I was drawn to this book because of the title, Why Don’t Students Like School? In the grade level that I teach, 2nd grade, students love to be at school. That doesn’t always mean they love learning. Most are still excited about learning, but by the middle of the year the students that are struggling with learning start showing signs of not being as excited to be in school. I was hoping the book would help me understand the reasons why they don’t like school. What stands out in my mind most from reading the book is that background knowledge is critical for students to be good thinkers. Students who don’t have many opportunities to build background knowledge before they enter school begin their education are at a disadvantage from those whose families do provide these opportunities. I enjoyed the information on working memory and long-term memory. I talked with my young students the other morning about how reading frequently used words over and over helps put these words into our long-term memory so that we can automatically remember them whenever we read. They appeared to kind of understand what I was trying to tell them. I think if teachers talked more with students about their thinking they would start thinking more about their own thinking. I am sure I will refer to this book in the future. I enjoyed it very much.