Two new books on Education Reform

Posted by on November 30, 2009

[posted from Comm-Org list]

From: “PICO National Network” <gwhitman@piconetwork.org>

Our good friend and teacher Charles Payne has not one but two new books out on education reform.

So Much Reform, So Little Change: The Persistence of Failure in Urban Schools (http://ga3.org/ct/I1_svVd164bT/) explores the persistence of failure in today’s urban schools. Payne’s central premise is that most education policy discussions are disconnected from the daily realities of urban schools, especially those in low-income neighborhoods. While Payne gives a thorough accounting of the failure of today’s schools, he also describes how, in the last decade, we have developed real insights into the roots of school failure, and looks at how some individual schools, and whole districts, have managed to improve.

Teach Freedom: Education for Liberation in the African-American Tradition, co-edited with Carol Strickland
(http://ga3.org/ct/Id_svVd164bH/) features articles by educator-activists exploring the history of attempts by African Americans to use education as a tool of collective liberation. Contributors discuss Citizenship Schools in the south, Ella Baker and the Harlem Y, Mississippi Freedom Schools, and Black Panther Liberation Schools. Contemporary models are covered as well, including efforts such as the Freedom Schools established by the Children’s Defense Fund.

Dr. Payne’s writing has had a great influence on how many of us in the world of education reform think about making public education work for all students. We encourage you to look at these books.