Author's name:Nathan Eklund

Latest title: "How Was Your Day at School: Improving Dialogue about Teacher Job Satisfaction"

Previous books:None

Publisher:Search Institute Press

Publication date:January 2009

Where available:At bookstores everywhere and through Independent Publishers Group. Information: 1-800-888-4741 or www.ipgbook.com.

Price:$25.95

Book summary:The book discusses topics related to teacher burnout issues and includes strategies and advice for creating a positive working environment for educators.

Eklund, a former teacher, said schools and districts were often so focused on creating strong learning environments for their students that they forgot about the other main tenants in the building - teachers.

"We have to be mindful that schools are a place where adults work," said Eklund, a Golden Valley resident.

According to the National Education Association website, almost 50 percent of teachers leave the profession within the first five years, and many cite lack of collegiality and dissatisfaction with workplace climate as primary reasons.

Because the influence of the classroom teacher is the single most important factor in predicting student success, Eklund said, schools needed to overcome the barriers to retaining high-quality teachers.

Eklund graduated with a teaching degree from St. Olaf College in 1995 and began teaching English and coaching at Orono High School. He spent 12 years there an is now senior education consultant at Search Institute, a nonprofit organization in Minneapolis that works with school districts on youth development.

He said he did not leave teaching because he was dissatisfied with the profession, but because Search Institute offered a great opportunity. Teacher burnout and retentions were topics that interested him.

His relationship with his colleagues as a teacher was directly related to his satisfaction, he said. "I knew if I was happy and supported at work, I was a better teacher," Eklund said, adding that teachers' happiness affects students' success.

He spent two years researching, writing and editing "How Was Your Day at School." The book includes solutions and strategies for improving the lives of teachers and students. "I work the golden rule with schools and teachers - we have to be as good to others as we are to ourselves," he said.

He praised Hopkins Public Schools, which his children attend, as a district that did care about the issues he talks about in his book. Through Search Institute, Eklund works with districts around the state toward improving teacher retention. He plans to stick with this work for a while. "We're not having these conversations often enough," he said.

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