In Schools We Trust. (Book Reviews).Deborah Meier Deborah Meier (1931– ) is often considered the founder of the modern small schools movement. After spending several years as a kindergarten teacher in Chicago, Philadelphia and then New York City, in 1974 Meier became the founder and director of the alternative Central Park is among a limited number of educators who have achieved hero status. Her claim to fame is based on leading small successful schools in the inner-city environments of New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. and Boston. Her vision of how schools can function humanely in a democratic society is both passionate and compelling. The essential features of a quality school, in Meier's view, are these: smallness, self-governance and choice. She argues convincingly in her latest book, In Schools We Trust, that these characteristics are inconsistent with the bureaucratic bu·reau·crat n. 1. An official of a bureaucracy. 2. An official who is rigidly devoted to the details of administrative procedure. bu models designed for most public school systems. She further generalizes that the wealthy always have preferred their own children attend schools that feel special to them, offer access and involvement with decision making and are intimate, personal places. While critics may contend that private or market-centered schools are the most appropriate matches with her criteria, Meier counters with an appeal to the ideals inherent in a democracy. "For me the most important answer to the question 'Why save public education?' is this: It is in schools that we learn the art of living together as citizens, and it is in public schools that we are obligated ob·li·gate tr.v. ob·li·gat·ed, ob·li·gat·ing, ob·li·gates 1. To bind, compel, or constrain by a social, legal, or moral tie. See Synonyms at force. 2. To cause to be grateful or indebted; oblige. to defend the idea of a public, not a private, interest." Even this education crusader admits, "At times this idea seems utopian even to me. Do we imagine that all our fellow human beings are wise, good and competent? Can we trust them?" Her vision necessitates a level of trust in schools that goes well beyond common degrees of trust. Meier claims this lack of trust fuels the present pressure for standardization and testing. Meier inspires others to challenge the dogma of imposed school reform by those often far removed from the realities of teaching and learning. While new ideas "New Ideas" is the debut single by Scottish New Wave/Indie Rock act The Dykeenies. It was first released as a Double A-side with "Will It Happen Tonight?" on July 17, 2006. The band also recorded a video for the track. are not held in disdain, she calls for a real return to the basics, where schools could be created by people working together in relationships built upon trust. (In Schools We Trust Creating Communities of Learning in an Era of Testing and Standardization by Deborah Meier, Beacon Press This article or section needs sources or references that appear in reliable, third-party publications. Alone, primary sources and sources affiliated with the subject of this article are not sufficient for an accurate encyclopedia article. , Boston, Mass., 2002, 200 pp., $23 softcover soft·cov·er adj. Not bound between hard covers: softcover books; a softcover edition. ) |
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