was given her book.  Is God amazingly good or what!!!!  And His timing is impeccable.  My Sunday school teachers were so excited to receive this book.  

Teach and Reach for Classroom Miracles!  Lessons on Teaching With Love will inspire any teacher, coach, trainer, mentor, instructor, and motivator to tackle their job in a different way.  A “way,” in fact, that demonstrates God’s love to all students.  A “way,” in fact, that makes students feel appreciated, cared for, and yes, LOVED!  Can you imagine teaching your students in a loving environment instead of an adversarial, authoritative, contentious, or condescending environment?  Wendy explains that a teacher’s love for her students is what matters most, not how well planned her lessons are, how organized she is, or how “nice” she may be.  LOVE is exactly what God teaches and demands from us, and what Christ modeled for us.  The exciting result of teaching with love is that miracles will happen in the classroom to both the students and the teacher. 

Wendy provides us with practical ways of teaching with love, concrete ways to show love to students, some great examples of how she did it and the miraculous results that followed.  Wendy makes it clear that teaching with love requires intentional effort and hard work on our part.  Wendy explains that love isn’t always easy, but it is most certainly worth it.  Do you want to make a difference in students’ lives?  Learn how to Teach with Love!" 




John Nugent, Lapeer, MI, School Board Member
"I loved the book . . . As Board Trustee for Lapeer Community Schools we have conversations regularly about students who just don’t have anyone who really cares or loves them. It’s so sad to hear some of the stories. When there are kids who don’t have anyone there for them, it really lands back into the hands of teachers. I think your book really sends a great message about teachers loving their students. In your book you mention love is something you sometimes have to work at…and that is so true. Every child deserves to feel loved."




Rose Ferrett, Education Student, Saginaw Valley State University, MI
"I just wanted to let you know how much I truly enjoyed reading the Teach and Reach for Classroom Miracles book! I am currently a student at Saginaw Valley State University and this fall will be my first semester in the college of education and I absolutely cannot wait to start teaching. My mom had ordered me your book for my birthday and I could not put it down! The book sparked my excitement for teaching even more and even made me excited to start classes in the fall! (Which is absolutely shocking! haha) I grew up in Dryden, Michigan so when I heard that you were a local teacher and writer I was even more excited to start reading your book. I just want to thank you for writing a book that provides so much insight to what else is so important when becoming a teacher, you know, all the stuff they DON'T teach you in school. I also took the time to email some of the professors that I felt stepped up and went to extra mile to show the students that they really cared! I will be recommending your book to many people to allow others to realize the importance of love and God's miracles in the classroom!

Thank you again!"


 
Rev. Todd D. Smith, First Presbyterian Church of Lapeer, MI
"After reading professor Byard's work I was impressed by her passion and the depth of her thinking in taking Christ's commandment to his followers to reach out to all with agape love as a part of her vocation. I could not put it down. The book with its many pertinent personal examples and deep felt conviction shows how the efforts of any single Christian to seriously and deeply share the love of Christ can reach people in ways that could never be imagined. It is not simply a work for the teaching profession but reminds us all that in our own vocations we are all ministers and all teachers of agape love if we would simply take time to listen to the children of God the Lord puts in our lives, and to react to their needs by simply loving them as we love ourselves. It is a must read for all who call themselves people of Christ."



Mike Ogg, Lapeer West High School Teacher and Coach and "Michigan's Girls' Golf Coach of the Year in 2009"
"I am a high school drafting and CAD teacher with over 20 years of teaching experience. I heard about the book and was curious. I am one of those people who is not easy to impress. I have read all the latest and greatest ideas to be a better teacher and came away shaking my head. But after I read "Teach and Reach for Classroom Miracles!" it reminded me of the reason I chose this special profession. Wendy's book made me think about what was really important. It's reaching another person that is special in their own way. Wendy reminded me that you must show them you care about them before they will open up to you. For those of you who want to make a difference with kids, you should read this book."



Greg Kelley, Executive Director, World Mission
"The best way to leave a lasting legacy is to touch the lives of those we are closest to. One of the greatest historical relationships where this life-giving reality has the opportunity to take shape is when a teacher influences the life of their student. Wendy Byard applies a lifetime of experience as a daughter, mother, wife, and teacher to articulate in a powerful manner the keys to developing relationships. She also reveals how to create an atmosphere of love that gives every child the opportunity to reach their full potential. In Teach And Reach For Classroom Miracles! Lessons On Teaching With Love, Wendy unlocks the code that will guide you into a world where "miracles take place in students' lives, which then reverberate throughout the world." Her personal Christian testimony is an inspiration, which shapes her practical recommendations that can be utilized by anyone. A must read for leaders and especially teachers!"



Shirley A. Harris, PsyD, School Psychologist
"Professor Byard's book Teach And Reach For Classroom Miracles! Lessons On Teaching With Love is a straight-forward account of her own journey to live a life of Christianity and to carry this through in her teaching. This book will compel teachers to question how they teach and inspire them to approach their calling from a higher level. Her thoughtful account of her own self-doubts and efforts to make her vocation of teaching a reflection of her life in Christ gives practical ideas that are not overwhelming but easily accomplished. In this age of ever-increasing academic demands in the classroom, this book will compel teachers who read it to stop focusing only on curriculum and start teaching their students with love."

Marilyn Wilson, Professor at Michigan State University, Departments of WRAC and English
"Wendy Byard writes engagingly about her teaching, through her own voice and through the voices of her students. One of the strengths of this manuscript is that Wendy is able to show the strong personal relationships that she develops between herself and her students that affect the pedagogical decisions . . . The manuscript is engaging and well-written and clearly demonstrates the importance of compassion in the classroom."

Mary Ovington, mother of a friend
"What a beautiful gift your book will be to anyone who reads it. I mentioned it at Bible study, and they asked for the title. Thank you for sharing this beautiful blessing in reaching so many who need your special touch. I pray my grandchildren will some day, when most needed, meet a teacher who was inspired by your book and brought that inspiration into their classrooms."

For The Flint Journal/Fenton Press news article, visit http://www.mlive.com/fenton/index.ssf/2009/02/lake_fenton_graduate_wendy_bya.html

For Mott College press release, visit http://www.mcc.edu/cgi-bin/press_rel_display.cgi?pressid=5277