Review of On the Edge of Their Seats: What the Best Teachers do to Engage and Inspire Their Students by Mark E. Jonas and Douglas W. Yacek (Post & Lintel Books, 2023)

Abstract

Mark Jonas and Douglas Yacek’s book, On the Edge of Their Seats, offers a possible solution to the boredom pandemic challenge, arising from their personal discovery of the transformative potential of teaching. The book is dedicated to their students, who have been their main source of inspiration in their teaching careers and professional development. Over the years of teaching, they have compared their experiences with those of many other teachers from very different contexts, years of seniority, and disciplines. The result of these conversations, observations, and mentoring is the four-step framework described in this book, although the methodological decisions and procedures are barely described. What the authors found through deep analysis of what they call “the best teachers” is that certain characteristics stand out.