Synopses & Reviews
As the federal government forces states to create centralized systems of accountability, the notion of a "community" school is now less and less defined by substantive decisions on core curriculum. Yet, the idea of a school as community survives, through the local politics of education or the policies of magnet and charter schools with small student populations. This collection explores the extent to which our collective notions of school-community relations have prevented us from speaking openly about the tensions created when we imagine schools as communities.
Review
"From the nineteenth-century common school movement to contemporary struggles over redistricting neighborhood attendance zones, Americans have sought to build communities around local schools--and sometimes to restrict access to outsiders. This anthology of historical case studies brings together rich narratives on this dynamic and the surrounding contexts of race, class, gender, sexuality, and disability. In particular, the editors' excellent introduction draws meaningful insights from various scholarly fields and taught me how to think about "communities" with fresh eyes."---Jack Dougherty, Trinity College "Individually and collectively, the essays in this volume ask readers to think deeply, more critically, more thoughtfully, about the unspoken assumptions and the political implications of our common tendency to conceptualize schools as 'communities.' Issues of nostalgia, of inclusion and exclusion, of racial and social and sexual differentiation, are all deftly handled, highlighting new contributions in the history of American education. Well done."-- Michael Fultz, Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison
"As a whole, the book offers sociologists several themes to ponder, such as the uneasy relation between ideals of school community and formal equality, the tension between legal initiatives and subjective experiences of belonging, and the meandering path from political battle to institutionalized practice. This Canadian reader was particularly alerted to the tacit influence of the American Civil Rights movement and its legal landmarks, such as Brown v. Board of Education, on contemporary notions of educability and rights that are spreading around the globe."-- American Journal of Sociology
Synopsis
Government forces mean the notion of a 'community' school has become less defined by decisions on core curriculum. This collection explores the extent to which collective notions of school-community relations have prevented citizens from speaking openly about the tensions created where schools are imagined as communities.
About the Author
Sherman Dorn, Barbara Shircliffe, and
Deirdre Cobb-Roberts are historians of education at the Tampa campus of the University of South Florida.
Table of Contents
Schools as Imagined Communities--Deirdre Cobb-Roberts, Sherman Dorn, Barbara Shircliffe * A Lesson in Education and Community--Vicki Eaklor * Crafting Community--Melissa Ladd Teed * Student-Community Voices--Deirdre Cobb-Roberts * From Isolation to Imagined Communities of LGBT Teachers--Jackie Blount * The Closing of Blake and Middleton--Barbara Shircliffe * Politics of Memory, Re-imagining Community--Jose Alamilla * Canal Town--Julia Hall * Special Education as a Problematic Community--Sherman Dorn * Youth For Christ--Allison Halpern * Conclusion and Lessons--Deirdre Cobb-Roberts, Sherman Dorn, and Barbara Shircliffe