John William McKenna – författare

This book is about doing what’s right for public education in the United States in this age of intensive curriculum convergence, planned instructional standardization, and oppressive accountability procedures. Information is presented about why and how educators, parents, students, community members, and policy-makers have decided to protest against current state and federal educational policies and procedures. The practical experiences of parents, teachers, principals, school superintendents, school board members, and professors are analyzed in chapters of this book. Their first-hand experiences with the various components of the current reform movement are poignantly presented. Through their voices the frustrations with the serious flaws associated with this reform agenda are passionately and logically articulated. They comprehensively explain their personal and professional motivations for organizing and fomenting a rethinking in school reform implementation procedures and they advocate their “smarter approach” to school reforms in our country. The book includes key references that elucidate the need to seriously re-think the directions and strategies of contemporary schooling in order to maintain enlightened creative instruction based on exciting student-centered curriculum experiences and professional educational judgments.

This book is about doing what’s right for public education in the United States in this age of intensive curriculum convergence, planned instructional standardization, and oppressive accountability procedures. Information is presented about why and how educators, parents, students, community members, and policy-makers have decided to protest against current state and federal educational policies and procedures. The practical experiences of parents, teachers, principals, school superintendents, school board members, and professors are analyzed in chapters of this book. Their first-hand experiences with the various components of the current reform movement are poignantly presented. Through their voices the frustrations with the serious flaws associated with this reform agenda are passionately and logically articulated. They comprehensively explain their personal and professional motivations for organizing and fomenting a rethinking in school reform implementation procedures and they advocate their “smarter approach” to school reforms in our country. The book includes key references that elucidate the need to seriously re-think the directions and strategies of contemporary schooling in order to maintain enlightened creative instruction based on exciting student-centered curriculum experiences and professional educational judgments.

Inclusive Instruction forStudents with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders: Pulling Back the Curtain discusses the challenges of the increasingly common practice of educating students with disabilities in general education classrooms, citing that these challenges are often due to the fast pace of instruction, the emphasis on advanced concepts and skills that align with college and career-readiness standards, and the presence of poorly developed prerequisite skills that are necessary for traditional academic success. This book posits that these challenges are particularly salient to the education of students receiving special education services for emotional disturbance (ED), as students with ED have pervasive learning and behavioral difficulties that are often resistant to typical instruction and intervention. Contributors argue that despite increased awareness and application of inclusive mindsets, school and post-school outcomes for this student population continue to be a national concern in the United States. In this book, contributors provide recommendations for improving the manner in which schools serve this student population through inclusive measures, along with resources for administrators, teachers, and parents/guardians, that emphasize the provision of a free appropriate public education for students with ED. Scholars of education, disability studies, and psychology will find this book particularly useful.