Intentional Excellence: The Pedagogy, Power, and Politics of Excellence in Latina/o Schools and Communities

by Louie F. Rodríguez, Ángeles Donoso Macaya (Editor), Yolanda Medina (Editor)

Overview

Are we bold enough to recognize our own excellence in our schools and communities? This question drives Intentional Excellence, an audacious attempt at developing a Pedagogy of Excellence in Latina/o schools and communities as a result of observations, insights, and lessons learned from work with schools and communities across the United States. Louie F. Rodríguez argues that while there is no shortage of excellence in some of the schools and communities that struggle the most, there is a pedagogical void, or an Excellence Paradox, that has disallowed excellence from being used as a potential tool to transform the culture of education. This book offers an additive framework for committed stakeholders and outlines six key observations including the contagious nature of excellence, excellence as a responsibility, the political viability of excellence, the additive possibilities of excellence, the role of excellence as a curricular and pedagogical tool, and the role of excellence in working toward equity and social justice in education. Rodríguez discusses a series of case studies that have used Excellence Campaigns to organize, define, and recognize their own excellence. The book also discusses the possibilities of excellence beyond education and proposes a new role in education to make excellence happen: Excellence Engineers. The book concludes with a theory of action that is necessary for excellence to thrive in the twenty-first century. Our children and communities deserve to see themselves as «models of excellence» and this book proposes a pedagogy to help get us there.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781433127953
Publisher:	Peter Lang Inc., International Academic Publishers
Publication date:	11/25/2015
Series:	Critical Studies of Latinxs in the Americas , #7
Edition description:	2nd Revised ed.
Pages:	142
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Louie F. Rodríguez is an associate professor of educational leadership at California State University, San Bernardino. His work focuses on equity issues in urban schools and communities and examines and explores what works, particularly from the perspective of students’ voices. He completed his masters and doctorate degrees at Harvard University.

Table of Contents

Content: The «Excellence Paradox» in Our Public Schools – The Promise and Possibilities of Excellence Campaigns – Excellence Is Contagious, Inherently Additive, and Politically Viable – Excellence as a Responsibility, as Curriculum and Pedagogy, and More Evidence of Its Power – Implications for Regional Improvement: Reflections on the Role of Excellence Beyond Education – Time for a New Role: Excellence Engineers – The Pedagogy, Power, and Politics of Excellence in Latina/o Schools and Communities in the 21^st Century.

Editorial Reviews

«In this compelling new book, Louie F. Rodríguez shows us that rather than aiming for higher achievement (as measured by improvements in test scores), schools serving low-income students of color must aim for excellence. He does more than merely implore us to do this, he provides concrete examples to show how this is and can be done. For those who believe that education has the power to transform lives by igniting aspirations, expanding opportunities, and cultivating a love of learning, this book will be an invaluable resource» (Pedro A. Noguera, Peter L. Agnew Professor of Education and Executive Director, Metropolitan Center for Research on Equity and the Transformation of Schools, New York University)
«Louie F. Rodríguez provides asset-based narratives on achievement for Latin@ youth by offering a new and innovative lens on excellence for Latin@ school success. This practical framework for nurturing the development and enactment of excellence is very useful to K–12 educators who are desperately seeking to meet the academic and social needs of a variety of students of color.» (Dorinda Carter-Andrews, Associate Professor of Teacher Education, Michigan State University)
«This must-read book turns school failure on its head and provides a riveting testimony to the power of excellence in Latino communities and schools» (Gilberto Q. Conchas, Professor of Educational Policy and Social Context, University of California, Irvine; Author of The Color of Success)
«Given how often education reformers study what does not work, Louie F. Rodríguez provides tools and a roadmap to uplift excellence. In doing so, he is changing the narrative of achievement; shifting the paradigm from a deficit-orientation to a solution-based beacon. This important work will encourage communities to implement systemic change that is part of a larger movement for equity and social justice.» (Vajra Watson, Director of Research and Policy for Equity; Founder of Sacramento Area Youth Speaks (SAYS), University of California, Davis)
«The field of education has only known a handful of instances where a scholar is advocating for excellence in K–12 schools similar to ones he attended and sends his children to. As a nation – as a field – we have become complicit in the (mis)education of Latina/o students. Louie F. Rodríguez challenges us to curtail deficit thinking in our schools and reclaim our power in engineering approaches to make pedagogies of excellence for Latina/o children, indeed, intentional» (Rebeca Burciaga, Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership, San José State University)

From the Publisher