New Books in Education Carlo Rotella, "What Can I Get Out of This?: Teaching and Learning in a Classroom Full of Skeptics" (U California Press, 2025)
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Dec 7, 2025 In this insightful discussion, Carlo Rotella, a Professor of English at Boston College and author, dives into his new book exploring how to teach in classrooms filled with skeptical students. He shares unique perspectives gained from a spring 2020 class, emphasizing the importance of student voices. Topics include using student hatred toward texts as analytical tools, the value of humanities, and fostering engagement through varied reading choices. Rotella also highlights innovative strategies for encouraging reticent students to participate and adapting to teaching challenges!
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Classroom As A Craft
- Teaching is a craft where the classroom is a scene of people working to improve their chops.
- Make education available for students to take rather than trying to give it all yourself.
Literature Teaches Transferable Skills
- Literature classes teach a transferable skill: extracting meaning and building evidence-based arguments.
- These skills are basic for citizenship, work, and judging reliability in public life.
Design Class Rules To Make Discussion Primary
- Set class rules so form follows function: ban devices and require regular verbal contribution.
- Enforce discussion format consistently and resist rescuing the class by lecturing.
