Reinventing Schools: Its Time to Break the Mold

Since A Nation at Risk was published in 1983, there has been widespread recognition that public education is failing in the U.S. Numerous expensive reforms have been attempted to no avail, and costs have increased dramatically. Furthermore, economic austerity requires educational systems to do more with less. This book presents convincing evidence that paradigm change – such as the change of lighting systems from the candle to the light bulb – is the only way to significantly improve student learning and simultaneously lower costs.
The authors provide a thought-provoking vision of the new paradigm, including a new brain-based pedagogy, a new professional role for teachers, a new central role for technology, and even a new more empowered role for students and parents. The authors also describe three examples – a school, a school district, and a school model – that have implemented many features of the new paradigm, along with evidence of their effectiveness. Finally, this book describes ways we can transform our Industrial-Age school systems to the new paradigm, including ways our state and federal governments can help.

Charles Reigeluth felt frustration with his own schooling so he decided when he was 16 years old to devote his career to help make education a lot more motivating, effective, and efficient. He taught high school for three years, was a professor at Indiana University doing field research for 25 years, and helped a small school district in Indianapolis to engage in a reinvention process for 12 years.

Jennifer Karnopp has a Masters in Special Education and has been an advocate for child-centered education for the past 20 years, working in both traditional schools and non-traditional education settings. Most recently she is a founder and current Head of School at the Robert Frost Charter School in North Conway, New Hampshire.