The Art of Teaching by Feruz Akbarov - A Review

Ben reviews Feruz Akbarov’s The Art of Teaching in which he finds lessons for us all.  

Feruz Akbarov’s The Art of Teaching is in two concise parts. The first section focuses, ostensibly, on the author’s own experiences, reflections and the wider implications and learning experiences drawn from these for himself and all teachers. This covers areas including but in no way limited to themes such as teaching philosophies, intercultural communication, the role of technology, textbooks, feedback and feedforward, storytelling, innovation, mindset and more. The second section looks to the future discussing AI, its relationship to the teacher and inability to replace teachers, the potential for AR and VR to transform learning environments and strategies for AI inclusion.

Feruz has written a book that is rich in conceptual metaphor – Feruz talks of teaching as a living thing, of his own publication as a mirror, of the mistakes we make as being milestones in our journeys as teachers, the classroom as an artist’s canvas and, of course, teaching as an art form.

Feruz also demonstrates strong intercultural intelligence that he has grown through his experiences in Poland, China and beyond. This experience, as evidenced in The Art of Teaching has often been hard won as Feruz himself highlights. He also shows himself to be a teacher with purpose who takes a human-focused approach to teaching. The Art of Teaching attests to a teacher with high emotional intelligence, strong interpersonal skills and capacity to co-create productive cultures in classrooms.

Feruz’s book is packed with lessons and learning experiences and is supported by a clear structure, arrangement and frequent summary statements that make the book infinitely accessible. This is not a book for the cynical, for those who need to be told what to do or how to think, those without the capability to reflect on their own performance or to learn from their own mistakes or errors as teachers. This is not a manual. Instead, The Art of Teaching encourages us as teachers to reflect; reading this book, you will find yourself harking back to your own memories as a teacher - be they successes or failures – and will find yourself emotionally invested in the text.

The Art of Teaching is a book written by an artisan dedicated to his craft – it is unpretentious, accessible and inspiring. It is the type of book that demands engagement and any reader will surely find themselves underlining passages that are useful, rousing, pertinent or that simply sound pleasing to the reader. Any reader is likely to finish the book in one sitting then read it again - a worthwhile activity as anyone will find new content and ideas with each reading.

Clearly, publications like this are something the English teaching profession desperately needs and, as such, it comes highly recommended.

The Art of Teaching is available on Amazon. You can also follow Feruz on LinkedIn and YouTube.