Failing at School

Failing at School PDF

Author: Camille A. Farrington

Publisher: Teachers College Press

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 209

ISBN-13: 0807772747

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Roughly half of all incoming ninth graders across urban districts will fail classes and drop out of school without a diploma. Failing at School starts with the premise that urban American high schools generate such widespread student failure not because of some fault of the students who attend them but because high schools were designed to stratify achievement and let only the top performers advance to higher levels of education. This design is particularly detrimental for low-income, racial/ethnic minority students. To get different results, Farrington proposes fundamental changes based on what we now know about how students learn, what motivates them to engage in learning, and what kinds of educational systems and structures would best support their learning. “This is a groundbreaking and eye-opening study because it does what few studies of high school truly do: get inside the hearts and minds of teen-agers and show what their experience of school looks and feels like to them. The analysis of students who fail is revealing and powerful. There are poignant and revealing stories of just how a few student mistakes or teacher insensitivities lead to unfortunate and long-lasting results. More importantly, these case studies, their nuances, and their implications take us beyond the clichés and simplistic theories about schools and reform. Most importantly, we read of tangible and intelligent solutions that can be instituted, based on the facts on the ground. I highly recommend this book to everyone interested in getting beyond the typical talking points of school reform.” —Grant Wiggins, Authentic Education “Camille Farrington details how high schools trap students along developmental trajectories distorted by structural factors—resources, values and practices—beyond their control. Grounded firmly in research, she describes a better way forward. This book is an important contribution to the re-visioning of American high schools.” —Ronald F. Ferguson, faculty director, Achievement Gap Initiative, Harvard University "Why is there such a pattern of failure in urban high schools? This is a vital issue for every city in America. Camille Farrington’s analysis of the roots of this problem and suggestions for structural changes to break this cycle is the best I have seen. This book combines research and practitioner wisdom with common sense and heart, and for those of us engaged in this work, presents concrete directions for positive change.” —Ron Berger, chief academic officer, Expeditionary Learning Book Features: Offers concrete strategies for redesigning high schools based on four dimensions of student achievement—structural, academic, developmental, and motivational. Highlights the voices of students to illustrate fundamental problems with the way we currently “do school.” Addresses the new Common Core State Standards and the potential of this major reform effort to move us toward equity and excellence. Camille A. Farrington is a research associate (assistant professor) at The University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration and the Consortium on Chicago School Research and director of curriculum, instruction, and assessment for the Network for College Success.

Class Rules

Class Rules PDF

Author: Peter W. Cookson

Publisher: Teachers College Press

Published: 2015-04-26

Total Pages: 287

ISBN-13: 0807772577

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Class Rules challenges the popular myth that high schools are the “Great Equalizers.” In his groundbreaking study, Cookson demonstrates that adolescents undergo different class rites of passage depending on the social-class composition of the high school they attend. Drawing on stories of schools and individual students, the author shows that where a student goes to high school is a major influence on his or her social class trajectory. Class Rules is a penetrating, original examination of the role education plays in blocking upward mobility for many children. It offers a compelling vision of an equitable system of schools based on the full democratic rights of students. Book Features: Provides a fresh, dynamic way of understanding educational inequality and social reproduction.Offers a breakthrough social/psychological theory of how adolescents acquire class consciousness.Compares the cultures and curricula of five American high schools focusing on the class composition of their students. “This highly readable and original book illuminates why we don’t have open class warfare in our society, despite huge inequalities. Peter Cookson shows how schools reproduce classes through institutional practices that forge class-based consciousness. He also suggests how education might be changed.” —Caroline Hodges Persell, professor emerita of sociology, New York University “Cookson does a superb job of analyzing the powerful forces in our schools that reinforce the racial, ethnic, and social-class structures our nation hopes to overcome. Breaking out of one’s social class was always hard but may now be harder than in previous decades. Cookson reminds us of what high schools can be, the great equalizers, institutions for promoting America’s finest values.” —David Berliner, Regents’ professor emeritus, Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, Arizona State University

College Ready 2022

College Ready 2022 PDF

Author: Chelsea Petree

Publisher:

Published: 2022-03-15

Total Pages: 164

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

College Ready 2021 is an essential guide parents can depend upon to answer questions throughout their child's first year at college! The first year of college is full of excitement and uncertainty. And this Fall brings additional challenges and stress. College Ready 2021 provides practical guidance on what should be done during the summer, during drop-off, and the first semester. Chapters address top-of-mind concerns including packing, money, staying connected, promoting responsible independence and supporting academic success. Checklists accompany each chapter so you don't forget anything and don't do things you shouldn't! And the book is full of ideas on how to start those tough, but very much needed, conversations.

School and Society

School and Society PDF

Author: Walter Feinberg

Publisher: Teachers College Press

Published: 2015-04-18

Total Pages: 282

ISBN-13: 080777121X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

This widely used text has been expanded to include the most important issues in contemporary schooling, including: New end-of-chapter sections for Further Reading. New references added to the useful Additional Resources section. School and Society, Fifth Edition uses realistic case studies, dialogues, and open-ended questions designed to stimulate thinking about problems related to school and society, including curriculum reform, social justice, and competing forms of research. Written in a style that speaks directly to today’s educator, this book tackles such crucial questions as: Do schools socialize students to become productive workers? • Does schooling reproduce social class and pass on ethnic and gender biases? • Can a teacher avoid passing on dominant social and cultural values? • What besides subjects do students really learn in schools? School and Societyis one of the five books in the highly regarded Teachers College PressThinking About Education Series, now in its Fifth Edition. All of the books in this series are designed to help pre- and in-service teachers bridge the gap between theory and practice. Praise for Previous Editions! “I have been surprised and pleased by the relevance of this particular book to the lives and work of my beginning teachers.” —Teaching Education “[This series] does a masterful job of bringing together the basic issues and teaching methods that should frame social and philosophical foundations curricula.” —Educational Theory Walter Feinbergis Professor of Educational Policy Emeritus at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.Jonas F. Soltisis William Heard Kilpatrick Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University.

Another Kind of Public Education

Another Kind of Public Education PDF

Author: Patricia Hill Collins

Publisher: Beacon Press

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 262

ISBN-13: 9780807000182

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

In this fiercely intelligent yet accessible book, one of the nation's leading sociologists and experts on race calls for "another kind of public education"--one that opens up more possibilities for democracy, and more powerful modes of participation for young people of color.

City Schools and the American Dream 2

City Schools and the American Dream 2 PDF

Author: Pedro A. Noguera

Publisher: Teachers College Press

Published: 2020

Total Pages: 193

ISBN-13: 0807778559

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Over a decade ago, the first edition of City Schools and the American Dream debuted just as reformers were gearing up to make sweeping changes in urban education. Despite the rhetoric and many reform initiatives, urban schools continue to struggle under the weight of serious challenges. What went wrong and is there hope for future change? More than a new edition, this sequel to the original bestseller has been substantially revised to include insights from new research, recent demographic trends, and emerging political realities. In addition to surveying the various limitations that urban schools face, the book also highlights programs, communities, and schools that are making good on public education’s promise of equity. With renewed commitment and sense of urgency, this new edition provides a clear-eyed vision of what it will take to ensure the success of city schools and their students. “City schools continue to play one of the most important roles in our quest to restore democracy. This is a must-read . . . again!” —Gloria Ladson-Billings, University of Wisconsin–Madison “The authors provide concrete examples of innovative strategies and practices employed by urban schools that are succeeding against all odds.” —Betty A. Rosa, chancellor, New York State Board of Regents “This is the book every teacher, parent, policymaker, and engaged citizen should read.” —Marcelo M. Suárez-Orozco, UCLA

To Get a Better School System

To Get a Better School System PDF

Author: Gene B. Preuss

Publisher: Texas A&M University Press

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 154

ISBN-13: 1603443746

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Gene B. Preuss examines not only the public policy wrangling and historical context leading up to and surrounding the Gilmer-Akin legislation, but also places the discussion in the milieu of the national movement for school reform.

Revisiting "The Culture of the School and the Problem of Change"

Revisiting

Author: Seymour B. Sarason

Publisher: Teachers College Press

Published: 1996

Total Pages: 747

ISBN-13: 0807776475

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Revisiting “The Culture of the School and the Problem of Change” provocatively and seamlessly joins Seymour Sarason’s classic, landmark text on school change with his own insightful re?ections on those same issues in the face of today’s crisis in public schools. This is an extensive, monograph–length revisiting. Part I of this book reproduces the second edition of Sarason’s ground–breaking work, The Culture of the School and the Problem of Change, in which he detailed how change can affect a school’s culturally diverse environment—either through the implementation of new programs or as a result of federally imposed regulations. Throughout, many of the major assumptions about change in institutions are challenged. Speci?c events and examples demonstrate that any attempt to implement change involves some existing regularity within the school. Dr. Sarason also takes a close look at government involvement in change efforts in schooling—and includes a detailed examination of current efforts to implement PL 94–142 into public schools. He presents compelling evidence that the federal effort to change and improve schools has largely been a failure. Also included are investigations into the purposes of schooling and how these purposes can be affected by change, and the process by which educators and administrators formulate intended outcomes of change efforts. In Part II, Dr. Sarason “revisits” the text and the issues 25 years after the original publication. As he explains in his preface, to him the word crisis means “a point in time when a dangerous situation contains con?icting forces of an intensity or seriousness that in the near term will be dramatically altered depending on which forces win out. When I wrote the book a quarter century ago, I did not regard our schools as in crisis...[though] my intuition . . . was that a crisis would come sooner or later. It has, in my opinion, come.” Believing that “what happens in our cities and our schools will determine the fate of our society,” Dr. Sarason is deeply concerned that the reform arena is being manipulated by forces that are at best untroubled by and at worst intent on the dismantling of the public school system. That, coupled with his fear that even the system’s defenders are not focusing on the real issues, has infused Dr. Sarason’s return to the topic of educational change with a great sense of urgency. The important things he has to say will be welcomed by all who truly care about the state of the public schools that America’s children attend.

Culturally Sustaining Pedagogies

Culturally Sustaining Pedagogies PDF

Author: Django Paris

Publisher: Teachers College Press

Published: 2017

Total Pages: 294

ISBN-13: 0807775703

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Culturally Sustaining Pedagogies raises fundamental questions about the purpose of schooling in changing societies. Bringing together an intergenerational group of prominent educators and researchers, this volume engages and extends the concept of culturally sustaining pedagogy (CSP)—teaching that perpetuates and fosters linguistic, literate, and cultural pluralism as part of schooling for positive social transformation. The authors propose that schooling should be a site for sustaining the cultural practices of communities of color, rather than eradicating them. Chapters present theoretically grounded examples of how educators and scholars can support Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian/Pacific Islander, South African, and immigrant students as part of a collective movement towards educational justice in a changing world. Book Features: A definitive resource on culturally sustaining pedagogies, including what they look like in the classroom and how they differ from deficit-model approaches.Examples of teaching that sustain the languages, literacies, and cultural practices of students and communities of color.Contributions from the founders of such lasting educational frameworks as culturally relevant pedagogy, funds of knowledge, cultural modeling, and third space. Contributors: H. Samy Alim, Mary Bucholtz, Dolores Inés Casillas, Michael Domínguez, Nelson Flores, Norma Gonzalez, Kris D. Gutiérrez, Adam Haupt, Amanda Holmes, Jason G. Irizarry, Patrick Johnson, Valerie Kinloch, Gloria Ladson-Billings, Carol D. Lee, Stacey J. Lee, Tiffany S. Lee, Jin Sook Lee, Teresa L. McCarty, Django Paris, Courtney Peña, Jonathan Rosa, Timothy J. San Pedro, Daniel Walsh, Casey Wong “All teachers committed to justice and equity in our schools and society will cherish this book.” —Sonia Nieto, professor emerita, University of Massachusetts, Amherst “This book is for educators who are unafraid of using education to make a difference in the lives of the most vulnerable.” —Pedro Noguera, University of California, Los Angeles “This book calls for deep, effective practices and understanding that centers on our youths’ assets.” —Prudence L. Carter, dean, Graduate School of Education, UC Berkeley

Leading Technology-Rich Schools

Leading Technology-Rich Schools PDF

Author: Barbara B. Levin

Publisher: Teachers College Press

Published: 2015-04-25

Total Pages: 241

ISBN-13: 0807771937

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

This timely book shows how award-winning secondary schools and districts are successfully using technology and making systemic changes to increase student engagement, improve achievement, and re-invigorate the teaching and learning process. Through in-depth case studies, we see how experienced school and district leaders use technology in curricular, administrative, and analytical ways to meet the needs of 21st-century learners, educators, and communities. These cases reveal important details addressed by the leadership of these schools and districts that go beyond what they did with technology to include changes in school culture, curriculum and teaching, uses of assessment data, financial considerations, infrastructure, and involvement with the community. Book Features: Successful models from schools/districts experienced with using technology as a lever for school improvement.Case studies from diverse schools/districts across the country that show “what works” and “how it works.”A cross-case analysis that makes it easy to compare individual schools and identify common practices. Barbara B. Levin is a Professor in the Department of Teacher Education and Higher Education and Director of the Teachers Academy at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Lynne Schrum is Dean, College of Education and Human Services, West Virginia University. “Barbara B. Levin and Lynne Schrum offer their readers the distinct advantage of compressing into a single volume what it took me decades to learn. They not only present the big ideas of effective school leadership, but bring them alive through case studies that illustrate how those ideas manifest themselves in leaders’ day-to-day behaviors. . . . I encourage you to use the ideas and practices you find here to leverage technology to create schools in which all students and adults thrive.” —From the Foreword by Dennis Sparks, Emeritus Executive Director, National Staff Development Council (Learning Forward) Prepublication Reviews: “In Leading Technology-Rich Schools, the authors present a fascinating and exciting set of case studies that provide great insight into the ways leaders can support high-level innovation in schools. Importantly, their focus is on technology that enhances learning and teaching, rather than technology as an expensive school ornament. A must-read for those who study and practice educational leadership.” —Jeffrey S. Brooks, Associate Professor and Educational Leadership Program Coordinator, School of Education, Iowa State University, author of Black School, White School: Racism and Educational (Mis)leadership “This book is a precious gift for the vast majority of administrators who desperately need concrete examples of how to create, facilitate, and sustain technology-infused learning environments.” —Scott McLeod, Associate Professor and Founding Director, CASTLE, University of Kentucky “These rich illustrations of technology leadership in secondary schools show how a number of complex variables must come together to produce the key outcome of positioning educational technology as a support to teaching and learning. Examples of leadership practices that coordinate team members for interdependent work and invite teachers' involvement should prove to be a valuable resource to practitioners and also provide insight to policymakers for how they can create supportive conditions for such work.” —Sara Dexter, Associate Professor, Department of Leadership, Foundations, and Policy, Curry School of Education, University of Virginia “Leading Technology-Rich Schools is a key advance in understanding how technology can best be integrated in today’s schools. These case studies of effective practice are sure to become required reading for those in leadership positions who are using technology for school improvement.” —Glen L. Bull, Samuel Braley Gray Professor of Education, Curry School of Education, University of Virginia “The rubber meets the road in this well-researched book with detailed stories of exemplary schools and school leaders that have leveraged technology as a key tool to make significant reforms stick. Through these vivid case studies, Levin and Schrum illuminate a dynamic and complex set of lessons learned to help all school leaders undertake transformations of their schools.” —L. Michael Golden, CEO, Educurious