Horace's Compromise: The Dilemma of the American High School

by Theodore R. Sizer

Overview

First published in 1984, this best-selling classic is Theodore Sizer's eloquent call to arms for school reform. In a new preface, Sizer addresses the encouraging movements afoot today for better schools, smaller classes, and fully educated students. Yet, while much has changed for the better in the classroom, much remains the same: rushed classes, mindless tests, overworked teachers. Sizer's insistence that we do more than just compromise for our children's educational futures resonates just as strongly today as it did two decades ago.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780547527420
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	09/23/2004
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	272
File size:	612 KB

About the Author

Theodore R. Sizer, University Professor Emeritus at Brown University, is the chairman of the Coalition of Essential Schools. He lives in Harvard, Massachusetts.

Table of Contents

	Preface to the 2004 Edition	vi
	Introduction	1
	Prologue: Horace's Compromise	9
I	The Students	23
1.	Five Adolescents	25
2.	Diversity	35
3.	Commonality	40
4.	Docility	53
5.	Incentives	59
II	The Program	69
1.	What High School Is	71
2.	Purpose: Mind and Character	84
3.	Skills: The Importance of Coaching	99
4.	Knowledge: Less Is More	109
5.	Understanding: The Importance of Questions	116
6.	Character: Decency	120
7.	Principals' Questions	131
III	The Teachers	141
1.	Three Teachers	143
2.	Agreement	154
3.	Motivation	161
4.	Conditions	172
5.	Teachers	180
6.	Trust	195
IV	The Structure	203
1.	Hierarchical Bureaucracy	205
2.	Better Schools	214
3.	A Paralysis of Imagination	218
	Afterword: An Experiment for Horace	222
	Acknowledgments	241
	Notes	248

Editorial Reviews

"Offers the most far-reaching blueprint for change at a time when school reform has become a hot political subject." Newsweek —

From the Publisher