For All You Do

Peter Mishler is that rare combination of the real deal: an accomplished published poet and a committed veteran teacher. In For All You Do, he explores the topic of self-care for teachers—both the need to take it seriously and the need to resist some of its mythologies—in vivid, compelling prose. He offers a vision of teaching as an art form, but it’s performance art he’s modeling, messy, interactive, and dynamic, not the creation of static artifacts with the brushstrokes smoothed out. He’s the kind and genuine mentor every new teacher should have, the self-aware and generous senior colleague we all want to become. When you finish reading this book, I predict you’ll feel reassured about your ability to navigate what Mishler calls the “noble and necessary challenge” of work in schools—and better equipped to do so in healthy, sustainable ways.

  (Kelly Chandler-Olcott, Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professor for Teaching Excellence, Syracuse University)