Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Series Foreword
- Acknowledgments
- Changing Classes
- Introduction
- 1 The Class of 2001: June 9, 1994
- 2 Blue Monday: December 1991–February 1992
- 3 Vehicles of Reform, Drivers of Change: March 1992–June 1993
- 4 America's Birthday: Summer 1993
- 5 The Last First Day? August–November 1993
- 6 Willow Run Is America: The 1940s and 1950s
- 7 Crossing to the New Economy: November 1993–April 1994
- 8 End-of-Year Report Cards: May–June 1994
- 9 Rest and Relaxation? Summer 1994
- 10 Caught in the Middle: August–November 1994
- 11 The Change Game: November 1994–June 1995
- 12 The Future of the Kids Coming Behind Us: June 1995–February 1997
- 13 Quality or Equality? The Standardization of Schooling: March 1997
- 14 Coda–June 1999
- Notes
- Index
Introduction
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 July 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Series Foreword
- Acknowledgments
- Changing Classes
- Introduction
- 1 The Class of 2001: June 9, 1994
- 2 Blue Monday: December 1991–February 1992
- 3 Vehicles of Reform, Drivers of Change: March 1992–June 1993
- 4 America's Birthday: Summer 1993
- 5 The Last First Day? August–November 1993
- 6 Willow Run Is America: The 1940s and 1950s
- 7 Crossing to the New Economy: November 1993–April 1994
- 8 End-of-Year Report Cards: May–June 1994
- 9 Rest and Relaxation? Summer 1994
- 10 Caught in the Middle: August–November 1994
- 11 The Change Game: November 1994–June 1995
- 12 The Future of the Kids Coming Behind Us: June 1995–February 1997
- 13 Quality or Equality? The Standardization of Schooling: March 1997
- 14 Coda–June 1999
- Notes
- Index
Summary
The future of every society lies with its children. As each generation takes up tasks and responsibilities from the preceding one, its attitudes, expectations, and conduct shape the form society takes. Schools are, in the societies that have them, a central institution preparing young people for their future as workers and citizens. Schools, I would maintain, are more than places where young people are taught knowledge and skills; they are crucibles wherein children are transformed. In doing this schools give direction to our society – they can perpetuate the status quo or create a new future. And this means that those who can control our schools may exert a significant influence on the direction of social changé.
This book is an account of struggles now taking place over public schools in the United States. It is the story of a single school district – the Willow Run Community Schools, in Michigan – but the lessons learned from this one case can, I believe, help us better understand what is happening all over the United States, and abroad as well.
At the same time the book is a reflection on the character of schooling. Schools are so familiar that we take them for granted, but the debates over schooling make it clear that there is much confusion about just how schools work. I believe we currently lack a clear understanding of the psychological and sociological character of schooling – of just how it is that attending school changes a young person's way of engaging the world, changes the kind of person they are.
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- Changing ClassesSchool Reform and the New Economy, pp. 1 - 9Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2000
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