Chapter 1

6 years ago three people decided they wanted to start a new school. Something was innovative and differed from schools in the past. The school they created was in Chicago, name The Best Practice School. They just graduated there first class recently and still will not claim to have the best school. However, they are not willing to say this was not a success. The begin by saying that schools are not all that bad. Adolescent crime, and dropouts have dropped and student graduation in inclining. Yet still there are some major problems with schools still in the 21st century. The school they created would be safe, and encourage student learning and encourage them to seek higher education. There are 11 things that need to be addressed in secondary schools- size, climate, voice and leadership, teaching, curriculum, community, scheduling, technology and materials, assessment, professional development, and relationships. The chapter once again goes onto to talk about how elementary schools in Chicago have seen a surge in success yet still over half of the high schools are on academic probation. High Schools have been the most resistant to change. “Are schools are failing all of our kids some of the time and some of our kids all of the time”
I definitely think that our schools can use a little rethinking and change. I feel that the main problem with schools in California is overcrowding. I think that every other problem can possibly be traced back to how crowded our schools are. I was just at RBV last semester. There are almost 4,000 students at the school. It’s overcrowded and the students are flushed through the system and go unnoticed. This gives the school a climate that is not nurturing or personal. A curriculum that is differentiated enough. It is extremely hard to have Technology and materials for that many students. And the most obvious is the difficulty to develop relationships and be able to get to know the students when you see nearly 200 a day. I actually like this book and am excited to see the different ideas they implemented in their school and to gain new ideas on how I can improve any school that I am at.