I loved A Reason to Teach. It challenged me to think about how to infuse democratic principals into the intellectually charged reading and writing workshops that thrive in our best schools. Every thoughtful educator needs this book. - Stephanie Harvey, coauthor of The Comprehension Toolkit This book shows why James Beane's work is so crucial to all of us. It needs to be read by anyone who is both deeply concerned with countering the challenges coming from conservative movements in education and committed to building an education that is worthy of its name. - Michael W. Apple, coauthor of Democratic Schools Over his long career, James Beane has worked with teachers at all levels and been a voice for progressive reform in American education. In A Reason to Teach, he brings together many of the best ideas about teaching, learning, curriculum, collaboration, and community. Not only does Beane show us how to make deep learning happen in the classroom, he also challenges us to enact our nation's noblest ideals in our work with young people. A Reason to Teach is written for teachers who want to bring democratic teaching to their classrooms and schools. The book not only explains why teachers should choose this point of view, but tells how, offering a wide range of practical resources for classrooms and schools at all levels, including tools for: 
<ul>
<li>involving students in planning and assessing their work</li> <li>embedding social issues in classroom content</li> <li>arranging projects and collaborative activities</li> <li>organizing integrative curriculum units</li> <li>building classroom communities.</li> </ul> All of these ideas are illustrated with vibrant examples from real classrooms around the country, including an extended case study of how one teacher and his students in a large city organized their curriculum around the goal of getting a new school for their neighborhood. Throughout A Reason to Teach, Beane offers specific guidance on instructional strategies that emphasize students' choice, participation, and critical inquiry. The book offers suggestions on how to get started in the classroom, how to think in new ways about what we already do, and how to reach out to colleagues for support. Eminently practical and thoroughly principled, A Reason to Teach shows the how, the why, and the power of the democratic way. In a time when national educational policy is drifting away from its founding principles, James Beane takes us back to the real basics, building upon the long history of progressive education with insights, encouragement, and hope for renewing our commitment to it in the classroom and the nation.

A Reason to Teach: Creating Classrooms of Dignity and Hope

Beane, James

Children's Books

Heinemann

Every once in a while, with the passage of time, a classic book takes on even greater relevance. The first edition of Democratic Schools was praised by legions of education professionals for showing how to create schools and classrooms with democratic values in mind; it was hailed for its clear-eyed assessment of the important role schools continue to play in promoting democracy, its traditions, and its thinking. Now an expanded and updated edition of Democratic Schools arrives, increasingly relevant in a time of inequitable accountability-based reform, standardized assessments, and cookie-cutter curricula. Michael Apple and James Beane return to challenge reform movements such as No Child Left Behind by asserting that our schools have a vital and historic connection to the continued success of our democratic way of life. Democratic Schools, Second Edition, shows in detail how educators can make a lasting difference by combining authentic, important lessons and a consistent, building- or system-wide focus on a critical and democratic education. Apple and Beane once more convene seven of America's most creative democratic educators for a powerful conversation about how to build an education that is worthy of our highest ideals. The essays that made the first edition so potent are here in their entirety, each followed by brand-new retrospective insight from their writers, educators who have proven that teachers and administrators can bring the nation's most noble values to life every day. Contributors include: 
<ul>
<li>Michael W. Apple </li> <li>James A. Beane </li> <li>Bob Peterson </li> <li>Brian D. Schultz </li> <li>Barbara L. Brodhagen </li> <li>Larry Rosenstock </li> <li>Adria Steinberg </li> <li>Deborah Meier </li> <li>Paul Schwarz. </li> </ul> Grounded in a robust understanding of democracy, education, and the exigencies of our political and social systems, the second edition of Democratic Schools goes beyond updating and expanding the stories of the schools it originally chronicled. It adds new material - including a brand new chapter from Apple and Beane - that provides crucial lessons for creating and sustaining democratic schools, and that once again inspires teachers, administrators, and educational leaders to adopt ways of framing their mission that can create and sustain our democratic way of life - even in these difficult times.

Democratic Schools, Second Edition: Lessons in Powerful Education

Education & Teaching

Apple, Michael

Schools & Teaching

A Middle School Curriculum: From Rhetoric to Reality

Natl Middle School Assn

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