Spectacular Things Happen Along the Way: Lessons from an Urban Classroom―10th Anniversary Edition (The Teaching for Social Justice Series) - Softcover

Schultz, Brian D.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0807761060 ISBN 13: 9780807761069

Publisher: Teachers College Press, 2018

Synopsis

This celebrated narrative shows how a teacher, alongside his 5th-grade students, co-created a curriculum based on the students’ needs, interests, and questions. Follow Brian Schultz and his students from a Chicago housing project as they work together to develop an emergent and authentic curriculum based on what is most important to the 5th-graders―replacing their dilapidated school. The persuasive storytelling that captured the attention of educators and the media depicts the journey of one teacher in an urban school and his students juxtaposed against the powerful and entrenched bureaucracy of Chicago’s public education system. In this second edition, Schultz examines how school reform continues to fail students in urban contexts, reflects on his teaching and writing from a decade ago, and offers compelling updates on students and what became of the school. A lot can be learned from the young people of Room 405, then and now. Not only did these particular 5th-graders push back against the city and school board in their pursuit for a better learning environment for themselves and their community, but they also learned about the power of using their voices in purposeful ways.

Book Features:

• Depictions of justice-oriented teaching amidst the current climate of high-stakes testing, standardization, and accountability.
• Details of the trials, tribulations, and missteps alongside the successes and discoveries the teacher and students experienced along the way.
• Insights to help teachers reflect, change, and transform their own classroom practices.
• A new Foreword by Pedro Noguera, “A Lesson for Teachers on Making Choices and Making a Difference.”
• A new Afterword by Sonia Nieto, “On Teaching with Hope and Humility.”

About this title

Book Description

“We can only hope that educators will read the new edition of
Spectacular Things Happen Along the Way
and be inspired to make similar choices themselves.”
—From the Foreword by
Pedro Noguera
, distinguished professor of education, UCLA

“In this eagerly awaited second edition, Schultz has reiterated what it means to be a courageous and caring teacher, one who plants seeds, encourages deep thinking, and nurtures students’ creativity and intelligence....When that happens, spectacular things
do
happen along the way.”
—From the Afterword by
Sonia Nieto
, professor emerita, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

“Still a compelling, insightful read that continues to remind us how much a better world depends on our ability to foster learning and teaching experiences that recognize, nurture, and honor young people's capacity to think deeply, to be agentive, and to hold us all accountable for improving our world.”
—
Denise Taliaferro Baszile
, vice president, American Educational Research Association-Division B–Curriculum Studies

"Blending humility with razor-sharp analysis, Brian Schultz invites us into a classroom where students ask, imagine, research, collaborate, and act to problem solve, all in the service of learning and of justice for themselves and their communities. This second edition highlights the ongoing dismantling of urban public schools in the name of ‘reform,’ even while fueling our sense of possibility and hope."
—
Kevin Kumashiro
, author of
Bad Teacher! How Blaming Teachers Distorts the Bigger Picture

Praise for the First Edition!

“This project acknowledged and defied the obstacles that face urban classrooms, and the work of Schultz and his students ultimately stands as a model of pedagogical excellence.”
—

Schools: Studies in Education

"A must-read for current and future teachers who wish to engage their students in democratic practice.
Spectacular Things Happen Along the Way
is also an excellent anchor for learning about and discussing methods of preparing students to become active citizens who engage in political, civic, and economic realms of society.”
—

Journal of Educational Controversy

“Schultz has accomplished an extremely important goal in his work as a classroom teacher with these youth, and now as a scholar promoting this story. It is one that should be heard loud and clear by future teachers.”
—

Educational Studies

“
Spectacular Things Happen Along the Way
will challenge and encourage educators to begin their own journey of implementing democratic teaching into their classrooms, one step at a time.”
—

International Journal of Multicultural Education

“This is a marvelous and important book.”
—
Jonathan Kozol
, author of
Savage Inequalities

“An amazing tale of incredible fifth-grade citizen activists that reveals what education in America's inner cities could and should be.”
—
Jeannie Oakes
, Presidential Professor in Educational Equity, UCLA

“Anyone who wants to make a difference in urban education needs to read this book.”
—
Michael W. Apple
, professor, University of Wisconsin–Madison

“Clearly counters the colonizing policy that says only the privileged can be educated through freedom to pursue personal interests and collective commitments.”
—
William H. Schubert
, professor emeritus, University of Illinois at Chicago

From the Author

Brian D. Schultz is professor and chair of the Department of Teacher Education at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. He is the author of Teaching in the Cracks: Openings and Opportunities for Student-Centered, Action-Focused Curriculum.

Edition details

• Publisher: Teachers College Press
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 0807761060
• ISBN 13: 9780807761069
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 224