Primary and middle schools Books

Book SynopsisBy studying the origins of America's public schools, Neem urges us to focus on the defining features of democratic education: promoting equality, nurturing human beings, preparing citizens, and fostering civic solidarity.Trade ReviewThe book provides a compelling account of how Horace Mann, Reverend William Ellery Channing, Catharine Beecher, and other antebellum advocates of the United States’s common schools brought what amounts to a liberal arts education to the nation’s children. In the face of widespread cynicism about public education, Neem reminds us that public schools can liberate children’s minds from prejudice or vocational preoccupations.—LA Review of BooksThis generally clear and ample account of the origins of public education draws upon the latest research and a good deal of primary-source material. Neem’s adept treatment of the many conflicts evident at the time, along with the extravagant rhetoric that often accompanied reform, makes this book an attractive option for illuminating this period in American history... Democracy’s Schools documents the advance in our understanding of early schooling in the United States, and points to directions for further exploration.—John L. Rury, University of Kansas, Journal of Interdisciplinary HistoryThere is much about Democracy's Schools to appreciate. Neem has immersed himself in a wide array of archival sources. He renders sensible a multitude of dense, sprawling treatises and texts. He produces a well-written, provocative, and cohesive narrative accessible to a lay and scholarly audiences. Moreover, one cannot finish Democracy's Schools without understanding why Neem personally has great faith in public education.—Hilary Moss, Amherst College, History of Education QuarterlyNeem's insights are timely in our twenty-first-century world. At a time when critics on both the Left and Right advocate homeschooling and charter schools as alternatives to traditional public education, when activists question the benefits of a liberal education in a technology-driven age, and when our nation grapples with the effects of ever-increasing cultural diversity, it is worth contemplating the role public schools have played in upholding our democratic institutions.—John Ellis, Bemidji State University, Journal of Southern HistoryNeem is masterful in explaining, to new and seasoned readers, antebellum public education. The origins of debates over governance, funding and curricula (local control versus national priorities, public regulation and taxation versus private management and market fundamentalism) as well as the rights and responsibilities of the majority vis-à-vis those of the many minority groups are illuminated in a clear, thoughtful and even-handed way. Thus, his narrative does more than interpret the past: it also provides a ready and accessible context for many of the current tensions in US education and American democracy.—Thomas V. O'Brien, University of Southern Mississippi, History of EducationNo matter your opinion on public education, [Democracy's Schools] is a valuable book, and its history of American schools is also a fascinating history of America itself.—Addison Del Mastro, The University BookmanTable of ContentsPrefaceAcknowledgmentsIntroduction1. Citizenship and Self-Culture2. Democratic Education3. Politics of Education4. Teachers and Students5. Containing MultitudesConclusionAppendixNotesIndex

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Book SynopsisWritten in a lively style that mixes personal biography with scholarly research, On the Other Hand tells a comprehensive story about the science, traditions, and prejudices surrounding left-handedness.Trade ReviewThis scientific landscape in perpetual, cyclical flux is well described by Kushner’s engaging, accessible panorama.—Abigail Zuger, UndarkThis is a useful addition to the growing library of laterality literature and gives us a solid overview of the history of left-handedness.—LATERALITYHoward Kushner's On the Other Hand is a review of the history and current state of scientific knowledge about human handedness. This doesn't sound like thrilling reading, but it is.—LectionThe book will be of special interest to left-handed people, particularly those who have suffered negative consequences as a result, and to members of other stigmatized groups. For the rest of us, it is an interesting case-study in the seemingly limitless capacity of human beings to discriminate against those who are different from themselves.—The PsychologistIn this interesting and highly informative book, Howard Kushner brings together a wealth of information on handedness in humans, including research into its possible causes, and past and present attitudes to left-handedness.—The Dana FoundationThis is a very engaging and informative book that will interest scholars but should also appeal to a much wider audience.—Social History of MedicineTable of ContentsPreface Acknowledgments 1. Genes and Kangaroos2. Criminals or Victims?3. By the Numbers4. Ambiguous Attitudes5. Changing Hands, Tying Tongues6. From Genes to Populations7. The Geschwind Hypothesis8. Genetic Models and Selective Advantage9. Uniquely Human?10. A Gay Hand?11. Disability, Ability, and the Left HandConclusion Notes Index

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewFraser and Lefty tell a coherent and compelling story about work at places like Stanford to rethink university-based teacher education. In telling that story, they also highlight reform efforts inside institutions that are all too often overlooked—places like Montclair State, in New Jersey and the University of Indianapolis . . . meticulous readers will pick up on the old divide between policy and politics. Policy is cold and dispassionate—what works is what wins. But politics isn't like that. The story Fraser and Lefty tell is one that overflows with both.—Jack Schneider, University of Massachusetts, Lowell, History of Education QuarterlyTable of ContentsForeword, by Arthur Levine Acknowledgments Introduction: Considering the Future of Teacher Preparation in Light of the Past Chapter 1. The Emergence of Alternative Routes to Teaching Chapter 2. Transforming University Programs Chapter 3. The New Hybrids Conclusion: Lessons Learned Notes Index

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Book SynopsisOriginally published in 1970. Youth, University, and Democracy examines whether Weber's approach has a greater humanizing value than has been conceded by his opponents and will attempt to demonstrate the humanistic mission of the University and its usefulness for youth and democracy.Table of ContentsPreface Youth, University, and Democracy: Introduction Part I. Youth: Search and Confusion Part II. University: Research and Clarity Part III. Youth in University: From Confusion to Clarity Part IV. Youth Against University: From Clarity to Confusion Democracy, University, and Youth: Conclusion

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Book SynopsisTable of ContentsIntroductionPart I. Change and Learning 1. Educating for Uncertainty 2. Your Brain-Closet 3. Aiming Your Flashlight 4. The Difficulty of Thinking for Yourself 5. The Difficulty of Thinking with Others (and Why Discussion Can Fail)Part II. A New 3Rs6. Relationships 7. Resilience 8. Reflection Part III. Learning to Change9. Driving Change10. Teaching Change 11. Designing Change AcknowledgmentsNotesReferencesIndex

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Book SynopsisHow did a young generation of activists come together in 1990s Los Angeles to shake up the education system, creating lasting institutional change and lifting children and families across southern California?Critics claim that America's public schools remain feckless and hamstrung institutions, unable to improve even when nudged by accountability-minded politicians, market competition, or global pandemic. But if schools are so hopeless, then why did student learning climb in Los Angeles across the initial decades of the twenty-first century? In When Schools Work, Bruce Fuller details the rise of civic activists in L.A. as they emerged from the ashes of urban riots and failed efforts to desegregate schools. Based on the author's fifteen years of field work in L.A., the book reveals how this network of Latino and Black leaders, civil rights lawyers, ethnic nonprofits, and pedagogical progressives coalesced in the 1990s, staking out a third political ground and gaining distance from corpoTrade ReviewWhen Schools Work is not a dry tome. It illumines the lives of several remarkable people who made the changes happen—The Washington PostTable of ContentsNotes on the VernacularPrologue. Pluralist Politics Move Institutions1. Civilizing Los Angeleswith Melissa Ancheta and Sarah Manchanda2. Palace Revolt3. Outside Agitatorswith Malena Arcidiacono, Caitlin Kearns, and Joon Ho Lee4. Organizing Pluralist Politicswith Sarah Manchanda5. Pluralist Politics and Institutional ReformAcknowledgmentsNotesReferencesIndex

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Book SynopsisShortchanged is a brilliant book.The Washington Post Author and high school English teacher Annie Abrams reveals how the College Board's emphasis on standardized testing has led the AP program astray. Every year, millions of students take Advanced Placement (AP) exams hoping to score enough points to earn college credit and save on their tuition bill. But are they getting a real college education? The College Board says that AP classes and exams make the AP program more accessible and represent a step forward for educational justice. But the program's commitment to standardized testing no longer reflects its original promise of delivering meaningful college-level curriculum to high school students. In Shortchanged, education scholar Annie Abrams uncovers the political and pedagogical traditions that led to the program's development in the 1950s. In revealing the founders' intentions of aligning liberal arts education across high schools and colleges in ways they believed would protecTrade ReviewAbrams usefully shakes us out of our complacency about a program that seems good enough only because we expect so little of it.—Wall Street Journal[Abrams] says the [AP] program hurts students and the values of the liberal arts....The most damning portions of the book are on the present state of AP.—Inside Higher EdShortchanged is a brilliant book not just because of its content, but because of the way that Abrams grapples with the potential of a humanities....This book is everything we say that the humanities can do. And it's everything that, according to Abrams, the Advanced Placement regime is likely to destroy.—Washington PostAnnie Abrams's new book, Shortchanged, puts the story of Advanced Placement courses in perspective.It's an important read for anyone contemplating the time honored courses, either from a teacher or student perspective. And it is a reminder that while the name 'College Board' sounds like some sort of quasi-governmental entity overseeing higher education, they are simply a private company with products to market.—Peter Greene, ForbesTable of ContentsIntroduction: Collecting DataPart 1: Validity1. Rational Reform2. Common Purposes and Common Standards3. The BlueprintPart 2: Accountability4. Copy Paste Classroom5. Artificial Intelligence6. Better CitizensConclusion: Opportunity and TransparencyEpilogue: Formative AssessmentsAcknowledgmentsNotesIndex

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Book SynopsisOn the interdependent relationship between health and academic achievement. Research indicates that healthy children are more likely to succeed in school and that individuals who attain higher levels of education are more likely to experience better health outcomes in adulthood. To promote and support children's academic success, educators must view student health as an education issue. At the same time, public health professionals must view students' academic success as a public health issue. In Leveraging the Education-Health Connection, David A. Birch explores this interdependent relationship and lays out strategies to improve outcomes for both education and health. Birch provides evidence and recommendations on the links between student health and academic success and between education attainment and adult health outcomes; the impacts of social injustice and early childhood experiences on health and education; strategies for minimizing absenteeism, promoting students' and theirTable of ContentsPreface1. Health and Education – An Interdependent Relationship2. Education and Health Disparities: The Connection to Social Justice3. Early Childhood4. High School Graduation – Attending, Connecting, Succeeding5. Quality School: Important Considerations6. The Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child Model: A Commitment to Health and Learning7. Moving Forward: Mobilizing a Social MovementAppendixReferencesIndex

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Book SynopsisThe definitive history of the report card. Report cards represent more than just an account of academic standing and attendance. The report card also serves as a tool of control and as a microcosm for the shifting power dynamics among teachers, parents, school administrators, and students. In Report Cards: A Cultural History, Wade H. Morris tells the story of American education by examining the history of this unique element of student life. In the nearly two hundred-year evolution of the report card, this relic of academic bookkeeping reflected broader trends in the United States: the republican zealotry and religious fervor of the antebellum period, the failed promises of postwar Reconstruction for the formerly enslaved, the changing gender roles in newly urbanized cities, the overreach of the Progressive child-saving movement in the early twentieth century, andby the 1930sthe increasing faith in an academic meritocracy. The use of report cards expanded with the growth of school buTable of ContentsList of FiguresAcknowledgmentsIntroduction. Civil War, Pandemic, and Report CardsChapter 1. Rousing the Attention of ParentsChapter 2. Unity, Efficiency, and Freed PeopleChapter 3. Overworn Mothers and Unfed MindsChapter 4. The Eye of the Juvenile CourtChapter 5. Mobility, Anxiety, and MeritChapter 6. The Pursuit of Educational DignityConclusion. Pulling Weeds and Foucault FatigueAppendix I. Depiction of African American Parents in American Missionary, 1867–1881Appendix II. Ladies Home Journal and the Defense of TeachersNotesEssay on SourcesIndex

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Book SynopsisOffers a model for increasing equity in STEM education at the K12 level in the United States. In STEM Education in Underserved Schools, editor Julia V. Clark addresses an urgent national problem: the need to provide all students with a quality STEM education. Clark brings together a prestigious group of scholars to uncover the factors that impede equity and access in STEM education teaching and learning and provides research-based strategies to address these inequities. This contributed volume demonstrates that students of color and those from lower socioeconomic communities have less access to qualified science and mathematics teachers, less access to strong STEM curriculum, less access to resources, and fewer classroom opportunities than their peers at other schools. Identifying the challenges and best practices related to producing more equitable and inclusive routes to access STEM education and professions, contributors explain how to positively impact the trajectory of individuaTable of ContentsForewordEdmund W. GordonAcknowledgmentsChapter 1. An Overview of STEM Education in the United StatesJulia V. ClarkChapter 2. The Role of Assessment in Driving Change in STEM Teaching and LearningJoseph Krajcik, Emily Adah Miller, and Susan CodereChapter 3. The Achievement Gap in Mathematics and Science: Barriers to a Quality STEM EducationJulia V. ClarkChapter 4. Transforming Teaching and Learning in the STEM ClassroomEllen B. MeierChapter 5. Science and Engineering Curriculum and Instruction That Promotes Equity and Justice: Hidden Spots, Bright Spots, Hot Spots, and Gathering SpotsHeidi B. Carlone and Elizabeth A. DavisChapter 6. Chronicling Education Challenges in STEM EducationJulia V. ClarkChapter 7. Finnish Middle School Curriculum of STEM Subjects Emphasizes PISA and Transversal CompetenciesJari M. Lavonen and Do-Yong ParkChapter 8. STEM Education in Singapore: Issues of Equity, Access, and ExcellenceJason TanChapter 9. Building Synergies to Ensure Greater Access to Quality STEM Opportunities for All Australian StudentsDebra PanizzonChapter 10. STEM Education Reform through International Innovation and CollaborationJulia V. ClarkChapter 11. Equity, Access, and Excellence: Making STEM a World-Class Education for All StudentsJulia V. ClarkContributorsAbout the EditorIndex

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Book SynopsisWhether you are worried about homework or bullying, the demands on our children are so high parents need some support up their sleeves. This 6-page laminated guide offers a plan to deal with every high hurdle as school keeps changing academically and socially. Be inspired at a glance by having answers to tough questions. Suggested uses: Parents -- you can't read a parental support book every night, but you can read the essentials in a handy easy-to-skim format Teachers -- a good reference to keep handy for supporting parents and answering their questions Schools -- a powerful tool to offer parents when facing a new year of school that will strengthen the school, parent, student and teacher team

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