Deborah Meier is founder of the Central Park East Schools and the Mission Hill School in Boston. She has been a fellow at the Annenberg Institute for School Reform and is vice chair emeritus of the Coalition of Essential Schools. Her many awards include a MacArthur Prize Fellowship. She is also the author of In Schools We Trust.
The founder and principal of excellent small schools in East Harlem
. . . Meier wants to make all students capable of participating in
and sustaining a democracy. . . . Doubters must read Deborah Meier
to take a look at that success up close, to watch it begin and grow
and flourish. --Lorene Cary, The New York Times Book Review
"Meier pledges her faith 'in the extraordinary untapped capacities
of all our children'; but, unlike so many radical reformers, she is
also firmly rooted in the reality of the classroom. . . .What has
propelled people like Meier from the periphery to the center of the
ongoing school debate is the recognition that a new and different
form of public school is no longer a luxury." --James Traub, The
New Yorker
"Written in prose that runs like a clear stream past the sludge of
educational discourse. . . .The fate of public education today
depends on whether we listen to . . . the Deborah Meiers of the
land." --Joseph Featherstone, The Nation
"A fiery manifesto of Meier's plan for the salvation of public
education." --Los Angeles Times
"A book not of blueprints and slogans, but of essays-reflective and
analytical. The Power of Their Ideas is the product of a lively
mind." --The Washington Post
"Anyone who wants to get insight into the current waves of endless
'reform' debate should read it." --Philadelphia Inquirer
"Meier documents her 30 years in schools. . . . She has captured
the national imagination in a way that few public school teachers
do." --Muriel Cohen, The Boston Globe
"Destined to change the way we think about teaching and learning,
schooling and education." --William Ayers, Rethinking Schools
Defending public education is difficult, but the best defense is by example, says Meier. As founder of the highly regarded Central Park East schools in Harlem, she has provided such examples‘and more. Throughout her account, Meier stresses the need for schools that develop human beings and citizens rather than skilled workers or educated academics. Privatization would open education to extremist influences and destroy these goals, she argues. Current problems in public education are caused by economic inequities, large and unwieldy school bureaucracies, and unrealistic demands for academic performance. Overall, Meier's account is an opinionated treatise relying less on research findings or published data than on experience and positive faith in its outcome. There is much good, persuasive writing here in support of traditional, progressive education. Recommended as a solid contribution to any education collection.‘Arla Lindgren, St. John's Univ., New York
The founder and principal of excellent small schools in East Harlem
. . . Meier wants to make all students capable of participating in
and sustaining a democracy. . . . Doubters must read Deborah Meier
to take a look at that success up close, to watch it begin and grow
and flourish. --Lorene Cary, The New York Times Book
Review
"Meier pledges her faith 'in the extraordinary untapped capacities
of all our children'; but, unlike so many radical reformers, she is
also firmly rooted in the reality of the classroom. . . .What has
propelled people like Meier from the periphery to the center of the
ongoing school debate is the recognition that a new and different
form of public school is no longer a luxury." --James Traub, The
New Yorker
"Written in prose that runs like a clear stream past the sludge of
educational discourse. . . .The fate of public education today
depends on whether we listen to . . . the Deborah Meiers of the
land." --Joseph Featherstone, The Nation
"A fiery manifesto of Meier's plan for the salvation of public
education." --Los Angeles Times
"A book not of blueprints and slogans, but of essays-reflective and
analytical. The Power of Their Ideas is the product of a lively
mind." --The Washington Post
"Anyone who wants to get insight into the current waves of endless
'reform' debate should read it." --Philadelphia Inquirer
"Meier documents her 30 years in schools. . . . She has captured
the national imagination in a way that few public school teachers
do." --Muriel Cohen, The Boston Globe
"Destined to change the way we think about teaching and learning,
schooling and education." --William Ayers, Rethinking
Schools
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