David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants

read the instructions aloud together.
Pianta was aghast. “Just the idea that you
would be choral reading a set of
instructions to a bunch of eight-year-olds
is almost disrespectful,” he said. “I
mean, why? Is there any instructional
purpose?” They know how to read. It is
like a waiter in a restaurant giving you
the menu and then proceeding to read
every item to you just as it appears on
the page.
A boy sitting next to the teacher raises
his hand midway through the reading,
and without looking at him, the teacher
reaches out, grabs his wrist, and pushes
his hand back down. Another child starts
to actually do the assignment—an