Crisis In The Primary Classroom

First published in 1995, Crisis in the Primary Classroom redefines the crisis plaguing primary classrooms by challenging many of the educational and political orthodoxies of the nineties. The book is set during a particular period in the nineties when primary education was under attack from the Government and sections of the media, with accusations that reading standards had fallen, the National Curriculum was not being taught well and training colleges had failed to produce sufficient teachers of quality. In response to these concerns, the Government commissioned a report, which presented a series of solutions. Maurice Galton argues that the report failed to identify the root causes of the problems facing primary schools. He examines critically whether the National Curriculum was necessary, and whether teaching methods and classroom organization really needed to be changed radically. He also addresses the issue of quality among teachers, suggesting ways in which this might be developed. Crisis in the Primary Classroom deserves to be read by all concerned with the planning, administration and practice of primary education. Teachers will be encouraged by the message that methods found to be successful in the past must be accommodated in new patterns of organization and classroom practice.

"In this bold new book, the result of a three-and-a-half-year study commissioned by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, Charles E. Silberman examines the problems that beset American education with the same intelligence, compassion, and uncompromising honesty that marked his award-winning best seller Crisis in Black and White." "Anyone who is concerned with the nation's public schools and with its colleges and universities will be disturbed by the picture of current practice which Mr. Silberman paints in vivid and painful detail. Many will agree with his insistence that it is not enough merely to ask, "How can we bring the worst institutions up to the level of the best?"--For all too often, the best is simply not good enough."--Jacket.

Providing a framework for understanding the individual needs of pupils, this book describes how you can tailor your teaching methods to maximise learning. You will learn how to take account of your pupils′ knowledge, skills and attitudes when selecting and applying principles of instruction, in order to make learning in your classroom as successful as possible. Packed with informative case studies and classroom examples, this book explores how learning is conceptualised, direct instruction, interactive teaching, teaching as scaffolding, and how to overcome obstacles to learning. This is a must-read for all practitioners and students of primary education who wish to understand how to best apply theories of instruction, and provide effective, dynamic teaching.

In the past decade, the national preoccupation has been on the crisis in secondary schools. Lurking behind the intractable problem of low pass rates, the dysfunctional schools and the small number of higher grade mathematics and science graduates is the calamity in primary education. Drawing on the work of researchers in a range of fields including psychology, sociology, anthropology, linguistics, economics, the health sciences, and mathematics education, this book documents the depth and scope of the primary education crisis and provides a comprehensive and rigorous explanation of its causes. Primary education in crisis pulls together the wealth of research on health, poverty, resources, language and teaching as factors in academic achievement in reading, writing and mathematics. At the centre of the book is an analysis of the published studies that systematically document what teachers teach and fail to teach, and why it is that teaching is at the heart of the crisis in primary education. The author suggests that there are no quick fixes, but only hard choices and that, for reform to succeed, it must be evidence-based.

The purpose of this book is to share knowledge from the author�s personal experience as well as to provide information culled from multiple and varied specialists in the field of emergency services and crisis management. The crisis aspect as discussed in this book deals with it as a disaster, emergency, calamity, or catastrophe that is usually time-limited and associated with danger. The first chapters focus on aspects of human nature that can lead to a crisis and attempt to answer why people resort to using violence. Family systems, particularly the dysfunctional family, are reviewed and a discussion of personality disorders is followed by a review of some of the more negative aspects of human nature, as shown both as individuals and as humans, functioning as a society and in looking at the family environment as a cause of crisis. In addition to a review of social factors, there is particular emphasis on self-defeating and self-destructive behaviors that often lead to a crisis. Part II concentrates on the management of anger and violence and also reviews some successful and unsuccessful disciplinary practices used to deal with misbehavior, including problems associated with absenteeism and truancy. Teenage pregnancy and the drug crisis in schools are also examined in this section. Training and basic self-defense techniques, assertiveness skills, and disaster preparedness are significant aspects of crisis management and are also reviewed in this section. Part III concentrates on negotiation and communication skills that are often the most crucial aspects of successful crisis management programs. The final section of this book is about healing and has been gathered from a variety of sources. In particular, the chapter on grief and loss is the result of interviewing many people around the world over the past 15 years, in the wake of a variety of tragedies, This section of the book also looks at practical ways to cope with the aftermath of crisis, including stress management techniques, various forms of traditional and alternative therapies, and the use of humor as a defense mechanism and coping strategy. One of the purposes of this book is to gather practical information and to organize and consolidate it for easy reference. Although this book was originally written for teachers, it will also prove helpful to anyone who is associated with schools.

Around the world, 250 million children cannot read, write, or perform basic mathematics. They represent almost 40% of all primary school-aged children. This situation has come to be called the global learning crisis and it is one of the most critical challenges facing the world today. Work to address this situation depends on how it is understood. Typically, the global learning crisis and efforts to improve primary education are defined in relation to two terms: access and quality. This book is focused on the connection between them. Through a mixed-methods case study, it provides detailed, contextualized analysis of Ugandan primary education. As one of the first countries in Sub-Saharan Africa to enact dramatic and far-reaching primary education policy, Uganda serves as a compelling case study. With both quantitative and qualitative data from over 400 Ugandan schools and communities, the book analyzes grade repetition, private primary schools, and school fees, viewing each issue as an illustration of the connection between access to education and education quality. This analysis finds evidence of a positive association, challenging a key assumption that there is a trade-off or disconnect between efforts to improve access to education and efforts to improve education quality. Embracing the complexity of education systems, and focusing on dynamics where improvements in access and quality can be mutually reinforcing, can be a new approach for improving basic education in different contexts around the world.

Individuals from Vastly Different Political Perspectives Agree That There Is a Crisis in Education Education is the foundation of every nation's success or failure; it produces upstanding citizens, lifts people out of poverty, and catalyzes change. Crisis in the Classroom is full of captivating, insightful essays by renowned Civil Rights attorney Ben Crump; neurosurgeon and former Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development Dr. Ben Carson; and serial entrepreneur and media personality Armstrong Williams that expose the harsh realities of the current state of education in the United States and its repercussions on underserved and marginalized communities. Crisis in the Classroom presents the unvarnished realities of poor educational outcomes, a topic that is frequently missing from the headlines, and how these have led communities and generations of future leaders to descend into poverty and devastation. Crisis in the Classroom demonstrates that when the education of our children is jeopardized, so are our families, communities, and nation. Despite the grim realities depicted in Crisis in the Classroom, the authors show us that faith and unity, paired with an apolitical, solution-based approached to the education crisis, can provide hope for a brighter future.