Eschewing hand-wringing and political rhetoric for close, critical observation, freelance journalist Traub (Too Good to Be True, 1990) delineates a unique—and uniquely representative- -institution: New York's City College. Traub spent a year observing classes at City College's Gothic Revival campus, which sits atop a hill in Harlem. Founded in 1849 as an egalitarian experiment, tuition-free City College came into its own when the great turn-of-the-century tide of Jewish migration provided it with cohorts of driven students. Their legendary successes—a record number of Nobelists and intellectuals such as Irving Howe—made it a beacon of educational possibility for the nation. A confluence of social and political upheavals, however, brought radical changes in the 1960s, key among them guaranteed admission for graduates of New York City high schools to the City University of New York, of which City College is a part. An exploration of the drastic results of this ``open admissions'' policy constitutes the main part of Traub's book. After limning the ideological conflicts that still continue among the faculty and in the press, he introduces us to its ramifications in City College's classrooms. We meet a range of teachers, from dedicated idealists, struggling to reach woefully under-prepared students while maintaining some semblance of academic standards, to the controversial Afrocentrist professor Leonard Jeffries, whose authoritarian anti-intellectualism Traub exposes as he captures the human, even tragic dimension of Jeffries's sway over uninformed followers. Empathetic portraits of City College students stand at the book's center. Many flounder in remedial courses; difficult family situations and looming financial disaster burden most; the dedication of contemporary immigrants provides some hope. But Traub's ultimate accomplishment is to reveal the consequences for one legendary college of the inadequacy of our urban high schools and vocational training, and our general devaluation of learning. The crisis continues—and as goes New York's City on a hill, so goes the nation. Exemplary reportage, essential for all those debating the future of American college education.
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-201-62227-0
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Addison-Wesley
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1994
A terrific resource for elementary-level educators wanting a classroom full of raised hands and green thumbs.
An inspirational children’s book that chronicles the growth of an elementary school’s garden from seed to harvest.
Nagro’s loving tribute to an elementary school’s agricultural adventure cheerily promotes the garden programs that have become an educational phenomenon in recent years. The book is written from the perspective of a child giving a tour of the school’s precious garden, its pages minimally formatted with photographs of children enthusiastically attending to their crops. Along the way, an illustrated ladybug appears in the borders of most pages and provides informative caption. There is slight detail on the specifics of a garden’s flora and fauna, but the book’s narrative is designed more for inspiration than rote gardening instruction. The photographs are colorful and charming, but are unimpressively rendered to look like illustrations, lessening the book’s appeal for readers outside the classroom and buyers looking for a more polished product. However, this does not detract from the message of respect, both ecological and social, that is gently encouraged and will please those who want their garden to provide lessons beyond the merely botanical. The book is most relevant for primary educators beginning a gardening project and seeking a teaching framework that will excite and interest younger children. Also included are a recipe list and instructions for sketching a “garden plot” on graph paper that will encourage students to create their own imaginary landscapes. Nagro provides a website for additional information, activities and online discussions, which posits the book as only one prong in the author’s multimedia pitchfork approach to promoting school gardens. The message is genuine and will inspire children to enjoy the fruits and vegetables of their labor.
A terrific resource for elementary-level educators wanting a classroom full of raised hands and green thumbs.Pub Date: July 21, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-9793739-4-7
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Instructions on developing a base from which educational research can move forward.
A look at methodology, not monsoons.
This book’s somewhat-confusing title signals a bit about the obscurity of the subject. The focus here is on educational theory, where the words "culture" and "climate" have more to do with the defining the personality of an institution or organization than they do with sunny skies or rites of passage. The idea is that large institutions, like school systems, are kind of like planets–their atmospheres evolve over time, often despite the intentions of those running things, hence the term "climate." Trying to reform a school system without understanding its atmosphere is like trying to colonize a planet before one knows whether or not the environment can sustain human life. Organizational culture has been in the public consciousness for a long time, and Knapp and Harrigan address the customs that develop organically in the course of an institution’s life. This small volume is really a literature review, a compendium of current reading material for academics in the field of elementary education. The authors take four categories–culture, climate, gifted and rural–and examine the articles and papers in which these categories "interact," in terms of the culture and climate of rural schools and the ways they support or don’t support gifted students. In rural communities and schools, being gifted is viewed as something suspiciously elitist, and schools have poured more resources into developing programs for the physically and developmentally disabled than for gifted students. The book suggests reforms are in order, but not until exhaustive research has been conducted. This is not a layman’s overview, though it might be an interesting read for parents with gifted children languishing in rural schools.
Instructions on developing a base from which educational research can move forward.Pub Date: March 22, 2009
ISBN: 978-1-4196-5488-6
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 27, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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