This engaging book shows how teachers and schools are creating emergent, democratic, progressive education amidst the current context of high stakes accountability. In this follow-up to his bestseller, Spectacular Things Happen Along the Way, Schultz explores how today’s rhetoric and restrictive mandates result in curriculum that fails to capture the attention of students. For meaningful learning that develops transferable skills and engages students, teachers and sometimes whole schools need to find spaces to “teach in the cracks” so that students can connect with issues relevant to their lives. Teaching in the Cracks provides both a theoretical and practical foundation for incorporating an action-focused curriculum that meets academic standards and provides students with opportunities for agency and to use their voices in their own learning. “Through compelling examples, Brian Schultz shares how educators can help students use their powers.” —From the Foreword by Deborah Meier, teacher, principal, and advocate “This book is an invitation to rethink teaching from top to bottom, to dive into classroom life as a passionate adventure in discovery and surprise.” —From the Afterword by William Ayers, education activist “For teachers who genuinely seek to make a difference through their work, this book will be a helpful resource.” —Pedro A. Noguera, University of California, Los Angeles

Ideally, universities are centers of learning, in which great researchers dispassionately search for truth, no matter how unpopular those truths must be. The marketplace of ideas assures that truth wins out against bias and prejudice. Yet, many people worry that there's rot in the heart of thehigher education business.In Cracks in the Ivory Tower, libertarian scholars Jason Brennan and Philip Magness reveal the problems are even worse than anyone suspects. Marshalling an array of data, they systematically show how contemporary American universities fall short of these ideals and how bad incentives make faculty,administrators, and students act unethically. While universities may at times excel at identifying and calling out injustice outside their gates, Brennan and Magness contend that individuals are primarily guided by self-interest at every level. They find that the problems are deep and pervasive:most academic marketing and advertising is semi-fraudulent; colleges and individual departments regularly make promises they do not and cannot keep; and most students cheat a little, while many cheat a lot. Trenchant and wide-ranging, they elucidate the many ways in which faculty and students alikehave every incentive to make teaching and learning secondary.In this revealing expose, Brennan and Magness bring to light many of the ethical problems universities, faculties, and students currently face. In turn, they reshape our understanding of how such high-powered institutions run their business.

Stella greets Christopher when he shrinks and falls through the cracks in the school floor due to boredom. The two decide to look around and discover some classrooms where children are actively participating in their education and enjoying learning.

"The second edition of Elaine McEwan′s book is a user-friendly guide that integrates research into practice. It carefully explains the research behind reading development and provides truly clear, no-nonsense steps to implement the best practices of instruction. McEwan does not sugar-coat how difficult teaching reading can be, but she provides powerful methods for achieving it." —Jennifer Sandberg, Curriculum/Reading Coordinator Sutherland Public School, NE Provide effective reading instruction for every student in your classroom and schoolwide! To successfully teach reading, teachers have to first believe that all children can learn to read—and then they have to turn that belief into a reality. In this thoroughly updated and revised version of her best-selling book, Elaine K. McEwan guides educators through the challenging but crucial work of teaching every child how to read. Written for all teachers as well as administrators, this resource covers strategies for nine essential components of effective reading instruction: phonemic awareness, phonics, spelling, fluency, developing a reading culture, providing opportunities to read, writing, word knowledge, and comprehension. This second edition features: The most up-to-date research in reading instruction Effective instructional practices and strategies Brief vignettes and graphic organizers that illustrate and summarize key concepts A comprehensive case study of one district′s remarkable success This resource reveals precisely how educators in successful schools are teaching students to read—and how all educators can achieve the same results in their schools!

In a small Southern town in 1944, two girls secretly help a seriously ill army deserter, a decision that changes their perceptions of right and wrong. Issues of moral ambiguity and accepting consequences for actions are thoughtfully considered in this deftly crafted story.

This celebrated narrative shows how a teacher, alongside his 5th-grade students, co-created a curriculum based on the students’ needs, interests, and questions. Follow Brian Schultz and his students from a Chicago housing project as they work together to develop an emergent and authentic curriculum based on what is most important to the 5th-graders—replacing their dilapidated school. The persuasive storytelling that captured the attention of educators and the media depicts the journey of one teacher in an urban school and his students juxtaposed against the powerful and entrenched bureaucracy of Chicago’s public education system. In this second edition, Schultz examines how school reform continues to fail students in urban contexts, reflects on his teaching and writing from a decade ago, and offers compelling updates on students and what became of the school. A lot can be learned from the young people of Room 405, then and now. Not only did these particular 5th-graders push back against the city and school board in their pursuit for a better learning environment for themselves and their community, but they also learned about the power of using their voices in purposeful ways. “We can only hope that educators will read the new edition and be inspired to make similar choices themselves.” —From the Foreword by Pedro Noguera, UCLA “In this eagerly awaited second edition, Schultz has reiterated what it means to be a courageous and caring teacher.” —From the Afterword by Sonia Nieto, professor emerita, University of Massachusetts, Amherst “A compelling read that continues to remind us how much a better world depends on our ability to foster learning and teaching experiences that nurture young people’s capacity to think deeply.” —Denise Taliaferro Baszile, VP, AERA Division B “This second edition highlights the ongoing dismantling of urban public schools in the name of ‘reform,’ even while fueling our sense of possibility and hope.” —Kevin Kumashiro, author, Bad Teacher!

Six essays discuss definitions and explanations of folklore, and methods of teaching it. Then 15 additional essays explore Texas folklore related to such topics as police burials, gang graffiti, fiddling, ghosts, dance halls, oil fields, spring rituals, and the dialect spoken along the border between Texas and Mexico. Numerous illustrations and black-and-white photographs. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR