A Fight for the Soul of Public Education

A Fight for the Soul of Public Education PDF Author: Steven Ashby
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 1501706489
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 328

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Book Description
In reaction to the changes imposed on public schools across the country in the name of "education reform," the Chicago Teachers Union redefined its traditional role and waged a multidimensional fight that produced a community-wide school strike and transformed the scope of collective bargaining into arenas that few labor relations experts thought possible. Using interviews, first-person accounts, participant observation, union documents, and media reports, Steven K. Ashby and Robert Bruno tell the story of the 2012 strike that shut down the Chicago school system for seven days.A Fight for the Soul of Public Education takes into account two overlapping, parallel, and equally important stories. One is a grassroots story of worker activism told from the perspective of rank-and-file union members and their community supporters. Ashby and Bruno provide a detailed account of how the strike became an international cause when other teachers unions had largely surrendered to corporate-driven education reform. The second story describes the role of state and national politics in imposing educational governance changes on public schools and draconian limitations on union bargaining rights. It includes a detailed account of the actual bargaining process revealing the mundane and the transcendental strategies of both school board and union representatives.

A Fight for the Soul of Public Education

A Fight for the Soul of Public Education PDF Author: Steven Ashby
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 1501706489
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 328

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Book Description
In reaction to the changes imposed on public schools across the country in the name of "education reform," the Chicago Teachers Union redefined its traditional role and waged a multidimensional fight that produced a community-wide school strike and transformed the scope of collective bargaining into arenas that few labor relations experts thought possible. Using interviews, first-person accounts, participant observation, union documents, and media reports, Steven K. Ashby and Robert Bruno tell the story of the 2012 strike that shut down the Chicago school system for seven days.A Fight for the Soul of Public Education takes into account two overlapping, parallel, and equally important stories. One is a grassroots story of worker activism told from the perspective of rank-and-file union members and their community supporters. Ashby and Bruno provide a detailed account of how the strike became an international cause when other teachers unions had largely surrendered to corporate-driven education reform. The second story describes the role of state and national politics in imposing educational governance changes on public schools and draconian limitations on union bargaining rights. It includes a detailed account of the actual bargaining process revealing the mundane and the transcendental strategies of both school board and union representatives.

The Lost Soul of Higher Education

The Lost Soul of Higher Education PDF Author: Ellen Schrecker
Publisher: The New Press
ISBN: 1595586032
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 305

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Book Description
The professor and historian delivers a major critique of how political and financial attacks on the academy are undermining our system of higher education. Making a provocative foray into the public debates over higher education, acclaimed historian Ellen Schrecker argues that the American university is under attack from two fronts. On the one hand, outside pressure groups have staged massive challenges to academic freedom, beginning in the 1960s with attacks on faculty who opposed the Vietnam War, and resurfacing more recently with well-funded campaigns against Middle Eastern Studies scholars. Connecting these dots, Schrecker reveals a distinct pattern of efforts to undermine the legitimacy of any scholarly study that threatens the status quo. At the same time, Schrecker deftly chronicles the erosion of university budgets and the encroachment of private-sector influence into academic life. From the dwindling numbers of full-time faculty to the collapse of library budgets, The Lost Soul of Higher Education depicts a system increasingly beholden to corporate America and starved of the resources it needs to educate the new generation of citizens. A sharp riposte to the conservative critics of the academy by the leading historian of the McCarthy-era witch hunts, The Lost Soul of Higher Education, reveals a system in peril—and defends the vital role of higher education in our democracy.

Austerity Blues

Austerity Blues PDF Author: Michael Fabricant
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 1421420678
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
Notes -- Bibliography -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- Y -- Z

The Soul of a Nation

The Soul of a Nation PDF Author: Bernard J. Coughlin
Publisher: Hamilton Books
ISBN: 0761858946
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 234

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Book Description
Since World War II, there have been many changes in our nation due to shifts in our philosophy of man and moral law. The Soul of a Nation is a series of essays on these critical transformations in our society. This book will be of interest to citizens and scholars who question our society’s political drift in recent years. The Soul of a Nation was written not only for scholars and students, but for their parents and elders as well.

When We Fight, We Win

When We Fight, We Win PDF Author: Greg Jobin-Leeds
Publisher: New Press, The
ISBN: 1620971402
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 212

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Book Description
Real stories of hard-fought battles for social change, told by those on the front lines—with clear lessons and tips for activists on gaining power from the ground up “As protests and demonstrations sprout across the land, young organizers and activists need to know why and how movements are sustained and how they grow. That resource has arrived.” —Mumia Abu-Jamal, author and activist In this visually rich and deeply inspiring book, the leaders of some of the most successful movements of the past decade—from the legalization of same-sex marriage to the Black Lives Matter movement—distill their wisdom, sharing lessons of what makes transformative social change possible. Longtime social activist Greg Jobin-Leeds joins forces with AgitArte, a collective of artists and organizers, to capture the stories, philosophy, tactics, and art of today’s leading social movements. When We Fight, We Win! weaves together interviews with today’s most successful activists and artists from across the country and beyond—including Patrisse Cullors, Bill McKibben, Clayton Thomas-Muller, Karen Lewis, Favianna Rodriguez, Rea Carey, and Gaby Pacheco, among others—with narrative recountings of their inspiring strategies and campaigns alongside full-color photos. It includes a foreword by Rinku Sen and an afterword by Antonia Darder. The recent nationwide explosion of protests has shown the power the people have when we join together with a common goal and compelling message. When We Fight, We Win! will give a whole generation of readers the road map to building resilient movements that can achieve real social justice.

Reign of Error

Reign of Error PDF Author: Diane Ravitch
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0385350899
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 417

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Book Description
From one of the foremost authorities on education in the United States, former U.S. assistant secretary of education, “whistle-blower extraordinaire” (The Wall Street Journal), author of the best-selling The Death and Life of the Great American School System (“Important and riveting”—Library Journal), The Language Police (“Impassioned . . . Fiercely argued . . . Every bit as alarming as it is illuminating”—The New York Times), and other notable books on education history and policy—an incisive, comprehensive look at today’s American school system that argues against those who claim it is broken and beyond repair; an impassioned but reasoned call to stop the privatization movement that is draining students and funding from our public schools. ​In Reign of Error, Diane Ravitch argues that the crisis in American education is not a crisis of academic achievement but a concerted effort to destroy public schools in this country. She makes clear that, contrary to the claims being made, public school test scores and graduation rates are the highest they’ve ever been, and dropout rates are at their lowest point. ​She argues that federal programs such as George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind and Barack Obama’s Race to the Top set unreasonable targets for American students, punish schools, and result in teachers being fired if their students underperform, unfairly branding those educators as failures. She warns that major foundations, individual billionaires, and Wall Street hedge fund managers are encouraging the privatization of public education, some for idealistic reasons, others for profit. Many who work with equity funds are eyeing public education as an emerging market for investors. ​Reign of Error begins where The Death and Life of the Great American School System left off, providing a deeper argument against privatization and for public education, and in a chapter-by-chapter breakdown, putting forth a plan for what can be done to preserve and improve it. She makes clear what is right about U.S. education, how policy makers are failing to address the root causes of educational failure, and how we can fix it. ​For Ravitch, public school education is about knowledge, about learning, about developing character, and about creating citizens for our society. It’s about helping to inspire independent thinkers, not just honing job skills or preparing people for college. Public school education is essential to our democracy, and its aim, since the founding of this country, has been to educate citizens who will help carry democracy into the future.

Red State Revolt

Red State Revolt PDF Author: Eric Blanc
Publisher: Verso Books
ISBN: 1788735765
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 225

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Book Description
An indispensable window into the changing shape of the American working class and American politics Thirteen months after Trump allegedly captured the allegiance of “the white working class,” a strike wave—the first in over four decades—rocked the United States. Inspired by the wildcat victory in West Virginia, teachers in Oklahoma, Arizona, and across the country walked off their jobs and shut down their schools to demand better pay for educators, more funding for students, and an end to years of austerity. Confounding all expectations, these working-class rebellions erupted in regions with Republican electorates, weak unions, and bans on public sector strikes. By mobilizing to take their destinies into their own hands, red state school workers posed a clear alternative to politics as usual. And with similar actions now gaining steam in Los Angeles, Oakland, Denver, and Virginia, there is no sign that this upsurge will be short-lived. Red State Revolt is a compelling analysis of the emergence and development of this historic strike wave, with an eye to extracting its main strategic lessons for educators, labor organizer, and radicals across the country. A former high school teacher and longtime activist, Eric Blanc embedded himself into the rank-and-file leaderships of the walkouts, where he was given access to internal organizing meetings and secret Facebook groups inaccessible to most journalists. The result is one of the richest portraits of the labor movement to date, a story populated with the voices of school workers who are winning the fight for the soul of public education—and redrawing the political map of the country at large.

A Clashing of the Soul

A Clashing of the Soul PDF Author: Leroy Davis
Publisher: University of Georgia Press
ISBN: 9780820319872
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 494

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Book Description
John Hope (1868-1936), the first African American president of Morehouse College and Atlanta University, was one of the most distinguished in the pantheon of early-twentieth-century black educators. Born of a mixed-race union in Augusta, Georgia, shortly after the Civil War, Hope had a lifelong commitment to black public and private education, adequate housing and health care, job opportunities, and civil rights that never wavered. Hope became to black college education what Booker T. Washington was to black industrial education. Leroy Davis examines the conflict inherent in Hope's attempt to balance his joint roles as college president and national leader. Along with his good friend W. E. B. Du Bois, Hope was at the forefront of the radical faction of black leaders in the early twentieth century, but he found himself taking more moderate stances in order to obtain philanthropic funds for black higher education. The story of Hope's life illuminates many complexities that vexed African American leaders in a free but segregated society.

Standing Up to Goliath

Standing Up to Goliath PDF Author: Rebecca Friedrichs
Publisher: Post Hill Press
ISBN: 9781642936063
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 304

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Book Description
As seen on Fox & Friends! Rebecca Friedrichs tells real-life stories that expose state and national teachers’ unions as the money and muscle behind the degradation of America’s schools and culture. In a book that’s both accessible and enlightening, Rebecca Friedrichs recounts her thirty-year odyssey as an elementary school teacher who comes face-to-face with the forces dividing and corrupting our schools and culture—state and national teachers’ unions. An exciting true story that features real life testimonies of teachers, parents, and kids, as well as political and social commentary, Rebecca’s journey leads her to the realization that the only hope for America’s schools and families is returning authority to parents and teachers while lessening the grip of state and national unions that: • Promote a culture of fear and bully teachers and parents into silence. • Undermine parents’ authority by sexually, socially, and politically indoctrinating kids. • Use the apple-pie image of the PTA as a “front” to promote a partisan agenda. These insights and more led Rebecca and nine other teachers to the US Supreme Court where their case, Friedrichs v California Teachers Association, et al., sought to restore the First Amendment rights of all teachers and government employees. They argued no one should be forced to pay fees to abusive, politically driven unions, and were poised to change the very landscape of American education—until tragedy struck. Saddened but unbowed, Rebecca started a national movement, For Kids and Country, leading the charge of servant leaders who believe Judeo-Christian values (including kindness) and restoration of the teaching profession—possible only by rejecting state and national unions and forming “local only” associations—are the answers to America’s woes. She invites you to join them. “America’s teachers, parents, and kids deserve better,” Rebecca writes. “If we want freedom, we’re going to have to fight for it.”

The Soul of Education

The Soul of Education PDF Author: Rachael Kessler
Publisher: ASCD
ISBN: 0871203731
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 204

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Book Description
Explores the spiritual dimension of education, and discusses ways to nourish the spiritual development of adolescents in public schools without violating anyone's legal rights.