- Shopping Bag ( 0 items )
Foreword xiii
Introduction 1
Chapter 1 The Zoo 7
Chapter 2 The Oakland Raider 16
Chapter 3 A Second Chance 28
Chapter 4 A New Beginning 35
Chapter 5 Creating a Family with the Self-Contained Classroom 47
Chapter 6 Looping and the Extended Family 57
Chapter 7 Family Involvement 63
Chapter 8 Meet the Escobars 72
Chapter 9 High Expectations and an Academic Focus 84
Chapter 10 The Quest for Improvement 96
Chapter 11 The Emperor Who Wore No Clothes and the Boy Who Called Him Out 101
Chapter 12 You Are Judged by Your Race Whether You Like It or Not 116
Chapter 13 Poor? If You Say So 124
Chapter 14 Sacrifice 132
Chapter 15 Free Market Capitalism in the Classroom 139
Chapter 16 Schools have Enough Money 147
Chapter 17 Sign on the Dotted Line 157
Chapter 18 Guided by a Firm Hand 167
Chapter 19 Nate 173
Chapter 20 Taming Wild Horses 181
Chapter 21 A Method to the Madness 190
Chapter 22 Ben Fumbles his Way Through Elementary School 198
Chapter 23 Out from Under the Hype of Violence 205
Chapter 24 Up from the Bottoms: Bootlegging and Preaching: How I Learned the Gift of Gab and a Love of Free Market Capitalism 215
Chapter 25 Cleanliness: A Chore and a Mentality 228
Chapter 26 Mental Work or Physical Labor: You Make the Choice 236
Chapter 27 Big Bad Bossman 246
Chapter 28 Sophath: One Among Us 257
Conclusion: Creating Educational Excellence Through Replication 264
Appendix 277
Dr. Chavez is the kind of principal I would love to work for, but have not been fortunate enough to find in my career. I agree with so much of what he says: self-contained classrooms, strict discipline, and rigorous academics. It is fortunate for his students that he's been able to implement the changes he has. If he were a principal of a typical public school, these changes would have been difficult if not impossible to implement.
I enjoyed the book and wish Dr. Chavez continued success with his schools. The only problem I had was that I was hoping for a more professional read. This book might appeal more to parents and the general reading public than it will to education professionals. I wanted to see greater detail about how he achieved the results he did. He included test scores before and after, but did not get as specific as he might about how the school went about making those changes day-to-day. Overall, a good read. I'd love to pick his brain further.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.As a school principal, I am always fascinated with the stories of other principals who have done the miraculous, turned around failing schools. Apparently, Dr. Chavis has done this. He is certainly to be commended for his accomplishment. What turned me off in this book is his constant bashing of viewpoints opposite his own. We all know that the "one-size-fits-all" approach to fixing what ails education is not going to work. The solutions he describes in this book worked for him at American Indian Public Charter School. That does not mean they will work at other schools. I took away some inspiration from this book. However, I see little universal application in many of the things he discusses. For example, he talks at length how "embarrassing students successfully changes behavior." What you do not hear in his book all those students who did not succeed from his high-handed tactics. While I would agree that schools have sometimes went too far with the self-esteem emphasis and the feel-good curriculum, I still have problems with using hurtful words and tactics that tear down students further than they are. But you know, there might sometimes be times when Dr. Chavis's approach could work. I am not the type of principal who can do those things with a clear conscience. Dr. Chavis seems to spend a great deal of time blabbering about his own rise from the ashes of his childhood, for which he is to be commended. His constant pontification about the promise of "free market capitalism" is a bit tiring by the end of this book. His complete dismissal of all efforts to address racial problems and multiculturalism completes his narrow-minded view of the world. Yes, Dr. Chavis has apparently turned around some schools, but his ideas are of limited value.
0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.LEX16
Posted October 1, 2009
This book is about leadership as well as how to turn around a failing school. The stories Dr. Chavis tells are good natured and fun with inspiration and perserverance weaved in. I found the book gives the reader experiences that can be used for their own personal growth as well as strategies for leading others.
The humor keeps the reader engaged and will have them contemplating their own life stories on how success is achieved.
Anonymous
Posted January 17, 2010
No text was provided for this review.
Overview
The inspiring true story of "one of the country's finest educators" (National Review) and the school he changed forever.Under the leadership of highly unorthodox principal Dr. Ben Chavis, Oakland's American Indian Public Charter School was hailed as an "education miracle" by governor Arnold Schwarzenegger after it was transformed from a failing "nuisance" into one of the best public middle schools in the nation.
This is the story of that transformation and of a man who dared to be different. With his rigorous, no-nonsense approach, Dr. Chavis debunks the myth that poor, minority, ...