Description
Book SynopsisUrban Schools: Crisis and Revolution describes America's inner-city public schools and the failure of most to provide even a minimally adequate education for their students. With numerous examples, James Deneen and Carm Catanese argue that these failures are preventable. Early chapters document the two-tiered character of American public schools, the tragic consequences of failing schools for millions of students—mostly Black and Hispanic—and the financial costs to American society. In later chapters, Deneen and Catanese describe the special problems of inner-city schools and the changes in school organization and curriculum needed to overcome them. They also provide examples of schools in severely disadvantaged communities in which such changes have enabled students to succeed academically, graduate, and enter college. In the final chapters, the authors examine the public and non-public school options available to urban parents. They discuss school choice, a hotly debated issue in urban education. The book concludes with a plan, consisting of six recommendations, for reforming a failing urban school.
Table of ContentsSection I: What's the Problem? Chapter 1: Two Schools in Two Tiers Chapter 2: Schools and Society Chapter 3: Schools and the State Chapter 4: Urban Schools across America Chapter 5: America Compared with the World Chapter 6: Barriers to Change Section II: Basic Factors in School Renewal Chapter 7: Does Poverty Mean Failure? Chapter 8: Essentials in Successful Schools Chapter 9: Leadership and Responsibilities Section III: Reforming Failing Schools Chapter 10: Restructuring Chapter 11: Teachers and Parents Chapter 12: Language and Extended Instruction Section IV: School Choice Chapter 13: Public School Choices Chapter 14: Non-Public School Choices Conclusion: A Plan for Reforming a Failing School
