Waubonsee Community College

Letters to a young teacher, Jonathan Kozol

eng

Includes bibliographical references

no index present

non fiction

Letters to a young teacher

bibliography

81150154

Jonathan Kozol

In the form of a series of affectionate letters to a first grade teacher at an inner-city school, educator Kozol vividly describes his repeated visits to her classroom while, under her irreverent questioning, he also reveals his own personal stories of the years that he has spent in public schools. This book reignites a number of the controversial issues Kozol has powerfully addressed in recent years: the mania of high-stakes testing that turns many classrooms into test-prep factories where spontaneity and critical intelligence are no longer valued, the invasion of our public schools by predatory private corporations, and the inequalities of urban schools that are once again almost as segregated as they were a century ago. But most of all, these letters are rich with the happiness of teaching, the curiosity and jubilant excitement children bring into the classroom when they are in the hands of an adoring and hard-working teacher.--From publisher description

A life among schoolchildren -- Establishing the chemistry: First days in the classroom -- Reaching out to get to know the parents of our children -- Teaching the young, but learning from the old: A cautionary letter -- Wild flowers -- The little piper: A few reflections on the kids who make it clear that they're determined not to like us -- The uses of "diversity" -- Beware the jargon factory -- Aesthetic merriment: "Wiggly" and "wobbly" and "out!" -- High-stakes tests and other modern miseries -- The single worst, most dangerous idea: Education vouchers and the privatization of our public schools -- It is evil to tell lies to children -- Loss of innocence: More reflections on the middle schools and high schools -- Teachers as witnesses -- Seeds of hope, sources of resilience