Horace's Compromise : The Dilemma of the American High School

by Sizer, Theodore

• ISBN13: 9780618516063
• ISBN10: 0618516069
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-09-23
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Summary

First published in 1984, this best-selling classic is Theodore Sizer's eloquent call to arms for school reform. In a new preface, Sizer addresses the encouraging movements afoot today for better schools, smaller classes, and fully educated students. Yet, while much has changed for the better in the classroom, much remains the same: rushed classes, mindless tests, overworked teachers. Sizer's insistence that we do more than just compromise for our children's educational futures resonates just as strongly today as it did two decades ago.

Author Biography

Theordore R. Sizer, University Professor Emeritus at Brown Universtiy, is the chairman of the coalition of Essential Schools. He lives in Harvard, Massachusetts.

Table of Contents

Preface to the 2004 Edition	p. vi
Introduction	p. 1
Prologue: Horace's Compromise	p. 9
The Students	p. 23
Five Adolescents	p. 25
Diversity	p. 35
Commonality	p. 40
Docility	p. 53
Incentives	p. 59
The Program	p. 69
What High School Is	p. 71
Purpose: Mind and Character	p. 84
Skills: The Importance of Coaching	p. 99
Knowledge: Less Is More	p. 109
Understanding: The Importance of Questions	p. 116
Character: Decency	p. 120
Principals' Questions	p. 131
The Teachers	p. 141
Three Teachers	p. 143
Agreement	p. 154
Motivation	p. 161
Conditions	p. 172
Teachers	p. 180
Trust	p. 195
The Structure	p. 203
Hierarchical Bureaucracy	p. 205
Better Schools	p. 214
A Paralysis of Imagination	p. 218
Afterword: An Experiment for Horace	p. 222
Acknowledgments	p. 241
Notes	p. 248
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