Chang Chih-tung and Educational Reform in China

History

AYERS, WILLIAM

Asia

Harvard University Press

Chang Chih-tung and Educational Reform in China (Harvard East Asian Series, 54)

For William Ayers, noted educator and activist, "the allure of teaching, that ineffable magic drawing me back to the classroom again and again, issues from an ideal that lies directly at its heart: Teaching, at its best, is an enterprise that helps human beings reach the full measure of their humanity." In Teaching Toward Freedom, Ayers illuminates the hope as well as the conflict that characterize the entire project of education: how it can be used in authoritarian and dehumanizing ways in the service of the state, the church, or a restrictive existing social order-an idea he abhors-or, as he envisions it, as an undertaking to help students become more fully human, more engaged, more participatory, more free. Drawing on his own classroom experiences and those of his many colleagues, as well as on popular culture, film, poetry, and novels, Ayers redraws the lines concerning how we teach and why, and the surprising things we uncover when we allow students to become visible, vocal authors of their own texts and creators of their own lives. "Committed and aware teachers," Ayers argues, "must endeavor to accomplish two crucial tasks. One is to convince students . . . that there is no such thing as receiving an education as a passive receptor or an inert vessel-in that direction lies nothing but subservience, indoctrination, and worse. All real education is and must always be self-education. The second task is to demonstrate to students . . . that they are valued, that their humanity is honored, and that their growth, enlightenment, and liberation are the paramount concern. We take the side of the student. . . ." This lucid and inspiring book will help teachers at every level to realize that ideal.

Teaching Toward Freedom: Moral Commitment and Ethical Action in the Classroom

Education & Teaching

Schools & Teaching

Beacon Press

Overturns common misconceptions about charter schools, school "choice," standardized tests, common core curriculum, and teacher evaluations. Three distinguished educators, scholars, and activists flip the script on many enduring and popular myths about teachers, teachers' unions, and education that permeate our culture. By unpacking these myths, and underscoring the necessity of strong and vital public schools as a common good, the authors challenge readers--whether parents, community members, policy makers, union activists, or educators themselves--to rethink their assumptions.

"You Can't Fire the Bad Ones!": And 18 Other Myths about Teachers, Teachers Unions, and Public Education (Myths Made in America)

Ayers, Rick

Laura, Crystal

The author traces his five years as a teacher and observer of Chicago's Juvenile Court prison, the nation's first and largest institution of juvenile justice, and offers real-life portraits of its inner-city youths. Tour.

A Kind and Just Parent: The Children of Juvenile Court

Politics & Social Sciences

Social Sciences

Beacon Pr

Most people know juvenile offenders only from daily headlines, and the images portrayed by the media are extreme and violent: predators and even "superpredators." Distorted and incomplete, these pictures shape the way Americans think and feel about city kids, poor kids, children of color. A Kind and Just Parent gives us a transformative view of kids caught up in the justice system that we could never get from nightly news and newspaper stories. William Ayers has spent five years as teacher and observer in Chicago's Juvenile Court prison, the nation's first and largest institution of juvenile justice, founded by legendary reformer Jane Addams to act as a "kind and just parent" for kids in need. Today, immensely confused and confusing, it serves as a perfect microcosm of the way American justice deals with children. Through brilliant storytelling, Ayers captures the lives and personalities of young people caught up in the juvenile justice system. The book follows a year in the life of the prison school. Its characters are three dimensional: funny, quirky, sometimes violent, and often vulnerable. We see young people talking about their lives, analyzing their own situations, and thinking about their friends and their futures. We watch them throughout a school year and meet some remarkable teachers. From the intimate perspective of a teacher, Ayers gives us portraits, history, and analysis that help us to understand not only what brought these kids into the court system, but why people find it hard to think straight about them, and what we might do to keep their younger brothers and sisters from landing in the same place. Unsentimental yet wrenching, A Kind and Just Parent is a riveting look at kids and crime. It will change the way Americans think about juvenile crime and juvenile justice.

Biographies & Memoirs

Community & Culture

The Good Preschool Teacher: Six Teachers Reflect on Their Lives (Early Childhood Education Series)

This important book is the result of an in-depth inquiry into the lives and work of six outstanding preschool teachers. Through a creative, original combination of interviews, letters, vignettes, interpretive analysis, and reflections, the author describes and links together the events, people, and experiences that have made these women the excellent teachers they are. Ayers’ method of using autobiographical reflection to understand teaching practice will be excellent for use in pre-service teacher education classes and inservice teacher renewal efforts. Well-written and highly readable, this book is essential for early childhood practitioners―both women and men―at all levels and within all types of services, and will appeal to researchers and parents, as well.

Professionals & Academics

Teachers' College Press

This important book is the result of an in-depth inquiry into the lives and work of six outstanding preschool teachers. Through a creative, original combination of interviews, letters, vignettes, interpretive analysis, and reflections, the author describes and links together the events, people, and experiences that have made these women the excellent teachers they are. Ayers’ method of using autobiographical reflection to understand teaching practice will be excellent for use in pre-service teacher education classes and inservice teacher renewal efforts. Well-written and highly readable, this book is essential for early childhood practitioners―both women and men―at all levels and within all types of services, and will appeal to researchers and parents, as well.

"No one since John Holt has written so thoughtfully about the things that actually happen in the classroom. Ayers has been there and he knows, and he shares what he has learned with tremendous sensitivity . . . Ayers writes so beautifully of children he has known--there are so many unforgettable vignettes--that this book will touch the heart of almost anyone who loves the authenticity of oral history".--Jonathan Kozol Pub: 4/93.

To Teach: The Journey of a Teacher

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by AYERS, WILLIAM. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by AYERS, WILLIAM

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by AYERS, WILLIAM. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Chang Chih-tung and Educational Reform in China

Chang Chih-tung and Educational Reform in China (Harvard East Asian Series, 54)

Teaching Toward Freedom: Moral Commitment and Ethical Action in the Classroom

Teaching Toward Freedom: Moral Commitment and Ethical Action in the Classroom

"You Can't Fire the Bad Ones!": And 18 Other Myths about Teachers, Teachers Unions, and Public Education (Myths Made in America)

A Kind and Just Parent: The Children of Juvenile Court

A Kind and Just Parent: The Children of Juvenile Court

The Good Preschool Teacher: Six Teachers Reflect on Their Lives (Early Childhood Education Series)

The Good Preschool Teacher: Six Teachers Reflect on Their Lives (Early Childhood Education Series)

To Teach: The Journey of a Teacher