Waiting for a Miracle

Waiting for a Miracle

Author: James P. Comer

Publisher: Plume Books

Published: 1998

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 9780452276468

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It is the thesis of this provocative book that the deteriorating state of America's public school system is actually a reflection of the problems in our culture and society. In "Waiting For A Miracle," James P. Comer M.D., Maurice Falk Professor of Child Psychiatry at the Yale University Child Study Center and the author of Maggie's American Dream, and co-author of Raising Black Children, outlines the cause of these afflictions and presents an inspiring paradigm for a new way of thinking and acting with regard to children and family.At the root of the problem, he states, is a social failure to make a commitment to families, and to community and child development.Using many examples from his personal experience of growing up poor, and from more than thirty years of community involvement, Comer argues that schools can be the most important instrument of change in a society. He spells out how private, public and non-profit sectors can collaborate to enable children, families, and communities to survive and thrive.


Teaching Problems and the Problems of Teaching

Teaching Problems and the Problems of Teaching

Author: Magdalene Lampert

Publisher: Yale University Press

Published: 2001-01-01

Total Pages: 518

ISBN-13: 9780300099478

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In this book an experienced classroom teacher and noted researcher on teaching takes us into her fifth grade math class through the course of a year. Magdalene Lampert shows how classroom dynamics--the complex relationship of teacher, student, and content--are critical in the process of bringing each student to a deeper understanding of mathematics, or any other subject. She offers valuable insights into students and teaching for all who are concerned about improving the learning that happens in the classroom. Lampert considers the teacher's and students' work from many different angles, in views large and small. She analyzes her own practice in a particular classroom, student by student and moment by moment. She also investigates the particular kind of teaching that aims at engaging elementary school students in learning fundamentally important ideas and skills by working on problems. Finally, she looks at the common problems of teaching that occur regardless of the individuals, subject matter, or kinds of practice involved. Lampert arrives at an original model of teaching practice that casts new light on the complexity in teachers' work and on the ways teachers can successfully deal with teaching problems.


Teaching Children to Care

Teaching Children to Care

Author: Ruth Charney

Publisher: Center for Responsive Schools, Inc.

Published: 2002-03-01

Total Pages: 449

ISBN-13: 1892989085

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"Ruth Charney gives teachers help on things that really matter. She wants children to learn how to care for themselves, their fellow students, their environment, and their work. Her book is loaded with practical wisdom. Using Charney's positive approach to classroom management will make the whole school day go better." - Nel Noddings, Professor Emeritus, Stanford University, and author of Caring This definitive work about classroom management will show teachers how to turn their vision of respectful, friendly, academically rigorous classrooms into reality. The new edition includes: More information on teaching middle-school students Additional strategies for helping children with challenging behavior Updated stories and examples from real classrooms. "Teaching Children to Care offers educators a practical guide to one of the most effective social and emotional learning programs I know of. The Responsive Classroom approach creates an ideal environment for learning—a pioneering program every teacher should know about." - Daniel Goleman, Author of Emotional Intelligence "I spent one whole summer reading Teaching Children to Care. It was like a rebirth for me. This book helped direct my professional development. After reading it, I had a path to follow. I now look forward to rereading this book each August to refresh and reinforce my ability to effectively manage a social curriculum in my classroom." - Gail Zimmerman, second-grade teacher, Jackson Mann Elementary School, Boston, MA


The New Sourcebook for Teaching Reasoning and Problem Solving in Elementary School

The New Sourcebook for Teaching Reasoning and Problem Solving in Elementary School

Author: Stephen Krulik

Publisher: Allyn & Bacon

Published: 1995

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780205148264

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The growing emphasis on developing the mathematical reasoning and problem solving skills of young students makes this an ideal resource for elementary school teachers. It provides new and seasoned teachers with classroom-tested, hands-on materials, including over 200 reproducibles and black-line masters as well as practical suggestions for practice, evaluation and diagnostic assessment of reasoning and problem solving skills. The book is logically organized - first providing teachers with an overview of key concepts and basic suggestions for getting the most success out of what is offered. Following chapters unfold with classroom-ready activities organized according to the five stages of the heuristic process. Individual and group challenges encourage students to Read and Think, Explore and Plan, Select a Strategy, Find an Answer, and Reflect and Extend. In addition, there are collections of Non-Routine Problems, and of Open Ended Problems Requiring an Extended Response. Answers are provided to all problems, including effective strategies for accepting and evaluating answers to open ended problems.


Troublemakers

Troublemakers

Author: Carla Shalaby

Publisher: The New Press

Published: 2017-03-07

Total Pages: 169

ISBN-13: 1620972379

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A radical educator's paradigm-shifting inquiry into the accepted, normal demands of school, as illuminated by moving portraits of four young "problem children" In this dazzling debut, Carla Shalaby, a former elementary school teacher, explores the everyday lives of four young "troublemakers," challenging the ways we identify and understand so-called problem children. Time and again, we make seemingly endless efforts to moderate, punish, and even medicate our children, when we should instead be concerned with transforming the very nature of our institutions, systems, and structures, large and small. Through delicately crafted portraits of these memorable children—Zora, Lucas, Sean, and Marcus—Troublemakers allows us to see school through the eyes of those who know firsthand what it means to be labeled a problem. From Zora's proud individuality to Marcus's open willfulness, from Sean's struggle with authority to Lucas's tenacious imagination, comes profound insight—for educators and parents alike—into how schools engender, exclude, and then try to erase trouble, right along with the young people accused of making it. And although the harsh disciplining of adolescent behavior has been called out as part of a school-to-prison pipeline, the children we meet in these pages demonstrate how a child's path to excessive punishment and exclusion in fact begins at a much younger age. Shalaby's empathetic, discerning, and elegant prose gives us a deeply textured look at what noncompliance signals about the environments we require students to adapt to in our schools. Both urgent and timely, this paradigm-shifting book challenges our typical expectations for young children and with principled affection reveals how these demands—despite good intentions—work to undermine the pursuit of a free and just society.


Arithmetic For Parents: A Book For Grown-ups About Children's Mathematics (Revised Edition)

Arithmetic For Parents: A Book For Grown-ups About Children's Mathematics (Revised Edition)

Author: Ron Aharoni

Publisher: World Scientific

Published: 2015-03-05

Total Pages: 211

ISBN-13: 9814602922

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This book is the result of a unique experience: a research mathematician teaching in an elementary school. It tells about a fascinating discovery made by the author — that elementary mathematics has a lot of depth and beauty, and that the secret to its teaching is in understanding its deep points.The first part of the book discusses the nature of mathematics and its beauty. The second part tells about the teaching principles the author distilled from his experience. The third part is an excursion through the arithmetic studied in elementary school, accompanied by personal stories, historical anecdotes and teaching suggestions. The appendix relates the fascinating story of modern day politics of mathematical education.The book was a bestseller in Israel, and has been translated into many languages. The extraordinary combination of mathematical and didactic insights makes it an essential guide for parents and teachers alike.


Answers to Your Biggest Questions About Teaching Elementary Math

Answers to Your Biggest Questions About Teaching Elementary Math

Author: John J. SanGiovanni

Publisher: Corwin Press

Published: 2021-08-31

Total Pages: 233

ISBN-13: 1071861220

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Your guide to grow and learn as a math teacher! Let’s face it, teaching elementary math can be hard. So much about how we teach math today may look and feel different from how we learned it. Today, we recognize placing the student at the center of their learning increases engagement, motivation, and academic achievement soars. Teaching math in a student-centered way changes the role of the teacher from one who traditionally “delivers knowledge” to one who fosters thinking. Most importantly, we must ensure our practice gives each and every student the opportunity to learn, grow, and achieve at high levels, while providing opportunities to develop their agency and authority in the classroom which results in a positive math identity. Whether you are a brand new teacher or a veteran, if you find teaching math to be quite the challenge, this is the guide you want by your side. Designed for just-in-time learning and support, this practical resource gives you brief, actionable answers to your most pressing questions about teaching elementary math. Written by four experienced math educators representing diverse experiences, these authors offer the practical advice they wish they received years ago, from lessons they′ve learned over decades of practice, research, coaching, and through collaborating with teams, teachers and colleagues—especially new teachers—every day. Questions and answers are organized into five areas of effort that will help you most thrive in your elementary math classroom: 1. How do I build a positive math community? 2. How do I structure, organize, and manage my math class? 3. How do I engage my students in math? 4. How do I help my students talk about math? 5. How do I know what my students know and move them forward? Woven throughout, you′ll find helpful sidebar notes on fostering identity and agency; access and equity; teaching in different settings; and invaluable resources for deeper learning. The final question—Where do I go from here?— offers guidance for growing your practice over time. Strive to become the best math educator you can be; your students are counting on it! What will be your first step on the journey?


The New Teacher Book

The New Teacher Book

Author: Terry Burant

Publisher: Rethinking Schools

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 393

ISBN-13: 0942961471

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Teaching is a lifelong challenge, but the first few years in the classroom are typically a teacher's hardest. This expanded collection of writings and reflections offers practical guidance on how to navigate the school system, form rewarding relationships with colleagues, and connect in meaningful ways with students and families from all cultures and backgrounds.


The Knowledge Gap

The Knowledge Gap

Author: Natalie Wexler

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2020-08-04

Total Pages: 354

ISBN-13: 0735213569

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The untold story of the root cause of America's education crisis--and the seemingly endless cycle of multigenerational poverty. It was only after years within the education reform movement that Natalie Wexler stumbled across a hidden explanation for our country's frustrating lack of progress when it comes to providing every child with a quality education. The problem wasn't one of the usual scapegoats: lazy teachers, shoddy facilities, lack of accountability. It was something no one was talking about: the elementary school curriculum's intense focus on decontextualized reading comprehension "skills" at the expense of actual knowledge. In the tradition of Dale Russakoff's The Prize and Dana Goldstein's The Teacher Wars, Wexler brings together history, research, and compelling characters to pull back the curtain on this fundamental flaw in our education system--one that fellow reformers, journalists, and policymakers have long overlooked, and of which the general public, including many parents, remains unaware. But The Knowledge Gap isn't just a story of what schools have gotten so wrong--it also follows innovative educators who are in the process of shedding their deeply ingrained habits, and describes the rewards that have come along: students who are not only excited to learn but are also acquiring the knowledge and vocabulary that will enable them to succeed. If we truly want to fix our education system and unlock the potential of our neediest children, we have no choice but to pay attention.


No Citizen Left Behind

No Citizen Left Behind

Author: Meira Levinson

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Published: 2012-04-23

Total Pages: 454

ISBN-13: 0674069587

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While teaching at an all-Black middle school in Atlanta, Meira Levinson realized that students’ individual self-improvement would not necessarily enable them to overcome their profound marginalization within American society. This is because of a civic empowerment gap that is as shameful and antidemocratic as the academic achievement gap targeted by No Child Left Behind. No Citizen Left Behind argues that students must be taught how to upend and reshape power relationships directly, through political and civic action. Drawing on political theory, empirical research, and her own on-the-ground experience, Levinson shows how de facto segregated urban schools can and must be at the center of this struggle. Recovering the civic purposes of public schools will take more than tweaking the curriculum. Levinson calls on schools to remake civic education. Schools should teach collective action, openly discuss the racialized dimensions of citizenship, and provoke students by engaging their passions against contemporary injustices. Students must also have frequent opportunities to take civic and political action, including within the school itself. To build a truly egalitarian society, we must reject myths of civic sameness and empower all young people to raise their diverse voices. Levinson’s account challenges not just educators but all who care about justice, diversity, or democracy.