Class Dismissed: A Year in the Life of an American High School, A Glimpse into the Heart of a Nation - Softcover

Maran, Meredith

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0312283091 ISBN 13: 9780312283094

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin, 2001

Synopsis

Class Dismissed takes us inside California's Berkeley High, one of the most ethnically diverse high schools in the country. For one year, author and journalist Meredith Maran reported on the lives of three different but representative students from the Class of 2000: a troubled yet well-meaning young white man from an affluent family, a highly gifted and academically overachieving young woman from a biracial background, and a functionally illiterate African American young man who excels at football.

In telling their stories, and in fully depicting their turbulent year as seniors―a year that saw arson, corruption, professional ineptitude, and dismal teacher morale―this book offers a fascinating, up-to-the-minute account of the socio-economic and racial realities in our public schools.

Maran's eye-opening inquiry also shows how even a progressively multi-racial educational institution like Berkeley High can operate not as one school with a common objective but as several different schools under one roof, where students' opportunities and options are as limited as they are varied. Revealing as much about our society as it does about our teenagers, Class Dismissed is a must-read for everyone interested in the possibilities and truths behind American public education today.

About this title

Review:

Few writers can duck inside the world of teens without resorting to clichés, but journalist Meredith Maran manages to give sideline reports from the lives of three high school seniors without relying on stereotypes or typical adult incredulity. Perhaps it's because Maran's own sons recently passed through the same halls at Berkeley High, but most likely it can be chalked up to solid reporting and writing. A reporter who followed up on a story assignment and spent the 1999-2000 school year in this microcosm of society--dubbed "the most integrated school in the nation"--Maran illustrates some of today's most serious societal problems through the three teenagers she shadows. There's Autumn, a biracial achiever whose father is long gone, forcing her to hand over paychecks to help support the family. There is Keith, a black football jock who struggles with laughable remedial courses, run-ins with the police, and his own illusions about sailing into college on an athletic scholarship. And there is Jordan, the rich white kid who battles with senioritis, as well as depression, a year after his drug-addicted father dies. Along the way, Maran examines academic tracking, school safety in the wake of Columbine, teen sex, suicide, school system politics, decaying campuses, and the everyday trials of being a teenager--and a teacher--in today's high school. There's no hype, just incredible detail and description. Maran manages to be everywhere in these kids' lives and, to her credit, the subjects become living, breathing people, not mere case studies. And readers will find themselves rooting for these teens. Even the most cynical observers will feel they've been granted an insider's view of the drama that plays out daily in our public schools. --Jodi Mailander Farrell

About the Author:

Meredith Maran's two sons recently attended Berkeley High, where she was a long-time volunteer. The school has provided her unlimited, exclusive access for Class Dismissed. Meredith Maran also works as a consultant to socially responsible businesses and writes for publications as diverse as Parenting, Utne Reader, New Age Journal, and New Woman. She lives in Oakland, California.

About this edition

• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0312283091
• ISBN 13: 9780312283094
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320