Description
Book SynopsisNew understandings of learning and the brain, greater appreciation of the impact of culture on learners, and the differing values and expectations of families have created an educational environment ripe for expanded school choice. The result has been a rapid and little understood expansion of pre-collegiate educational opportunities. For parents anxious to find the best fit for their children, the growth in choice has been both a boon and a challenge. Choosing the Right Educational Path for Your Child seeks to reveal the various school designs, from public to private, from secular to religious, and from progressive to conservative. The mission assumptions, the economic models, and the pedagogical practices of each are examined. With chapters from leading experts from a variety of educational paths, readers will gain a thorough understanding of the ever-changing landscape of American education in the 21st Century.
Trade ReviewIf the proverbial visitor from Mars or Venus wanted the scoop on the gamut of American schools, I’d recommend this book. The contributors give a rich portrait of contemporary educational choices. -- Howard Gardner, Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education
For any of us, the key to health and happiness is the almost transcendent feeling that we are in the right place at the right time. Children thrive in learning communities best described as 'the right fit.' When it comes to the all-important task of choosing a school for a child, parents are faced with a multitude of sometimes confusing options. Choosing the Right Educational Path for Your Child offers a historical perspective and comprehensive survey of the many educational environments available to families today. We parents owe the authors a gold star for doing our homework for us! -- Amy Dickinson, nationally syndicated advice columnist, Chicago Tribune
It is rare indeed to find a book that is encyclopedic, original, authoritative, important, interesting, and brief. This book is all of these and more: it is also full of humor, passion, opinion, and un-boring information. The editors have brought together under one roof an informed and diverse group of experts—but these experts also have heart. They know that the readers of this book, mostly parents, need not just the facts, but guidance as well; not just options, but also direction; not just a menu, but also reassurance; not just ideas, but also wisdom. I can't imagine how the editors squeezed such perfect juice out of the 30 contributors, but they did. A hugely valuable book that will help millions. -- Edward Hallowell, MD, author of Driven to Distraction and many other books; Founder of The Hallowell Centers; host of the weekly podcast Distraction
With so many options in the education marketplace today...this collection of essays is a handy reference for any parent trying to make sense of them all...While the volume is expansive, it is not verbose, thus providing parents with practical information in digestible nuggets. Taken as a whole, the parent will finish this book more learned and better prepared to make a superlative school choice decision for his or her child. * The Education Gadfly Weekly, October 2008 *
Every parent struggles with the question this book examines: What school is right for my child? The special value of Choosing the Right Educational Path for Your Child: What Are the Options? is that that it really does examine the whole range of options that parents face today when trying to understand "school fit"—public schools, private schools, arts schools, home schools, Jewish schools, Islamic schools, boarding schools, single-sex schools. It's all here, organized in clear and helpful essays gathered by Paula J.Carreiro and Eileen Shields-West. I can't think of a book that would be more helpful for parents who are trying to figure out what's best for their kids. -- David Ignatius, columnist, The Washington Post
Table of ContentsPart 1 School Choice: A Personal History Part 2 General Principles Chapter 3 Model and Mission: What a School Wants, What a School Needs Chapter 4 Governance: Trying to Perfect Chapter 5 Financing Education: The Worm in the Apple Part 6 General Choices Chapter 7 American Public Education Chapter 8 Independent Schools Chapter 9 Chartering Choices: A Strategy for Creating New Schools Chapter 10 The Ends of the Spectrum: A Comparison of Traditional and Progressive Schools Chapter 11 The Too-Long Summer Vacation: School Calendar Reform Part 12 Particular Choices Chapter 13 The Preprimary Schools of Reggio Emilia Chapter 14 The Right Place: Nursery School in the Twenty-First Century Chapter 15 The New (Old) Vision: Montessori Education in the Twenty-First Century Chapter 16 Multiple Intelligences: Capitalizing on Strengths Chapter 17 Schools for Gifted and Talented Students Chapter 18 Home Schooling Chapter 19 Schools for Students with Special Learning Needs Chapter 20 Specialty Arts High Schools Chapter 21 New Age Academy: An Experimental Village School Model Chapter 22 International and Internationally Minded Schools Chapter 23 Virtual Schools Are the Future Chapter 24 The Rise and Fall and Rise of Catholic Schools Chapter 25 Jewish Day Schools in the Twenty-First Century Chapter 26 Islamic Schools: The Struggle for Successful Integration Chapter 27 Christian Schools: Redeeming Lives and Culture Chapter 28 Episcopal Schools, An Anglican Legacy Chapter 29 Boarding Schools: The Boarding Advantage Chapter 30 Cultivating Manliness: The Case for Boys' Schools Chapter 31 Where Girls Come First: Twenty-First-Century Girls' Schools Part 32 The Future Course Chapter 33 Transmogrifying Education for the Twenty-First Century Chapter 34 Future Stock vs. Future Shock
