Education is the foundation on which much of our lives are built, both our professional and personal lives. So what happens when that foundation isn’t laid properly or starts to deteriorate over time?
It’s no secret there are flaws in the US education system, but the solutions are multi-faceted and hard for everyone to agree on.
If you’re a student, parent or teacher looking for your own answers, a good place to start is with these seven books that highlight the successes and failures of the US education system and how you can help.
The Knowledge Gap: The Hidden Cause of America's Broken Education System — and How to Fix It by Natalie Wexler
In the tradition of Dale Russakoff’s The Prize and Dana Goldstein’s The Teacher Wars, Natalie Wexler brings together history, research and compelling characters to pull back the curtain on a fundamental flaw in our education system — the elementary school curriculum’s intense focus on decontextualized reading comprehension “skills” at the expense of actual knowledge.
But it’s more than just a story of what schools have gotten so wrong — it also follows innovative educators who are in the process of shedding their deeply ingrained habits, and students who are not only excited to learn but are also acquiring the knowledge and vocabulary that will enable them to succeed.
The Magical Place We Call School by Dr. Kathleen Corley
With 40 years of classroom wisdom as a teacher and school principal, Dr. Kathleen Corley writes knowingly and with unique humor and insight about the value of education, formulating Big Picture strategies and case-by-case solutions as she weaves her way through faculties, parents and, most of all, the children themselves.
Through sharing human interest stories, Corley sheds light on what is and isn’t working and provides a calm hand and a much-needed perspective from the front lines of learning. She reminds us of the extraordinary things that still happen in classrooms all across America and that school truly can be a safe and happy place for learning. (Read the full BookTrib review here.)
Revolutionary Love: Creating a Culturally Inclusive Classroom by Kamania Wynter-Hoyte, et al.
When educators place love at the center of their work, they change lives ― and that is precisely what the authors of this remarkable book aim to do. Drawing from years as researchers and teachers, they share ways they’ve overcome challenges and demonstrate how to engage in ongoing self-reflection and examine common but harmful practices that narrow the curriculum for all children.
They offer practices that affirm and celebrate all students’ identities, building a community of engaged and thoughtful learners, hands-on tools for examining yourself, your systems, and your instruction, and many more guidelines to help foster an inclusive classroom environment.
This May Be Difficult to Read by Dr. Claire N. Rubman
More than 42 million Americans are functionally illiterate. Millions of students leave grade school with insufficient reading skills to adequately do their work and learn. How and why did this happen? And what does this say about the way we are educating our children? Dr. Claire Rubman, a cognitive development psychologist and college professor, attempts to address those issues and provide solutions.
Within the book, Rubman breaks down myths about reading, separates fact from fiction, and works to get parents and educators on the right course. She tackles reading theories and strategies, even government initiatives, from every angle, explaining what got us to where we are, what stands in the way of where we need to go, and making suggestions to help us get there. (Check out the BookTrib review and interview.)
Principles of Education by Donald Sung
Presenting his beliefs on childhood education as a blueprint for success and not in traditional narrative form, Donald Sung help readers understand how people learn, guide our children, assess the effectiveness of education, explore the proper and necessary tools for education, and watch children grow.
This book is designed to help avoid potential issues in the classroom before they arise by defining and detailing 81 all-inclusive principles that parents, educators and learners need to consider to maximize a child’s learning. Together, the principles make up a childhood educational theory that tackles a learner’s conditions, environment and educational processes. (Check out the BookTrib review and interview.)
Reclaiming Our Students: Why Children Are More Anxious, Aggressive, and Shut Down Than Ever ― And What We Can Do About It by Hannah Beach and Tamara Neufeld Strijack
Children are more anxious, aggressive and shut down than ever. Faced with this epidemic of emotional health crises and behavioral problems, teachers are asking themselves what went wrong. Hannah Beach, a celebrated educator and specialist in the field of emotional health, and Tamara Neufeld Strijack, clinical counselor and academic dean of the acclaimed Neufeld Institute, provide a thoughtful guide to restoring the student-teacher relationship and creating the conditions for change.
These authors empower teachers with relationship-based strategies to restore their leadership role and build emotional safety and inclusion in the classroom, along with special considerations and information for parents, principals, counselors and home educators for building safety and support in the learning environment.
U.S. Education Is in Trouble, Let's Fix It! 22 Reform Proposals by Richard W. Garrett
On the world stage, the United States is a middle-of-the-pack performer when it comes to academic performance. In this research-laden analysis, Richard W. Garrett methodically and intricately shares with readers what he knows and why the existing situation is so dire — and aims to offer solutions to fix it.
Garrett takes a very granular approach to his topic, going into great detail about the state of our nation when it comes to learning, student proficiency statistics, the plight of teachers, the breakdown of the current school day, how schools should be organized, the all-important discipline issues, and much more. His analysis is compelling — and frightening. (Check out the BookTrib review and interview.)
