Spectacular Things Happen Along the Way: Lessons from an Urban Classroom

by Schultz, Brian D.

• ISBN13: 9780807748572
• ISBN10: 0807748579
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2018-03-14
• Publisher: Teachers College Pr

Summary

What Happens when a teacher resists the pressures of "teaching to the test" and creates a curriculum based on student needs, wants, and desires? Brian Schultz did just that when he challenged his students from a housing project in Chicago to name a problem in their community that they wanted to solve. When the students unanimously focus on replacing their dilapidated school building, an unforgettable journey is put into motion. As his students examine the conditions of their blighted school and research the deeper causes of decay, they set off on a mission of remedy and repair. It is finally their own questions and activities that power their profound self-transformations. This moving story is a tribute to what determined teachers can achieve in the current stifling environment of high-stakes testing and standardization. Anyone who has faith in creativity, commitment, and the deep potential of inner-city children and youth will want to read this book. Book jacket.

Author Biography

Brian D. Schultz is an assistant professor of education and honors faculty at Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU) in Chicago

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. ix
Preface and Acknowledgments	p. xi
Embracing Students' Interests for Schoolwork	p. 1
What's Worth Knowing?	p. 1
"Inverting" the Curriculum	p. 11
Education as a Two-Way Street	p. 16
Our School Is a Dump! Identifying a Problem That Needs Solving	p. 24
This Ain't No Schoolwork, This Is Important!	p. 24
Feelin' Like a Big and Powerful Grown-up	p. 33
Needin' Them Pizza Things	p. 40
Getting the Word Out: Sharing Authority in Room 405	p. 53
You Wouldn't Let Your Kids Come to a School That Is Falling Apart	p. 53
When Are We Going to Do Work?	p. 60
Just Like a Record Deal	p. 68
Seeking a Perfect Solution	p. 76
The Chicago Tribune	p. 76
Young Warriors	p. 82
Carr's "Savage Inequalities"	p. 86
Television, Radio, and Protecting the Kids	p. 93
Process as Product	p. 102
Practicing What I Preached	p. 102
Do You Have Any Pets?	p. 107
The Bestest Year Ever	p. 113
Nader Comes to Carr	p. 121
Bittersweet Final Days	p. 124
Justice-Oriented Teaching	p. 126
Negotiating Risks	p. 126
Needing Support	p. 128
Theorizing with Students	p. 134
Education with Authenticity and Purpose	p. 136
Developing Classrooms for Social Action	p. 139
Progressive Education in Disadvantaged Neighborhoods	p. 141
Complicating Good Intentions	p. 144
Conclusion	p. 149
How Ya Gonna Help Us?	p. 149
Understanding Each Other	p. 152
Let Those Voices Be Heard!	p. 154
Enduring Achievement and Impact	p. 156
References	p. 159
Index	p. 163
About the Author	p. 173
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