Debunking The Middle Class Myth

This book offers a unique perspective on what every educator, parent, and community leader should know about reaping the rich harvest of our diverse schools. Included are anecdotes from Kugler's personal experience as well as information from 80 interviews with key educators, parents, and students.

A vivid character-driven narrative, fused with important new economic and political reporting and research, that busts the myths about middle class decline and points the way to its revival. For over a decade, Jim Tankersley has been on a journey to understand what the hell happened to the world's greatest middle-class success story -- the post-World-War-II boom that faded into decades of stagnation and frustration for American workers. In The Riches of This Land, Tankersley fuses the story of forgotten Americans-- struggling women and men who he met on his journey into the travails of the middle class-- with important new economic and political research, providing fresh understanding how to create a more widespread prosperity. He begins by unraveling the real mystery of the American economy since the 1970s - not where did the jobs go, but why haven't new and better ones been created to replace them. His analysis begins with the revelation that women and minorities played a far more crucial role in building the post-war middle class than today's politicians typically acknowledge, and policies that have done nothing to address the structural shifts of the American economy have enabled a privileged few to capture nearly all the benefits of America's growing prosperity. Meanwhile, the "angry white men of Ohio" have been sold by Trump and his ilk a theory of the economy that is dangerously backward, one that pits them against immigrants, minorities, and women who should be their allies. At the culmination of his journey, Tankersley lays out specific policy prescriptions and social undertakings that can begin moving the needle in the effort to make new and better jobs appear. By fostering an economy that opens new pathways for all workers to reach their full potential -- men and women, immigrant or native-born, regardless of race -- America can once again restore the upward flow of talent that can power growth and prosperity.

Race has provided the rationale and excuse for some of the worst atrocities in human history. Yet, according to many biologists, physical anthropologists, and geneticists, there is no valid scientific justification for the concept of race. To be more precise, although there is clearly some physical basis for the variations that underlie perceptions of race, clear boundaries among “races” remain highly elusive from a purely biological standpoint. Differences among human populations that people intuitively view as “racial” are not only superficial but are also of astonishingly recent origin. In this intriguing and highly accessible book, physical anthropologist Ian Tattersall and geneticist Rob DeSalle, both senior scholars from the American Museum of Natural History, explain what human races actually are—and are not—and place them within the wider perspective of natural diversity. They explain that the relative isolation of local populations of the newly evolved human species during the last Ice Age—when Homo sapiens was spreading across the world from an African point of origin—has now begun to reverse itself, as differentiated human populations come back into contact and interbreed. Indeed, the authors suggest that all of the variety seen outside of Africa seems to have both accumulated and started reintegrating within only the last 50,000 or 60,000 years—the blink of an eye, from an evolutionary perspective. The overarching message of Race? Debunking a Scientific Myth is that scientifically speaking, there is nothing special about racial variation within the human species. These distinctions result from the working of entirely mundane evolutionary processes, such as those encountered in other organisms.

This book analyzes the politics of social programs that are well known (such as Social Security and welfare) and less well known but still important (such as workers' compensation, home mortgage interest deduction, and the Americans with Disabilities Act). Although it emphasizes developments in recent decades, the book ranges across the entire twentieth century to identify patterns of policymaking.

This book is guaranteed to spark lively debates and critical thinking in any classroom! Two of the most respected voices in education identify 50 myths and lies that threaten America's public schools. Berliner and Glass argue that many citizens conception of K12 public education in the United States is more myth than reality. Warped opinions about our nations public schools include: they are inferior to private schools; they are among the worst in the world in math and science; teachers should be fired if their students dont score at the national average, and on and on. With more than a little humor, Berliner and Glass separate fact from fiction in this comprehensive look at modern education reform. They explain how the mythical failure of public education has been created and perpetuated in large part by political and economic interests who stand to gain from its destruction. They expose a rapidly expanding variety of organizations and media that intentionally misrepresent facts. Where appropriate, they name the promoters of the hoax and point out how their interests are served by encouraging false beliefs. Their method of debunking these falsehoods is to argue against their logic, criticize the data supporting them, and present more credible contradictory data. This dynamic book features short essays on important topics to provide every teacher, administrator, school board member, and concerned parent with reliable knowledge from authoritative sources.

Emotional intelligence is an important trait for success at work. IQ tests are biased against minorities. Every child is gifted. Preschool makes children smarter. Western understandings of intelligence are inappropriate for other cultures. These are some of the statements about intelligence that are common in the media and in popular culture. But none of them are true. In the Know is a tour of the most common incorrect beliefs about intelligence and IQ. Written in a fantastically engaging way, each chapter is dedicated to correcting a misconception and explains the real science behind intelligence. Controversies related to IQ will wither away in the face of the facts, leaving readers with a clear understanding about the truth of intelligence.

Open this book to find insights, resources, and strategies from seventeen ground-breaking educators and community leaders around the world who share passionate first-person accounts of how to engage students and families of diverse backgrounds. Diverse schools offer enriched academic and social environments, as students and families of different backgrounds and experiences provide a vibrant mosaic of insights, perspectives, and skills. Innovative Voices in Education features stories from around the world, as innovative teachers, educational leaders, and community activists passionately share personal accounts of their successes, challenges, and lessons learned. Book jacket.

THE MIDDLE CLASS IS A MYTH. There is no multiple choice - no middle ground - no grey areas. The middle class is a myth, thought up to make room for mediocrity and indecision. From the ignorant rants of laziness, to the heinous hoarding of healthcare, the societal herd of an average mindset has taken the world by storm. A place where the poor are pampered, and the wealthy wield with vengeance a dual sword of callous and change, manipulating the pendulum of money and finance like the stroke of an artist's pen. A CHALLENGE HAS BEEN ISSUED. No one who is born-again can say that he or she is born of God yet embrace the mindset of a middle class. It's inconceivable to think that the same people who confess the redemption of the cross would settle into what amounts to the cushy comfort of financial defeat. You are either born of the first Adam or reborn of the second, who is Jesus Christ. Because He is supreme, He cannot be a subordinate to anyone or anything. The time has come to stop acting like a middle of the road, lackluster manifestation of an insufficient God. Triumph over darkness and master everything in your wake by shedding the illusion of the middle class once and for all. About the Author: Bishop Andrew Merritt grew up in Detroit, MI with his mother, Laura, and grandmother, Pauline. It was after time spent in Chicago, at the age of 24, that he was called to preach. At that time, he began learning under the ministry of Bishop William Bonner and was ordained in 1972. Bishop Merritt received a Bachelor's Degree in Theology from the Church of Christ Bible College in New Rochelle, NY, a Master's Degree of Theology from New Covenant Theological Seminary in New York, and an Honorary Doctorate of Ministry from Logos Graduate School in Jacksonville, FL. Bishop Andrew Merritt was elevated to the office of Bishop on November 24, 1990 As a community leader, Bishop has addressed civic leaders and lawmakers alike. He is one of few African American religious leaders with the honor to have met and participated in various forums with former Presidents Ronald Reagan, William Jefferson Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama. He gave the invocation for the opening session of the Michigan House of Representatives in 1989, as well as, for the October 24, 1990 session of the United States House of Representatives. In 1998, at the request of the Mayor of the City of Detroit, Bishop was one of ten pastors assembled to meet with President Clinton and lead a prayer of healing and restoration for the President and the nation. Bishop Merritt also participated in the first Congressional House-Senate Republican Faith-Based Leadership Summit and was named to the Summit Steering Committee. Other honors for which Bishop has been recognized include: 1990: Minister of the Year by the Michigan Chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. 1990: Co-Chair of the International Mandela Freedom Tour to the City of Detroit. 1997: Clergyman of the Year by the Michigan Chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. 2003: Received Key of David and the Keys to the City of Jerusalem and was consecrated as the Apostle and Gatekeeper over the Detroit Metropolitan Region.