Author: John Kuhn Publisher: Teachers College Press ISBN: 0807755729 Category : Education Languages : en Pages : 177
Book Description
In this moving account, Americas Superintendent John Kuhn lays bare the scare tactics at the root of the modern school reform movement. Kuhn conveys a deeply held passion for the mission and promise of public education through his own experience as a school administrator in Texas. When his Alamo Letter first appeared in the Washington Post, it galvanized the educational community in a call to action that was impossible to ignore. This powerful book requires us to question whether the current education crisis will be judged by history as a legitimate national emergency or an agenda-driven panic, spurred on by a media that is, for the most part, uninterested in anything but useless soundbites. Essential reading for teachers, administrators, policymakers, and everyone concerned with public education, Fear and Learning in America: Analyzes school reform from the perspective of a practicing school administrator who isnt sold on the corporate reform package.Places school reform in the historical context of similar episodes of national hand-wringing.Offers encouragement and appreciation to classroom teachers who are exhausted by the vilification that modern school reform has served up. John Kuhns book is packed with more wisdom than any 10 books that I have read about American education. It is the wisdom born of experience. It is the wisdom of a man who cares about children, families, and community. From the Foreword by Diane Ravitch, author of Reign of Error In Fear and Learning in America, John Kuhn weaves together stories from his life as a teacher and missionary with tales from history. The result is a fresh way of thinking about schools and educational policy. Refuting A Nation at Risk, Mr. Kuhn warns, persuasively, of a rising tide of inequality. His message, artfully delivered in this important book, should be heeded. John Merrow, education correspondent, PBS NewsHour, and president, Learning Matters, Inc. Kuhn is a superb educator and his valuable book effectively dissects the myths about todays high-stakes testing environment and the worsening conditions under which educators are expected to make miracles every day, or else. His cogent arguments against such policies demonstrate what is really important and should inform the debate about public education. Randi Weingarten, president, American Federation of Teachers This book is a brilliantly clear defense of public education as our nations most valuable asset. John Kuhn fearlessly names the fact that todays education reformers, like the renowned emperor, wear no clothes. Christine Sleeter, professor emerita, California State University Monterey Bay
Author: Nancy Day Publisher: ISBN: 9780894907340 Category : School vandalism Languages : en Pages : 0
Book Description
In classrooms, hallways, and schoolyards across the country, violence is on the rise. This is an exploration of an unsettling issue which includes reasons for the violence and what can be done to control it. Also examined are personal experiences, the influence of gangs, school and community programs to deal with the problem of violence, and the social implications of this growing threat. Includes chapter notes, a further reading list, and an index.
Author: Greg Lukianoff Publisher: Penguin ISBN: 0735224900 Category : Social Science Languages : en Pages : 352
Book Description
Something is going wrong on many college campuses in the last few years. Rates of anxiety, depression, and suicide are rising. Speakers are shouted down. Students and professors say they are walking on eggshells and afraid to speak honestly. How did this happen? First Amendment expert Greg Lukianoff and social psychologist Jonathan Haidt show how the new problems on campus have their origins in three terrible ideas that have become increasingly woven into American childhood and education: what doesn’t kill you makes you weaker; always trust your feelings; and life is a battle between good people and evil people. These three Great Untruths are incompatible with basic psychological principles, as well as ancient wisdom from many cultures. They interfere with healthy development. Anyone who embraces these untruths—and the resulting culture of safetyism—is less likely to become an autonomous adult able to navigate the bumpy road of life. Lukianoff and Haidt investigate the many social trends that have intersected to produce these untruths. They situate the conflicts on campus in the context of America’s rapidly rising political polarization, including a rise in hate crimes and off-campus provocation. They explore changes in childhood including the rise of fearful parenting, the decline of unsupervised play, and the new world of social media that has engulfed teenagers in the last decade. This is a book for anyone who is confused by what is happening on college campuses today, or has children, or is concerned about the growing inability of Americans to live, work, and cooperate across party lines.
Author: Elaine Tyler May Publisher: Basic Books ISBN: 0465093000 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 250
Book Description
An award-winning historian argues that America's obsession with security imperils our democracy in this "compelling" portrait of cultural anxiety (Mary L. Dudziak, author of War Time). For the last sixty years, fear has seeped into every area of American life: Americans own more guns than citizens of any other country, sequester themselves in gated communities, and retreat from public spaces. And yet, crime rates have plummeted, making life in America safer than ever. Why, then, are Americans so afraid-and where does this fear lead to? In this remarkable work of social history, Elaine Tyler May demonstrates how our obsession with security has made citizens fear each other and distrust the government, making America less safe and less democratic. Fortress America charts the rise of a muscular national culture, undercutting the common good. Instead of a thriving democracy of engaged citizens, we have become a paranoid, bunkered, militarized, and divided vigilante nation.
Author: Daniel T. Blumstein Publisher: Harvard University Press ISBN: 0674916484 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 257
Book Description
A leading expert in animal behavior takes us into the wild to better understand and manage our fears. Fear, honed by millions of years of natural selection, kept our ancestors alive. Whether by slithering away, curling up in a ball, or standing still in the presence of a predator, humans and other animals have evolved complex behaviors in order to survive the hazards the world presents. But, despite our evolutionary endurance, we still have much to learn about how to manage our response to danger. For more than thirty years, Daniel Blumstein has been studying animals’ fear responses. His observations lead to a firm conclusion: fear preserves security, but at great cost. A foraging flock of birds expends valuable energy by quickly taking flight when a raptor appears. And though the birds might successfully escape, they leave their food source behind. Giant clams protect their valuable tissue by retracting their mantles and closing their shells when a shadow passes overhead, but then they are unable to photosynthesize, losing the capacity to grow. Among humans, fear is often an understandable and justifiable response to sources of threat, but it can exact a high toll on health and productivity. Delving into the evolutionary origins and ecological contexts of fear across species, The Nature of Fear considers what we can learn from our fellow animals—from successes and failures. By observing how animals leverage alarm to their advantage, we can develop new strategies for facing risks without panic.
Author: Leslie Poynor Publisher: Routledge ISBN: 1135619948 Category : Education Languages : en Pages : 216
Book Description
Marketing Fear in America's Public Schools is an eye-opening examination of the real-world consequences of the political pressures and influences on teachers today. The premise is that one must understand the motives behind the current educat
Author: Hunter S. Thompson Publisher: Simon and Schuster ISBN: 1439126364 Category : Biography & Autobiography Languages : en Pages : 1116
Book Description
From the king of “Gonzo” journalism and bestselling author who brought you Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas comes another astonishing volume of letters by Hunter S. Thompson. Brazen, incisive, and outrageous as ever, this second volume of Thompson’s private correspondence is the highly anticipated follow-up to The Proud Highway. When that first book of letters appeared in 1997, Time pronounced it "deliriously entertaining"; Rolling Stone called it "brilliant beyond description"; and The New York Times celebrated its "wicked humor and bracing political conviction." Spanning the years between 1968 and 1976, these never-before-published letters show Thompson building his legend: running for sheriff in Aspen, Colorado; creating the seminal road book Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas; twisting political reporting to new heights for Rolling Stone; and making sense of it all in the landmark Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72. To read Thompson's dispatches from these years—addressed to the author's friends, enemies, editors, and creditors, and such notables as Jimmy Carter, Tom Wolfe, and Kurt Vonnegut—is to read a raw, revolutionary eyewitness account of one of the most exciting and pivotal eras in American history.
Author: Rebecca D. Cox Publisher: Harvard University Press ISBN: 0674053664 Category : Education Languages : en Pages : 209
Book Description
They’re not the students strolling across the bucolic liberal arts campuses where their grandfathers played football. They are first-generation college students—children of immigrants and blue-collar workers—who know that their hopes for success hinge on a degree. But college is expensive, unfamiliar, and intimidating. Inexperienced students expect tough classes and demanding, remote faculty. They may not know what an assignment means, what a score indicates, or that a single grade is not a definitive measure of ability. And they certainly don’t feel entitled to be there. They do not presume success, and if they have a problem, they don’t expect to receive help or even a second chance. Rebecca D. Cox draws on five years of interviews and observations at community colleges. She shows how students and their instructors misunderstand and ultimately fail one another, despite good intentions. Most memorably, she describes how easily students can feel defeated—by their real-world responsibilities and by the demands of college—and come to conclude that they just don’t belong there after all. Eye-opening even for experienced faculty and administrators, The College Fear Factor reveals how the traditional college culture can actually pose obstacles to students’ success, and suggests strategies for effectively explaining academic expectations.
Author: John Kuhn
Author: Nancy Day
Author: Greg Lukianoff
Author: Elaine Tyler May
Author: Daniel T. Blumstein
Author: Leslie Poynor
Author: Hunter S. Thompson
Author: Rebecca D. Cox
Author: Elliot Liebow
Author: Sian Beilock