In praise of American educators : and how they can become even better

Explore the state of education today. In this thought-provoking book, the author presents a compelling case for why contemporary American educators are the greatest generation in history. He carefully explains why current national reform policies have failed and presents specific steps policymakers, administrators, and teachers must take to transform American schools to meet student needs in the 21st century.

About the Author	p. xvii
Foreword	p. xix
Introduction	p. 1
1 Educators Under Attack	p. 5
We Have Found the Enemy, and It's ... Teachers	p. 10
2 The Phony Crisis	p. 15
Record-Setting High School Grad nation Rates	p. 15
More Students Succeeding in a More Rigorous Curriculum	p. 16
Steadily Improving Test Scores	p. 16
Parent Satisfaction	p. 18
Student-Teacher Relations	p. 18
Meeting the Needs of All Students	p. 19
The Rationale for Attacking Educators	p. 21
3 The Firings Will Continue Until Morale Improves	p. 29
Assumption One: Charter Schools Will Improve Other Public Schools	p. 30
Assumption Two: Providing Vouchers to Send Students to Other Public or Private Schools Will Improve Public Schools	p. 34
Assumption Three: More Testing Means More Accountability	p. 38
Assumption Four: Intensive Supervision and Evaluation Will Lead to the Dismissal of Ineffective Teachers	p. 39
Assumption Five: Value-Based Testing Provides a Valid Way to Reward Effective Teachers and Dismiss Ineffective Teachers	p. 43
Assumption Six: Merit Pay Will Improve Teaching and Therefore Improve Schools	p. 50
Assumption Seven: Closing Low-Performing Schools Will Improve Remaining Schools	p. 52
The Proof Is in the Pudding	p. 53
4 Learning From High-Performing Countries	p. 55
Singapore	p. 56
Finland	p. 57
The United States	p. 60
Assessing an Unproven Theory	p. 62
More Effective Policies	p. 66
The Educators We Deserve?	p. 82
5 A Word About Teacher Unions	p. 85
Teacher Tenure	p. 88
Last In, First Out	p. 90
Support Alternative Ways to Compensate Teachers	p. 92
Support Conditions for Professional Learning Communities	p. 93
6 Laying the Foundation of a Professional Learning Community	p. 97
Laying the Foundation of the PLC Process	p. 99
Mission: Why Do We Exist?	p. 101
Vision: What Must We Become?	p. 108
Collective Commitments (Values): How Must We Behave?	p. 110
Goals: How Will We Mark Our Progress?	p. 113
How Long Docs It Take to Build a Shared Foundation?	p. 115
Not Just Words on a Piece of Paper	p. 117
7 The Imperative of a Collaborative Culture	p. 121
Laying the Groundwork for a Powerful Collaborative Culture	p. 124
Achieving Clarity Regarding the Right Work	p. 135
8 Providing Students with Access to a Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum	p. 137
Creating the 21st Century Curriculum	p. 140
District Approaches to Curriculum Development	p. 142
How to Establish a Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum	p. 149
Moving Toward What Works	p. 153
9 Assessment to Inform and Improve Professional Practice	p. 157
Ongoing Formative Assessment in the Classroom	p. 160
Team-Developed Common Formative Assessment	p. 163
The Power of Team-Developed Common Formative Assessment	p. 169
The Benefits of Team-Developed Common Formative Assessments	p. 175
Common Formative Assessments: The Great Persuader	p. 177
Overcoming Traditional Obstacles to Using Common Formative Assessments	p. 180
Taking the Necessary Steps	p. 188
10 Ensuring Every Student Succeeds	p. 189
Special Education	p. 192
More Recent Efforts to Provide Interventions	p. 195
Observations on Typical Interventions	p. 198
What We Must Do to Ensure High Levels of Learning for Every Student	p. 200
Nondiscretionary Elements of Effective Systems of Intervention (What's Tight)	p. 201
The Challenge Ahead	p. 220
11 The Principal as Lead Learner	p. 223
Dispersing Leadership	p. 225
Creating Clarity and Coherence	p. 228
Servant Leadership and Reciprocal Accountability	p. 231
Monitoring the Work of Teams	p. 233
Building Consensus and Responding to Resistance	p. 235
The Importance of a Willingness to Confront	p. 237
Celebration as Communication	p. 241
The Role of the Principal	p. 245
The Greatest Generation of Educators	p. 247
References and Resources	p. 255
Index	p. 281

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