The power of their ideas
Subtitle: lessons for America from a small school in Harlem
By: Deborah Meier.
Publisher: Beacon Press
Published: 1995
Place of publication: Boston
Language: eng
Number of pages: 190
Subjects: Public schools -- United States; Education -- Aims and objectives -- United States; School management and organization -- United States; Teaching; Educational innovations -- United States
Description: Deborah Meier has for twenty years led one of the most remarkable public schools in the country, Central Park East (CPE) in East Harlem, where 90 percent of the students graduate high school and 90 percent of those go on to college, this in a city where the average graduation rate is 50 percent. CPE is a school where inner-city kids and teachers experience and act on the "power of their ideas," and it has been called the best school in New York City.

As founder and advocate, Meier has won national acclaim as a leading voice and visionary writer in education. In this long-awaited book, Meier issues an eloquent, timely defense of public education. Taking on pessimists and privatizers, she tells us all why public education is vital to the future of our democracy and our kids. Equally important, she shows why good education is possible for all our children, starting with the remarkable success story of Central Park East.

Drawing on her life as a teacher and principal, Meier argues for radical innovation: for breaking up huge schools into small schools; for choice within the public school system; for respect; for teaching that connects learning to real-world activities; for a new ideal of being "well-educated."
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 187-190).