One of the major growth fields of the past quarter century, American urban history has generated a rich and diverse literature spanning a number of disciplines in the social sciences and humanities. In this time of transition, historians and practitioners alike can benefit greatly from assessing the contributions of the field. This valuable reference work takes a critical approach to existing literature. Dealing with various related avenues of the field which have not always been closely linked together, these essays provide a basis for new synthesis and reinterpretation, as well as for judgment about the lasting effects of the American urban experience.
How far are you willing to go to win?Five high school friends Bob, Natalie, Zarian, Olivia and Collin have just been placed into the Horizons program, an elite classroom created for the smartest students in the district. At first, the new environment feels exciting, until their strange new teacher, Mr. Rob, introduces a competition called Smilebucks. Each student receives three pieces of a custom classroom currency and is told that whoever collects the most by the end of the school year will win $100,000. What begins as innocent trading and competition quickly turns into manipulation, betrayal, alliances, and dangerous schemes. Old friendships crack under pressure, new groups form, and the students push the limits of what they're willing to do for the money. The deeper they fall into the Smilebucks competition, the more the classmates begin to realize the game isn't really a game at all. Their teacher seems to know much more about them than he should, tensions in class escalate, and strange psychological tests reveal that something far bigger than a school challenge is happening behind the scenes. As friendships collapse and morality blurs, everyone must decide who they can trust, and whether winning is worth losing themselves in the process...
One of the major growth fields of the past quarter century, American urban history has generated a rich and diverse literature spanning a number of disciplines in the social sciences and humanities. In this time of transition, historians and practitioners alike can benefit greatly from assessing the contributions of the field. This valuable reference work takes a critical approach to existing literature. Dealing with various related avenues of the field which have not always been closely linked together, these essays provide a basis for new synthesis and reinterpretation, as well as for judgment about the lasting effects of the American urban experience.
How far are you willing to go to win?Five high school friends Bob, Natalie, Zarian, Olivia and Collin have just been placed into the Horizons program, an elite classroom created for the smartest students in the district. At first, the new environment feels exciting, until their strange new teacher, Mr. Rob, introduces a competition called Smilebucks. Each student receives three pieces of a custom classroom currency and is told that whoever collects the most by the end of the school year will win $100,000. What begins as innocent trading and competition quickly turns into manipulation, betrayal, alliances, and dangerous schemes. Old friendships crack under pressure, new groups form, and the students push the limits of what they're willing to do for the money. The deeper they fall into the Smilebucks competition, the more the classmates begin to realize the game isn't really a game at all. Their teacher seems to know much more about them than he should, tensions in class escalate, and strange psychological tests reveal that something far bigger than a school challenge is happening behind the scenes. As friendships collapse and morality blurs, everyone must decide who they can trust, and whether winning is worth losing themselves in the process...