A short, but interesting book. Conway shares stories from his years of teaching college philosophy courses. He offers general, but not practical, advice, but it is not his objective to write a "how to" manual. Some nice gems in there that teachers can relate to their own practice, but overall heartwarming than mind-stretching. It's great to hear how education makes profound differences in the lives of Conway's students. As Conway mentions several times, education is not about making a living, it is about making a life. ( )

Conway states up front that this is not a "How To" manual for educators, and he holds to that. It is instead a collection of stories about moments in his teaching career that have opened his eyes. The book is very accessible, though, as he is a philosophy professor, a little heavy on philosophers and philosophy. His message is essentially that education is all about transformation, and that teachers have to make a space available in which students can take part. There are no earth-shattering revelations here, but it is worth your time if you need a little recharge.

I received a review copy of this book from the publisher. ( )

I enjoyed reading Professor Conway's book. As a teacher I found some inspirational anecdotes and insights. Although the book is short, it likely could have been made significantly shorter. The author spends a good deal of the 150 pages giving the reading background/context of the texts that are critical components to his anecdotes. Often times, however, he adds this context without giving enough or equivalent coverage to explaining how the extended conversation relates/informs his larger point. ( )

Conway provides an insightful and scientific approach to teaching. From a learning perspective, the book provides insights about the mechanics of teaching and has well written case studies. I am a non-traditional educator and clinician, meaning that I will do treatment as usual in certain cases, however, I much prefer to customize any educational and clinical programs that I offer to the high-risk adolescents with whom I work on a daily basis. Though I feel that Conway is a touch idealistic, I do appreciate the perspective. ( )

I approached Jeremiah Conway's "The Alchemy of Teaching" with an open mind. I wanted to really like the book, but I've found few books on teaching that are actually useful. Conway expresses his idea for the book as, "This is a book about teaching. It's not, however, about tips, techniques, or new strategies regarding how to educate. It offers no plan for educational transformation, innovation or reform. Instead of providing some theoretical model of what education should be, it redirects attention to the actual experiences of teaching—in particular, to the events of human change that education engenders and witnesses." He fails in this goal. He does not show how teaching can transform people. Instead, what he tells a number of stories about challenges that he faced over his career as a university professor. And while he does not adequately address what he set out to do, the book is useful in that it the vignettes that it presents can be a focus of reflection on how to address similar challenges that may arise during the career of the reader.

Conway presents six stories, each focused around an individual he has encountered over the course of his career: the brilliant student who discovered that education was not parroting back facts, but challenging one's conceptions; a "student from hell" whose dogmatic Christian beliefs ran headfirst into the questioning ethos of the academy; a shy student who discovered that literature could put her on a path to a richer life; an older student who is stricken with cancer; an adjunct professor who is forced out of the university because he was a better teacher than the tenured staff; and the last, which doesn't focus on an individual, but is an examination of why one particular summer session course on Nietzsche succeeded when by all rights it shouldn't have. Of these only two are about transforming individuals. The others are about dealing with personalities, problems, and politics.

While the book is artfully written and engaging, there is one aspect in which it falls short, the dialogue. Many of the stories he tells are related through conversations, and it is clear that Conway has no ear for writing dialogue. Quite simply, people don't talk like that. This sets a rather artificial mood and makes it harder to identify with the situations. But, on the other hand, it keeps some of the stories from being maudlin or mawkishly sentimental.

Nevertheless, because it is a short and inexpensive book that doesn't waste the reader's time or money, it is useful as a catalyst for private reflection or professional development conversations among colleagues. I can see this book being used in a graduate school pedagogy course to start discussion on various challenges the students should expect to face in the classroom and in departmental meetings. ( )