Whats Worth Fighting For In Education

In addition to its outstanding analysis of "total teachers" and school culture, this book provides action guidelines for teachers and for principals that are filled with insight that will help school educators take responsibility for reform.

This book is designed to help teachers to overcome some of the constraints put on them by politicians, and to improve the conditions in schools. It presents strategies for presenting the case for greater funding and staffing in schools, but also suggests ways in which teachers can improve life in schools under existing conditions.

This book will help principals (and teacher leaders) fight for fundamentally positive changes that will benefit themselves and their students. Because principals are very often overloaded either with what they are actually doing or with all the things they think they should be doing, their actions, however unintentionally, are frequently shaped by outside events and/or the actions or directions of others. In the heart of this book, "Guidelines for Action, " the author helps principals break the cycle of dependency both for themselves and for those with whom they work.

The Howard University protests from the perspective and worldview of its participants We Are Worth Fighting For is the first history of the 1989 Howard University protest. The three-day occupation of the university’s Administration Building was a continuation of the student movements of the sixties and a unique challenge to the politics of the eighties. Upset at the university’s appointment of the Republican strategist Lee Atwater to the Board of Trustees, students forced the issue by shutting down the operations of the university. The protest, inspired in part by the emergence of “conscious” hip hop, helped to build support for the idea of student governance and drew upon a resurgent black nationalist ethos. At the center of this story is a student organization known as Black Nia F.O.R.C.E. Co-founded by Ras Baraka, the group was at the forefront of organizing the student mobilization at Howard during the spring of 1989 and thereafter. We Are Worth Fighting For explores how black student activists—young men and women— helped shape and resist the rightward shift and neoliberal foundations of American politics. This history adds to the literature on Black campus activism, Black Power studies, and the emerging histories of African American life in the 1980s.

Lisa Niemi and Patrick Swayze first met as teenagers at his mother's dance studio. He was older and just a bit cocky; she was the gorgeous waif who refused to worship the ground he walked on. It didn't take long for them to fall in love. Their thirty-four year marriage -- which they explored together in The Time of My Life -- was a uniquely passionate partnership. Now, for the first time, Lisa will share what it was like to care for her husband as he battled Stage IV pancreatic cancer, and will describe his last days when she simply tried to keep him comfortable. She writes searingly about her grief in the aftermath of Patrick's death, and candidly discusses the challenges that the past fourteen months without him have posed. But while this is an emotionally honest and unflinching depiction of illness, death, and loss, it is also a hopeful and life-affirming exploration of the power of the human spirit. Lisa shows that no matter how dark the prospect of another day may seem, there are always reserves of strength to call upon, and the love shared between two people will never truly die.

"This book is a welcome addition to the "What's Worth Fighting For?" series by two highly respected authors. It contains practical advice to help prepare the teaching profession for a future which is already here and in which the context for teaching and learning will shed the 19th century factory model on which our schools are based. Headteachers and their teacher colleagues will want to be at the forefront of preparing consciously for the future rather than finding themselves as passive recipients of change and this book provides a guide for that journey." - Rowie Shaw, NAHT In this book, Andy Hargreaves and Michael Fullan argue that in a world of growing complexity and rapid change, it is vital to forge strong, open and interactive relationships with communities beyond schools in order to bring about significant improvements in teaching and learning within schools. Now, more than ever, it is necessary to rediscover the passion and moral purpose that makes teaching and learning exciting and effective. This book makes accessible ideas steeped in research, theory and practice. It will challenge all in education and will provoke thought, elicit debate and encourage action.

As in the other two books in this series, the authors provide guidelines for teachers and principals to help them expand and improve their thinking and practice, and to show policy makers and communities what they can do and why they should do it for the sake of the future of children and society.

Knowmads are nomadic knowledge workers –creative, imaginative, and innovative people who can work with almost anybody, anytime, and anywhere. The jobs associated with 21st century knowledge and innovation workers have become much less specific concerning task and place, but require more value-generative applications of what they know. The office as we know it is gone. Schools and other learning spaces will follow next. This book explores the future of learning, work and how we relate with each other in a world where we are now asked to design our own futures. Key topics covered include: reframing learning and human development; required skills and competencies; rethinking schooling; flattening organizations; co-creating learning; and new value creation in organizations. In this volume, nine authors from three continents, ranging from academics to business leaders, share their visions for the future of learning and work. Educational and organizational implications are uncovered, experiences are shared, and the contributors explore what it’s going to take for individuals, organizations, and nations to succeed in Knowmad Society.