A Wake Up Call for Schools A New Order in Public Education [Paperback]

A Wake Up Call for Schools: A New Order in Public Education is an inspirational call to action. It prompts the educational community to more intentionally and proactively act upon a core value that underlies the United States educational system that all children can succeed in school and life. It fits well with the emphasis in current educational policy reform agendas to recognize that teacher effectiveness is a key lever to improve student outcomes. The personal autobiographical character of this book lends tremendous credibility, compassion, and depth to the advice proffered by Patricia Anne Duncan Parrish. The reader cannot help but be moved by the wealth of real-life illustrations that demonstrate what happens in the day-to-day life of students, educators and school administrators. These illustrations marry the heart and science of the educational process and provide the foundation for the book's tenets about what needs to change in order to close the achievement gap.Dr. Parrish combines personal as well as professional experiences to take the reader into effective schools as well as those that are not kid friendly. This book is a must-read for teachers, prospective teachers, parents, principals, school reformers and anyone interested in taking the bold steps to improve the most important thing we do as a nation, educating all of our country's children. The alternative to not improving our schools is a lost generation of kids and likely a diminished role of the United States as a global leader.This volume shares with practitioners and students a view of reality that is often overlooked in the busy world of education where high-tech and test intensive environments seem to be driving all efforts. It helps us to see life as it is for many students and how we can make a positive difference in the life of each child.A well-functioning democracy demands an enlightened populace, yet a high proportion of high school youth today do not graduate. Those who do often lack blß