EDU 245: Connecting Family, School, and Community

A challenge to narrow, profit-driven conceptions of school success and an argument for protecting public education to ensure that all students become competent citizens in a vibrant democracy In These Schools Belong to You and Me, MacArthur award-winning educator, reformer, and author Deborah Meier draws on her fifty-plus years of experience to argue that the purpose of universal education is to provide young people with an "apprenticeship for citizenship in a democracy." Through an intergenerational exchange with her former colleague and fellow educator Emily Gasoi, the coauthors analyze the last several decades of education reform, challenging narrow profit-driven conceptions of school success. Reflecting on the trajectory of education and social policies that are leading our country further from rule "of, for, and by the people," the authors apply their extensive knowledge and years of research to address the question of how public education must change in order to counter the erosion of democratic spirit and practice in schools and in the nation as a whole. Meier and Gasoi candidly reflect on the successes, missteps, and challenges they experienced working in democratically governed schools, demonstrating that it is possible to provide an enriched education to all students, not just the privileged few. Arguing that public education and democracy are inextricably bound, and pushing against the tide of privatization, These Schools Belong to You and Me is a rousing call to both save and improve public schools to ensure that all students are empowered to help shape our future democracy.

Students everywhere are harder to reach and teach, their attention and motivation less reliable, their language and behavior more provocative.  This is largely because parents, suffering a widespread loss of confidence and competence, are increasingly anxious about their children's success, yet increasingly unable to support and guide them'and increasingly assertive and adversarial vis a vis the school.  Examining these trends and their underlying causes, Evans calls for a combination of limits and leverage.  At the policy level, we must rethink our notions of accountability, accepting the reality that schools cannot overcome all the forces that affect children's lives and learning.  At the schoolhouse, educators can improve their impact by clarifying and asserting purpose (core values) and conduct (norms for behavior), and by becoming more appropriately parental vis à vis students and parents.  Evans outlines concrete ways to implement these measures, and closes with a reflection on ways to sustain hope and commitment in the face of unprecedented challenge. "Too many Americans are eager to blame the media or teachers for their children′s failure to learn. In Family Matters Rob Evans has the courage to tell the simple truth: parents in America are abdicating their responsibilities. They are not sending children to school who are ready to learn, and educators are being overwhelmed by the behavioral problems and emotional needs of under-parented children. In this persuasive and powerful book, Dr. Evans cuts through our national denial and offers both a hard-headed analysis of our parenting failures and realistic school-based solutions to these problems." ?Michael Thompson, coauthor, Raising Cain and Best Friends, Worst Enemies "In a brave and winning combination of information, analysis, anecdotes, and personal observations, Rob Evans makes a forthright, powerful case for renewed and respectful school-family collaboration on behalf of children." Theodore R. Sizer, Coalition of Essential Schools

Trace the influence of family factors on children's emotional and educational well-being! The effect of family changes on children's academic success is a new subject for study. Divorce, Family Structure, and the Academic Success of Children is a comprehensive volume that brings research on this hotly debated topic up to date. With clear tables and incisive arguments, it is a single-volume reference on this vexing sociocultural problem. Divorce, Family Structure, and the Academic Success of Children offers a close look at the historical background and current theory of this field of study. But it is more than a compendium of known facts and completed studies. It examines issues of appropriate methodology and points out concerns for planning future research. Divorce, Family Structure, and the Academic Success of Children summarizes current knowledge of the effects of various influences on children's emotional and educational well-being, including: divorce and remarriage single-parent families nontraditional family structures race socioeconomic status mobility Educators, theorists, sociologists, and psychologists will find this volume an essential resource. With hundreds of useful references and clear organization, it presents new ideas in an easy-to-use format that makes it an ideal textbook as well.luding: divorce and remarriage single-parent families nontraditional family structures race socioeconomic status mobility Educators, theorists, sociologists, and psychologists will find this volume an essential resource. With hundreds of useful references and clear organization, it presents new ideas in an easy-to-use format that makes it an ideal textbook as well.

Parents and early childhood teachers know that reading aloud to children is important, but the specific things that adults do while reading with children that make reading a powerful way to improve children's language, vocabulary, and early literacy skills can remain a mystery. Read with Me makes those behaviors clear and easy to implement for parents and teachers by outlining the ABCs of Active Reading (Ask Questions, Build Vocabulary, and Connect to the Child's World). Active Reading is an approach to reading aloud with young children that is supported by decades of research. Read With Me provides parents and teachers with the knowledge and skills to engage young children (age 2 to 5) in Active Reading with examples, clear explanations, and ideas for making one-on-one or small group read aloud sessions a powerful way to build children's early literacy and language skills, all while creating a lifelong love of reading.

This book examines schoolrooms and their material contents to reveal insights into the evolution of education and the translation of educational theories and cultural ideals into practice. * Provides an unprecedented history of the classrooms that so many of us occupy during our most formative years * Brings readers closer to the design of school buildings * Explains how spaces and objects influence teaching and learning and reflect educational ideologies * Details how school buildings have evolved over the years

An inspiring account of teachers in ordinary circumstances doing extraordinary things, showing us how to transform education What School Could Be offers an inspiring vision of what our teachers and students can accomplish if trusted with the challenge of developing the skills and ways of thinking needed to thrive in a world of dizzying technological change. Innovation expert Ted Dintersmith took an unprecedented trip across America, visiting all fifty states in a single school year. He originally set out to raise awareness about the urgent need to reimagine education to prepare students for a world marked by innovation--but America's teachers one-upped him. All across the country, he met teachers in ordinary settings doing extraordinary things, creating innovative classrooms where children learn deeply and joyously as they gain purpose, agency, essential skillsets and mindsets, and real knowledge. Together, these new ways of teaching and learning offer a vision of what school could be--and a model for transforming schools throughout the United States and beyond. Better yet, teachers and parents don't have to wait for the revolution to come from above. They can readily implement small changes that can make a big difference. America's clock is ticking. Our archaic model of education trains our kids for a world that no longer exists, and accelerating advances in technology are eliminating millions of jobs. But the trailblazing of many American educators gives us reasons for hope. Capturing bold ideas from teachers and classrooms across America, What School Could Be provides a realistic and profoundly optimistic roadmap for creating cultures of innovation and real learning in all our schools.

Enacted in1975, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act - now called theIndividuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) provides all children withthe right to a free and appropriate public education. On the face of it, theIDEA is a shining example of law's democratizing impulse. But is that reallythe case? In Disabled Education, Ruth Colker digs deep beneath theIDEA's surface and reveals that the IDEA contains flaws that were evident atthe time of its enactment that limit its effectiveness for poor and minoritychildren.   Both anexpert in disability law and the mother of a child with a hearing impairment,Colker learned first-hand of the Act's limitations when she embarked on a legalbattle to persuade her son's school to accommodate his impairment. Colker wasable to devote the considerable resources of a middle-class lawyer to herstruggle and ultimately won, but she knew that the IDEA would not havebenefitted her son without her time-consuming and costly legal intervention.Her experience led her to investigate other cases, which confirmed hersuspicions that the IDEA best serves those with the resources to advocatestrongly for their children. The IDEAalso works only as well as the rest of the system does: struggling schools thatserve primarily poor students of color rarely have the funds to provideappropriate special education and related services to their students withdisabilities. Through a close examination of the historical evolution of theIDEA, the actual experiences of children who fought for their education incourt, and social science literature on the meaning of "learning disability,"Colker reveals the IDEA's shortcomings, but also suggests ways in whichresources might be allocated more evenly along class lines.

It takes a team of professionals working together to support a child's emotional, physical, and academic development. Effective Collaboration for Educating the Whole Child examines collaboration between educators to successfully teach children with complex learning needs, both with and without identified disabilities. This book for primary and secondary general and special education teachers, administrators, and student support specialists explores how to make collaboration and coordination work, who takes responsibility for the process, and why collaboration is central to improving outcomes for students considered at risk. Focusing on coordinating across systems to improve education, the author: - Discusses the roles, responsibilities, and relationships between school professionals, community agencies, and service providers - Offers case examples in each chapter as windows into schools and classrooms - Emphasizes important developmental transitions from the primary years through secondary school and after - Presents personal reflections from parents, students, and professionals Developmentally responsive school environments depend on constructive relationships between the adults in a student's life, making this a vital resource for anyone who interacts with children.

A volume in Contemporary Perspectives in Special Education Series Editors: Anthony F. Rotatori, Saint Xavier University and Festus E. Obiakor, Valdosta State Univversity The purpose of this book is to provide a forum for an interdisciplinary scholarly dialogue with regard to preparing teachers for early childhood special education. In addition, it is aimed at examining and making available relevant and most recent scholarship to practitioners and at addressing critical issues and perspectives around preparing effective educators for the 21 century classroom and the future. This book intends to illuminate a complex and challenging task of preparing effective educators through the lenses of several educational disciplines, including but not limited to, teacher education, general education, special education, early childhood education, and urban education. The information in this work will focus on several educational disciplines that have the most immediate implications for teacher preparation and practice. The overall educational knowledge base will be enhanced due to the educational interdisciplinary approach. This has additional implications for teacher education, special education, educational leadership, curriculum and instruction, educational policy, and urban education, to name a few. The multidimensional nature of the book gives it the freedom to highlight multiple and diverse voices while at the same time providing a forum for different (and sometimes divergent) methodologies, philosophies, and ideologies.

Some chapters focus on interventions for the child, and others on training for the parents and professionals. The combination of current information and evidence contained in these chapters includes an emphasis on the importance of supporting families with different linguistic and cultural backgrounds, and indicates how team support (including families as part of the team) is crucial for these children. Parents of children with special needs may have their own challenges and this may create an additional need for support and resources for the family and the professional. The dynamic interaction between provider or teacher, theoretical approaches and curriculum used, and the child's individual needs is what maximizes the impact of any intervention. The information is useful for early care and preschool teachers, early intervention providers, therapists, psychologists and administrators.