Learning to Liberate: Community-Based Solutions to the Crisis in Urban Education

ISBN-13: 9780415898362 / Angielski / Twarda / 2011 / 248 str.

Watson Vajra

Opis

Few problems in education are as pressing as the severe crisis in urban schools. Though educators have tried a wide range of remedies, dismal results persist. This is especially true for low-income youth of color, who drop out of school--and into incarceration--at extremely high rates. The dual calamity of underachievement in schools and violence in many communities across the country is often met with blame and cynicism, and with a host of hurtful and unproductive quick fixes: blaming educators, pitting schools against each other, turning solely to the private sector, and ratcheting up the pressure on teachers and students. But real change will not be possible until we shift our focus from finding fault to developing partnerships, from documenting problems to discovering solutions. Learning to Liberate does just that by presenting true and compelling community-based approaches to school reform.

Recenzje

"In a language that is at once impassioned and skeptical, challenging and hopeful, provocative and poetic, Vajra Watson paints vivid portraits of four community educator/activists whose voices and visions, philosophies and pragmatism, and intelligence and courage offer us insights into how we might transform our schools into asylums of safety and oases of learning and achievement. Learning to Liberate is a heart-wrenching, soul-stirring, and mind-expanding call to action; it is a book for all of us who want to leave no child behind."

Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot is the Emily Hargroves Fisher Professor of Education at Harvard University and the author of The Good High School, The Essential Conversation, and Respect: an Exploration

"A brilliant and illuminating analysis of what it takes to reach and teach urban youth. 　Watson goes to the educators who have been effective in working with disadvantaged young people for years to uncover what makes it possible for them to build relationships that open minds, change lives, and expand opportunities. 　Any educators seeking to find ways to become more relevant and useful to the students they serve will benefit from this book. "　

Pedro Noguera is Professor of Education and the Executive Director of the Metropolitan Center for Urban Education at New York University

O autorze

Vajra Watson is Director of Research and Policy for Equity in the School of Education at the University of California, Davis.