Schools that Work: America's Most Innovative Public Education Programs

School can be the place where children learn to think critically, to cooperate, to love to learn. School can develop young people ready and able to participate in a democratic society--citizens who are insightful, creative, compassionate, and wise. Pie in the sky? No, this phenomenon is exactly what is happening right now in innovative, exciting American public schools in all types of settings--wealthy and poor neighborhoods, inner-city and rural areas. In Schools That Work, parent and educator George Wood takes us into schools around the nation and shows us firsthand the critical changes that make the difference between schools that work and schools that don't, including innovations in curriculum, physical layout of classrooms, scheduling of the school day, and the educational approach of heroic teachers and parents. Dr. Wood's search for successful educational models took him to rural Georgia to the English class responsible for the famous Foxfire magazine...to the heart of Harlem, where a student who started the year by trying to burn down the school is now the school's most enthusiastic tour guide...to a wealthy Chicago suburb, where students get actively involved in community issues like gun control...to an elementary classroom where students make the rules ("No Smoking" comes first), write their own stories, read real literature rather than graded readers, and help each other with social as well as academic concerns. Using these inspiring examples, Dr. Wood shows us the characteristics that good schools have in common. He identifies the elements of successful educational experiences and points out the seductively dangerous barriers to genuine reform--particularly "legislatedexcellence", which stresses obedience, standardized testing, and a rigid curriculum. Schools That Work brings a message of hope for educators and parents and anyone else concerned about American public-school education today. Not just inspirational, it also provides problem-solving approaches, resources, and guidelines. The ideas in this ground-breaking book can help counter the panic about the failure of America's schools--by showing how schools can shape students who have not only mastered the skills to read, write, and do arithmetic but who also have the confidence and ability to take on the world.