The American Reader is a stirring and memorable anthology that captures the many facets of American culture and history in prose and verse.  The 200 poems, speeches, songs, essays, letters, and documents were chosen both for their readability and for their significance.  These are the words that have inspired, enraged, delighted, chastened, and comforted Americans in days gone by.  Gathered here are the writings that illuminate -- with wit, eloquence, and sometimes sharp words -- significant aspects of national conciousness. They reflect the part that all Americans -- black and white, native born and immigrant, Hispanic, Asian, and Native American, poor and wealthy -- have played in creating the nation's character.

"Eases quietly into a ferociously angry subject... Diane Ravitch affirms her faith in the American dream despite a detailed narrative which suggests, if anything, that education in New York has fairly consistently failed those who needed it most... Meticulously detailed and strains for fairness and impartiality." -- "New York Times"

"Jesse Hagopian brought a rare moment of truth to the corporate-dominated "Education Nation" show when he spoke on behalf of his colleagues at Garfield High in Seattle. He instantly became the voice and face of the movement to stop pointless and punitive high-stakes testing."--Diane Ravitch, author of "Reign of Terror"

In cities across the country, students are walking out, parents are opting their children out, and teachers are rallying against the abuses of high-stakes standardized testing.

These are the stories--in their own words--of some of those who are defying the corporate education reformers and fueling a national movement to reclaim public education.

Alongside the voices of students, parents, teachers, and grassroots education activists, the book features renowned education researchers and advocates, including Nancy Carrlson-Paige, Karen Lewis, and Monty Neill.

Jesse Hagopian teaches history and is the Black Student Union adviser at Garfield High School, the site of the historic boycott of the MAP test in 2013. He is an associate editor of "Rethinking Schools," and winner of the 2013 "Secondary School Teacher of Year" award from the Academy of Education Arts and Sciences. He is a contributing author to "Education and Capitalism: Struggles for Learning and Liberation" and "101 Changemakers: Rebels and Radicals Who Changed US History," and writes regularly for "Truthout," "Black Agenda Report," and the "Seattle Times" Op-Ed page.

The debate over public schools has become highly politicized, featuring movements dedicated to privatizing public schools and diminishing teacher professionalism. People who had long treasured their local public schools are now being told that our nation's schools are "failing," that we are not preparing children for "the global economy." Many of these purveyors of doom and gloom are working to disrupt public schools and have created their own purposely deceptive vocabulary to assist their efforts. In this important book, Ravitch and Bailey decipher and demystify the new language of education. They describe the key terms and groups currently embroiled in the corporate fight besieging schools. EdSpeak and Doubletalk is an essential resource for anyone seeking to gain deeper awareness and understanding about the fight for public education. It is also an excellent text for any university class that deals with teaching, educational administration, and policymaking.Book Features: Guides readers through the thickets of jargon and hype that often become sales pitches to unwary consumers. Exposes organizations and programs that are branded with positive promotional names but are often harmful to the most disadvantaged students. Shines a light on the language related to practices that are seriously endangering democratic public schools and the teaching profession. Includes an online glossary of new terms that will be updated by the authors.

The purpose of this text is to draw attention to eight forgotten heroes: William C. Bagley, Charles DeGarmo, David Felmley, William Torrey Harris, Isaac L. Kandel, Charles McMurry, William C. Ruediger, and Edward Austin Sheldon. They have been marginalized from our profession, and drawing upon their legacy is the best hope for restoring the profession of teaching today. This work also includes a chapter at the end of the book entitled "John Dewey's Forgotten Essays." The audience for this book includes: 1) classroom teachers, 2) school administrators, 3) teacher educators, 4) deans and other university administrators, 5) college and university presidents, 6) legislators, 7) historians of education, 8) curriculum specialists, 9) specialists in teacher training, and 10) the general public.

The purpose of this text is to draw attention to eight forgotten heroes: William C. Bagley, Charles DeGarmo, David Felmley, William Torrey Harris, Isaac L. Kandel, Charles McMurry, William C. Ruediger, and Edward Austin Sheldon. They have been marginalized from our profession, and drawing upon their legacy is the best hope for restoring the profession of teaching today. This work also includes a chapter at the end of the book entitled "John Dewey's Forgotten Essays." The audience for this book includes: 1) classroom teachers, 2) school administrators, 3) teacher educators, 4) deans and other university administrators, 5) college and university presidents, 6) legislators, 7) historians of education, 8) curriculum specialists, 9) specialists in teacher training, and 10) the general public.

"Updating her highly acclaimed book, Diane Ravitch presents the latest information on the debate over national standards and assessments. ""Ensuring a rigorous liberal education for all is asking a lot in a contentious democracy like ours. Is it possible to educate every child to the same high standards? Is it politically feasible? Will raising standards help or hinder poor minority children? Ravitch sees where these land mines are buried and her book provides an indispensable diagram for getting around them.""-The Wall Street Journal ""A simple message lies at the heart of Diane Ravitch's new book.... If clear and consistent goals of learning could be set for all American children, rich and poor, gifted and ordinary, then all of these children would end up better educated than they now are likely to be.""-The New York Times ""No one could be more qualified to write a book about national standards in education than Diane Ravitch.""-The Washington Times ""The ongoing debate about national education standards and assessment in the U.S. has created as much confusion as it has solutions. What has been needed is an examination of the educational, historical, political, and social issues related to the development of such standards. Ravitch provides such a foundation.""-Choice "

What is the outlook for educational reform in the United States? One of the most striking proposals has been to establish a system of national standards, which has raised many complex questions: Is it possible for the United States, with its history of extreme decentralization, to establish and enforce national standards for what students should know? Who will create these standards? What would be the role of the federal, state, and local governments?While the idea of national standards has been widely supported, many respected educators doubt their value from fear that such standards will institutionalize the lowest common denominator. Others cite the poor performance of U.S. students on international tests and insist that the U.S. will suffer because of this poor performance. The debate becomes even more intense when the question of assessment is posed. Is it possible to develop a national examination system tied to new standards? Should such tests be used to influence entry to colleges and jobs? Would the motivation of students to learn be increased if they knew that their performance would be reviewed by colleges and employers? Is it fair to set standards for students without setting standards for schools? To address these and other questions, this book, the result of a Brookings conference, brings together representatives of various viewpoints on the utility and equity of increasing the use of tests for students, teachers, and schools. The contributors are Chester Finn, Jr., the Edison Project; Daniel Koretz, RAND; Andrew Porter, Wisconsin Center for Education Research; Lauren Resnick, University of Pittsburgh; Roy Romer, Governor of Colorado; Albert Shanker, American Federation of Teachers; Theodore R. Sizer, Brown University; Marshall C. Smith, U.S. Department of Education; and Donald M. Stewart, The College Board. Brookings Dialogues on Public Policy

This book is a report on the state of the crusade against ignorance during a particularly tumultuous time in American History. Many other crusades stormed through the nation's educational institutions during these thirty-five years, sometimes complementing the crusade against ignorance, at other times subordinating it to some other worthy or unworthy cause.

As we cross the threshold of a new century, which approaches are likely to improve public education? In this book, distinguished scholars discuss recent innovations-charter schools, contracting arrangements, and choice-designed to liberate educators from burdensome bureaucratic controls and improve the level of opportunity for all children. Focusing on the problems in cities, where far too many children have been denied access to quality institutions, the authors examine the lessons to be learned from Catholic schools, site-based management, private entrepreneurs, and specific developments in three cities-New York, Milwaukee, and Chicago. The authors, though realistic about the political and institutional obstacles that stand in the way of meaningful change, foresee the demise of the "one size fits all" approach to schooling. They envision a system of schools that is dynamic, diverse, performance based, and accountable; one that is supportive of professionals, responsive to creativity, intolerant of failure, and committed to high educational standards for all children. Contributors: Louann Bierlein Anthony Bryk John Chubb Chester Finn Paul Hill Valerie Lee Paul Peterson Diane Ravitch Joseph P. Viteritti Priscilla Wohlstetter

The debate over public schools has become highly politicized, featuring movements dedicated to privatizing public schools and diminishing teacher professionalism. People who had long treasured their local public schools are now being told that our nation's schools are "failing," that we are not preparing children for "the global economy." Many of these purveyors of doom and gloom are working to disrupt public schools and have created their own purposely deceptive vocabulary to assist their efforts. In this important book, Ravitch and Bailey decipher and demystify the new language of education. They describe the key terms and groups currently embroiled in the corporate fight besieging schools. EdSpeak and Doubletalk is an essential resource for anyone seeking to gain deeper awareness and understanding about the fight for public education. It is also an excellent text for any university class that deals with teaching, educational administration, and policymaking. Book Features: Guides readers through the thickets of jargon and hype that often become sales pitches to unwary consumers. Exposes organizations and programs that are branded with positive promotional names but are often harmful to the most disadvantaged students. Shines a light on the language related to practices that are seriously endangering democratic public schools and the teaching profession. Includes an online glossary of new terms that will be updated by the authors.

Isaac Leon Kandel (1881-1965) was a major figure in educational philosophy and comparative education in the twentieth century. As a professor of education at Columbia University's Teachers College, Kandel almost single-handedly developed the field of comparative education, and was an early critic of Progressive educational philosophy. As the definitive biography of one of the twentieth century's most brilliant writers on education, this book presents Kandel as a democratic traditionalist who tirelessly advocated the ideal of liberal education for all. This book tells the story of Kandel's life and the many obstacles that he faced because of his faith and political views. The philosophy of democratic schooling that Kandel embodies is crucial to the reconstruction of American education today. Peerless Educator will be of interest not only to scholars of education, but also to practitioners who want to improve education in the twenty-first century.

Americans have reason to be concerned about the condition of American democracy at the start of the twenty-first century. Surveys show that civic participation has declined, cynicism about government has increased, and young people have a weak grasp of the principles that underlie our constitutional system. Crucial questions must be answered: How serious is the situation? What role do schools play in shaping civic behavior? Are current education reform initiatives-such as multiculturalism and school choice-counterproductive? How can schools contribute toward reversing the trend? This volume brings together leading thinkers from a variety of disciplines to probe the relation between a healthy democracy and education. Their original and provocative discussions cut across a range of important topics: the cultivation of democratic values, the formation of social capital in schools and communities, political conflict in a pluralist society, the place of religion in public life, the enduring problems of racial inequality. Gathering together the most current research and thinking on education and civil society, this is a book that deserves the attention of everyone who cares about the quality and future of American democracy.

Many Americans view today's problems in education as an unprecedented crisis brought on by the rise of contemporary social problems. In Learning from the Past a group of distinguished educational historians and scholars of public policy reminds us that many current difficulties-as well as recent reform efforts-have important historical antecedents. What can we learn, they ask, from nineteenth-century efforts to promote early childhood education, or debates in the 1920s about universal secondary education, or the curriculum reforms of the 1950s? Reflecting a variety of intellectual and disciplinary orientations, the contributors to this volume examine major changes in educational development and reform, consider how such changes have been implemented in the past, and warn against , exaggerating their benefits. They address questions of governance, equity and multiculturalism, curriculum standards, school choice, and a variety of other issues. Policy makers and other school reformers, they conclude, would do well to investigate the past in order to appreciate the implications of the present reform initiatives.

The author of "The Troubled Crusade" and other important books and writings on education brings her own blend of sanity, common sense, and commitment to excellence to the problems of the nation's schools.

In this provocative book, "America's 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 galvanised 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.

"City Schools" brings together a distinguished group of researchers and educators for an in-depth look at the nation's largest school system. Topics covered include the changing demographics of city schools, the impending teacher shortage, reading instruction, special education, bilingual education, school governance, charter schools, choice, school finance reform, and the role of teacher unions. The book also provides fresh and fascinating perspectives on Catholic schools, Jewish day schools, and historically black independent schools.

Diane Ravitch, Joseph P. Viteritti, and their coauthors explore pedagogical, institutional, and policy issues in an urban school system whose challenges are those of American urban education writ large. The authors conclude that we know a lot more about how to provide effective educational services for a diverse population of urban school children than performance data would suggest.

Contributors: Dale Ballou, University of Massachusetts, Amherst - Stephan F. Brumberg, Brooklyn College - Mary Beth Celio, University of Washington - Gail Foster, Toussaint Institute - Michael Heise, Case Western University - Clara Hemphill, Public Education Association - Paul T. Hill, University of Washington - William G. Howell, Harvard University - Pearl Rock Kane, Columbia University - Frank J. Macchiarola, Saint Francis College - Melissa Marschall, University of South Carolina - Thomas Nechyba, Duke University - Paul E. Peterson, Harvard University - Christine Roch, Georgia State University - Christine H. Rossell, Boston University - Marvin Schick, Avi Chai Foundation - Mark Schneider, SUNY, Stony Brook - Lee Stuart, South Bronx Churches - Paul Teske, SUNY, Stony Brook - Emanuel Tobier, New York University - Joanna P. Williams, Columbia University