Time to Learn, Second Edition: How to Create High Schools That Serve All Students / Edition 2

by George Wood

Overview

Improving your high school doesn't only mean raising test scores—it means creating a school where authentic teaching and learning happens. In Ohio, George Wood coordinated an effort by staff, faculty, and parents to transform a struggling school into a nationally recognized symbol of educational excellence, and now he shares with you how he—and other reformers—have created lasting, effective changes in the ways their schools do business.

But more than one school's story, Time to Learn uses the story of Federal Hocking High School's metamorphosis as a case study for understanding the mechanisms of high-quality high school reform. Wood opens by defining successful reform as graduating students who are active, engaged members of both their high school and their local communities. But far from a book of abstract ideas about how to reach that goal, Time to Learn zeroes in on the nitty-gritty details behind any successful school-restructuring effort. Wood identifies common and seemingly unsolvable hurdles like scheduling, the time crunch, and class size, offering proven strategies for coping with the crucial everyday issues that can derail genuine improvement. Equally important, he shares practical techniques for dealing with external pressures like standards and testing while maintaining your commitment to student-centered practices.

Whether you are a school administrator, a teacher, or a small-school advocate in a rural, suburban, or urban district, find time for Time to Learn. Its plans, resources, ideas, and inspiring stories will show you how can restructure your high school to work for every student.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780325008080
Publisher:	Heinemann
Publication date:	08/25/2005
Edition description:	Second Edition
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.48(d)
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

George Wood has been principal of Federal Hocking High School in Stewart, Ohio, since 1992 and is also director of The Forum for Education and Democracy. He is coeditor, with Deborah Meier, of Many Children Left Behind (2004) as well as the author of Schools that Work (1994) and numerous essays and articles on education and democracy. He lives in Amesville, Ohio, and is married to Marcia Burchby, who is a kindergarten teacher. They are the parents of two FHHS graduates, Michael (2000) and John (2005), and the foster parent of another, Ivan (1996).

Table of Contents

Foreword by Theodore R. Sizer
Preface to the Second Edition
Introduction: Democracy's Finishing School
Book One: Life in High School
Introduction: The Purpose of High School
Chapter 1: Five Thousand Hours
Chapter 2: Starting with Kids: The Case for Community
Book Two: Transforming the High School
Introduction: Reaching Every Student
Chapter 3: Getting to Know Kids: The Power of Personalization
Chapter 4: Teaching Important Things Well
Chapter 5: Democracy-It's Not Something We Learn About, It's Something We Do
Book Three: Creating Change
Introduction: The Difference We Make
Chapter 6: Making It Happen
Chapter 7: Building a Community of Hope

Appendix: Resources for Change

Editorial Reviews

George Wood offers valuable advice for America from his small school in Appalachia.”–Deborah Meier

“The best call to arms is the quiet, decisive bearing of witness by a school which elects, with all its uncertainties, to do something different in order to serve its youngsters better: a school not afraid to make hard choices, a school which makes its work public.”–Theodore R. Sizer

From the Publisher