This book reports on conversations in which elementary schoolteachers--who have taught in urban settings for an average of 20 years each--reflect on their professional work. The conversations in the book testify to the teachers' ability to engage young people in active learning--and their stories of teaching and learning verify that difference…

The experiences of a literature teacher in an inner-city high school in Houston (Texas) give a portrait of the urban classroom and the successes and failures of the everyday life of the urban teacher. The school, in a poor neighborhood, is unremarkable, unstimulating, and ill-equipped for serious learning. The students, who are almost entirely…

Racial and ethnic identity must be understood as an important determinant of the creative process and social dynamics, as well as understood as individual psychology. This collection of papers examines identity issues in the following chapters: (1) "Roots and Routes: Black Identity as an Outernational Project" (Paul Gilroy); (2) "Identity as…

This collection attempts to broaden understanding of how to magnify circumstances known to enhance development and education in order to advance opportunities for all children, especially children and youth of the inner cities. Focuses are on raising consciousness about opportunities available to foster resilience and on synthesizing the knowledge…

Thirteen papers explore the African American experience of poverty and ghetto formation; forces shaping contemporary urban poverty; and mobility and family strategies among groups differentiated by ethnicity, race, and labor market position. The introduction, "The Urban 'Underclass' as a Metaphor of Social Transformation" (M. B. Katz),…

This book explores the U.S. gang problem, based on the author's 35 years of experience as a high school and junior high school teacher, principal, and community organizer in Oakland and Los Angeles (California). Chapters discuss the subculture of gang worlds, reasons why youth are attracted to gangs, how educators can reach out to students, the…

The deeply fractured nature of U.S. society is examined, focusing on poor and working class people in cities. Based on data from 154 poor and working class young adults aged 23 to 35, the study reveals the ways in which this urban generation has suffered from social change. The following chapters are included: (1) "Voices of Hope and Despair:…

This volume presents an overview of contemporary black adolescents from social, psychological, economic, educational, medical, historical, and comparative perspectives, with most emphasizing the roles that race, socioeconomic status, and environmental forces play in this critical period. The volume includes 19 chapters by various authors arranged…

School reform leaders in Chicago (Illinois), Denver (Colorado), New York (New York), Seattle (Washington), Philadelphia (Pennsylvania), and Los Angeles (California) created the Cross City Campaign to work for the improvement of urban education so that all students are prepared for postsecondary education, work, and citizenship. This paper, from…

This volume describes actual programs that are based on the idea that family connections are substantial resources for healing and recovery even when the family is a very troubled one. With a focus on severely damaged families, these programs attempt to keep children connected with their own families even when circumstances prevent their living…

The Chicago (Illinois) School Reform Act of 1988 set in motion a chain of reform efforts that have been the subject of considerable study. The plan emphasizes returning control of the schools to parents and the community through school-based management and local school councils. This book reports on studies of the implementation of the reform…

Papers in this collection result from an 18-month exploration of ways to reform services for children and families in big cities, a so-called "rolling seminar" searching for ways to provide supportive and nourishing communities for city children. Contributions to this collection include: (1) "Themes and Viewpoints" (Editors);…

This report addresses widespread beliefs about the performance of urban students, and their family and school environments. Using data from several national surveys, it compares urban students and schools with their suburban and rural counterparts on a broad range of factors, including student population and background characteristics, afterschool…

This study is the first effort to produce a systematic description and analysis of the experience and performance of immigrant children and youths in the U.S. educational system. Data from the High School and Beyond (HSB) study initiated in 1980 were complemented by 1970, 1980, and 1990 U.S. Census figures to compare the performance of immigrant…

This book is reissued as part of the Innovators in Education Series, which brings back into print books that are both historically significant and that speak to today's educational concerns. Originally released in 1971, the book presents lessons that still apply to what doesn't work and what could work in the schools. The study of five inner-city…