> Skip to content
  • Published: 18 December 2007
  • ISBN: 9780143112860
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 272
  • RRP: $35.00

Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire

The Methods and Madness Inside Room 56





Read Rafe Esquith's posts on the Penguin Blog.

The New York Times bestseller that is revolutionizing the way Americans educate their kids-"Rafe Esquith is a genius and a saint" (The New York Times)

Perhaps the most famous fifth-grade teacher in America, Rafe Esquith has won numerous awards and even honorary citizenship in the British Empire for his outstandingly successful methods. In his Los Angeles public school classroom, he helps impoverished immigrant children understand Shakespeare, play Vivaldi, and become happy, self-confident people. This bestseller gives any teacher or parent all the techniques, exercises, and innovations that have made its author an educational icon, from personal codes of behavior to tips on tackling literature and algebra. The result is a powerful book for anyone concerned about the future of our children.

  • Published: 18 December 2007
  • ISBN: 9780143112860
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 272
  • RRP: $35.00

About the author

Rafe Esquith

Rafe Esquith is beginning his eighteenth year at Hobart Elementary School in Los Angeles. He is the product of the Los Angeles public schools and a graduate of UCLA. His many honors and awards include the 1992 Disney National Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award, a Sigma Beta Delta Fellowship from Johns Hopkins University, Parents Magazine’s As You Grow Award, Oprah Winfrey’s Use Your Life Award, and an MBE from Queen Elizabeth. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Barbara Tong.

Also by Rafe Esquith

See all

Praise for Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire

penguin pop image
penguin pop image