Book Description Review Advance Praise for Teaching by Heart:”We should all know what makes teachers great, and how they can move us to think about our own roles as leaders. Tom DeLong is the right person to do this. I’m struck by his honesty and willingness to show, in captivating detail, his own vulnerability–a radical act that will alter readers of Teaching by Heart.” — Ophelia Dahl, Cofounder and Chair, Board of Directors, Partners in Health“Tom DeLong lives at the intersection of the art and science of teaching and leading. Anyone facing leadership challenges will learn unique approaches on how to teach and lead to enhance their organization. Teaching by Heart is a must-read.” — David A. Thomas, President, Morehouse College“Tom DeLong has written a beautiful, powerful, and inspiring book. It’s both a memoir and an instruction manual–a how-to guide for great teaching and a testament to the unparalleled joy that both teaching and learning can bring. Every teacher, regardless of their students’ age or the subject matter they teach, should read this book.” — Debora L. Spar, Professor, Harvard Business School; former President, Barnard College“The one characteristic that all of Tom DeLong’s classes have in common is the extent to which students are touched emotionally. All of us are lucky Tom has taken the time to share the secrets that come from forty years of masterful teaching.” — Leonard A. Schlesinger, Professor, Harvard Business School; President Emeritus, Babson College“Teaching by Heart is both a compelling personal story and a feast of insights into teaching, learning, and leading. While I’ve been the beneficiary of Tom’s perceptive advice over the last two decades, it was still thought provoking to experience the rich, holistic framework that underlies his wise counsel. You can’t put this book down.” — Martha S. Samuelson, CEO and Chairman, Analysis Group“I’ve never met another teacher like Tom DeLong. He possesses qualities rarely seen at any level in academia or the business world: a generosity of spirit, an eagerness for deep interaction, and a willingness to show his own vulnerability. This book will enable readers to learn the invaluable skill of leading, teaching, and inspiring simultaneously.” — C. Allen Parker, General Counsel, Wells Fargo Read more About the Author Thomas J. DeLong is the Baker Foundation Professor of Management Practice in the Organizational Behavior unit at Harvard Business School. Since 1997 DeLong has taught over twenty thousand MBAs and executives, both on campus and around the globe, and is internationally recognized for his teaching, writing, and course development. The author of Flying Without a Net, DeLong teaches courses focused on leadership, organizational behavior, managing human capital, and career management. He received his PhD from Purdue University and was a visiting scholar at MIT.To learn more about the author, visit: hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/profile.aspx?facId=6445 Read more Customers Review: In brief, this book is written by a reflective practitioner. It is relevant to both professors and consultants. Professor Thomas DeLong brings both corporate and academic experience to the task. He models both inner honesty and sense making in exemplary ways and, importantly, offers practical insights particularly in working with MBAs based on his HBS teaching experience. The book, sadly, does not deconstruct his executive education or his case writing experience. The book is in part an autobiography and in part a teaching manual. Given its wide focus, it is uneven. Some areas are unpacked in depth, ie, his Authentic Leadership course. Other areas less so. That said, a call to all of us who teach to “take stock”. Another fine book akin to this is the writer and literature Professor Jay Parini’s, “The Art of Teaching”. Both books show deep reflective skills and take us inside teaching as a kind of invisible fieldwork. A terrain not well mapped or written about in any depth. Much to learn here re craftsmanship in this work.
Professor DeLong dives deep into his teaching process to unveil his teaching approaches, strategies, and even insecurities. The authenticity, vulnerability, and self-awareness interwoven throughout the book make it a captivating read and easy to connect with. Professor DeLong takes the time to relate these teaching approaches to leadership principles that give appeal to many with interests outside of teaching. I highly recommend this book for anyone wanting to re-examine their own impact in public discourse be it as a teacher, leader, or simply as a communicator in general.
My initial career was in education, teaching English for many years in two New England boarding schools (Kent and then St. Georges); years later, while earning a living as an independent management consultant, I conducted workshops and seminars for corporate executives throughout the U.S. while teaching two early-morning classes (three days a week) for ten years as an adjunct professor at a community college.I faced several of the same challenges in these three quite different realms of contemporary education while also experiencing essentially the same “mysteries and occasional miracles of teaching” that Thomas DeLong describes so well in his latest book.In fact, I wish I had been able to read Teaching by Heart before I taught my first class of fourth formers (i.e. tenth graders) at Kent School. From my perspective now, however, it is probable (if not certain) that I would not have read it. I had not as yet realized how much I did not know.DeLong believes that the best teachers tend to be the best students; that is, those most eager to learn. He also believes that the best teachers tend to be uniquely effective leaders as exemplar and perhaps role model. (He has taught at Harvard Business School for more than twenty years.) As he explains, “By deconstructing teaching, I hope to dig deep into the process and reveal some truths about how and why we teach the way we do.” Also, how and why teachers and their students learn the way they do. He succeeds brilliantly.What we have here is an extended companionship with DeLong during a segment of what he characterizes as a “journey.” His primary purpose is to facilitate learning — his own as well as his students’ — so that they are challenged “to be more accepting, more aware, and more committed to be all they can be.”These are among the passages of greatest interest and value to me, Also listed to suggest the thrust and flavor of DeLong’s thinking::o Emerging Patterns (Pages 42-43)o The Worm Deck (47-63)o Prejudging Students (68-72)o Classifying STudents (72-79)o How Leaders Create Covenants (83-86)o Tips and Tactics for Teachers (94-96)o The Moral to the Session on Difficult Conversations (108-110)o The Past, The Present, and The Future (!24-130)o Paying for the Sins of Others (135-138)o The Tug of War between Reality and the Narrative (147-148)o What Makes a Mentor (153-154)o Managing Up: How to Impress (157-159)o Embrace Clarity and Simplicity to Avoid Ambiguity (164-166)o The Myth of Seeking Feedback (172-173)o Mr. Rogers: Improving the Teaching Neighborhood (185-186 and 198-200)I highly recommend this book to all who are now preparing for a career in teaching (grades 9-12, college, or university) or who have only recently embarked upon one; also to executives who have direct reports entrusted to their care.Thomas DeLong is to be commended for so generously and so candidly sharing many of his thoughts and feelings about his life and work. He teaches “by heart” because he cares so deeply about the knowledge he shares but also about the process by which he shares it with his students and how they absorb and digest it — as well as what they learn elsewhere — and then apply it when pursuing personal growth and professional developmentTo those who are about to read this book, welcome to a classroom unlike any other you have ever known. I envy you the “journey” that awaits. Bon voyage!
Fascinating insights into “how it works” at HBS! Warm, practical advice about teaching, but also about how we interact in any situation where some have influence over others. Not so much anti-authority as a case for shared authority grounded in compassion and communication. |
5 reviews