Publisher's Synopsis
With this insightful, practical collection of personal essays, noted educator and school reform leader Carl D. Glickman tackles education?s most urgent questions. Who should govern schools? Whose values should schools represent? How should teachers teach? Does educational truth lie in the Western canon or in a multicultural curriculum? How does democratic change occur?
Unlike most abstract discussions about the value of democracy in education and in the community, Revolutionizing America?s Schools makes practical connections between schools and the American dream of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The book directly addresses issues of race, culture, gender, and religion and reveals how understanding these issues can contribute to purposeful change. Glickman shows how democracy, when applied to the theory and practice of education, can become the most powerful way to teach and learn. He outlines a set of activities designed to increase student activity, choice, participation, connection, and contribution. Most important, Glickman connects democratic rhetoric to action?covering such practicalities as student grouping, class schedules, curriculum selection, and school leadership.
Written for faculty, administrators, parents, board members, policymakers, and community leaders, Revolutionizing America?s Schools offers the inspiration and guidance needed to create a public education system that develops intellectual skills in students of all ages and helps them to lead satisfying and valuable lives.
