This book explores the external environment, how it affects learning, and what practical techniques can be used to enhance the learning environment. It is meant to be a guide for teachers, instructors, and presenters and for administrators and managers. Part I focuses on the learning environment and addresses how the view of learning in society is…

This publication explores the inner life of a dedicated teacher. It examines how the teacher's inner life shapes teaching and learning both positively and negatively, and guides teachers in a process of rigorous self-appraisal with the goal of recovering personal vocation and passion for teaching while enhancing the ability to make an impact in…

This book presents the argument that teachers need more time for students, more time for planning, and more time for teaching. It claims that the United States should adopt and pay for the model used for public schools elsewhere in the world by having smaller classes, fewer classes per day for each teacher, and more work time for teachers to plan…

Paradoxically, although major forces in society are pushing for improvement in the American educational system, many teachers experience job overload, isolation, and increasing despair. This book is the first in a trilogy designed to help teachers and principals fight for fundamentally positive changes that will benefit themselves and their…

This book explores the power of narrative in understanding the complexities and contradictions of what it means to develop as a teacher. It argues that the development of a professional identity is inextricable from personal identity, suggesting that when teachers have the opportunity to compose their own stories of learning within a supportive…

Arguing that censorship is not simply an attempt to control what is taught in the schools but also an infringement on the legal learning rights of students, this collection of essays offers insights into how censorship can come about, its impacts and repercussions, and the ways it might be fought. The collection stresses action rather than…

This book argues that the redefinition of teaching begins with teachers' developing a positive attitude about themselves as educators. The book offers suggestions to teachers on how to apply positive practices to themselves, move from passive to assertive communication, redefine their approach and build new beliefs, increase student…

This book examines the personal, moral, cultural, and political dimensions of teaching in the context of rapid and far-reaching change within teachers' work and in the world beyond it. The chapters in Part One examine the powerful forces for change in society and how those forces are exerting pressure on existing institutions. Issues such as the…

Research about the American experience with school reform has underscored time as the major obstacle to change. This book presents a psychosocial perspective of time and the problems it presents for teachers and administrators in an era of time scarcity. Specifically, it explores the effects of five major concepts (time investment portfolios,…

This book advances the premise that teachers, in addition to students, must be viewed as customers of the school. Teachers' jobs and work environments must therefore be redesigned for maximum professional growth and development. Unless teachers are supported in developing a quality work environment, efforts to improve schools will be marginally…

This book is designed to help early childhood teachers deal with common problems that arise in all aspects of their work. Part one addresses daily dilemmas such as schedule planning, meal and nap times, art, and outdoor play. Part two covers classroom concerns such as the physical environment, curriculum, individual student needs, field trips,…

A simple metaphor about a dipper and a bucket and decades of research to show how even the briefest interactions affect relationships, productivity, health, and longevity, is used in this book. In the short time since the book's release, educators and administrators have already discovered that creating a positive environment can have a powerful…

This book offers a research-based, practical approach to recognizing, managing, and preventing teacher burnout. It provides a description of the origins and symptoms of burnout and a personality profile of teachers who are most susceptible to burnout. Organizational issues and administrative roles that contribute to burnout are identified, along…

In the first chapter of this book, which deals with the world and work of teachers, themes are explored that capture the essential "dailiness" of working in schools, and a general description is given of what it is like to be a teacher. The cyclical rhythms and patterns of the school year are considered, as are the formal and informal…

School in the Park is an innovative museum-based educational effort to engage students in their community during the school day. Since 1999 several hundred students have been educated each year in museums and the zoo in San Diego. This is more than a field trip, it is changing the way that education is provided. Challenging the Classroom Standard…