Educational Courage

A collection of empowering stories bringing together the voices of teachers, parents, and educational activists fighting market-driven educational policies Lost amid the heated debate over educational policies are the stories of the educators, parents, and students who are most affected by policies such as No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top. In Educational Courage, veteran education scholars Nancy Schniedewind and Mara Sapon-Shevin bring together the voices of those who are resisting market-driven initiatives such as high-stakes testing, charter schools, mayoral control, and merit pay. The diverse narrators who write in this volume confront the educational initiatives that undermine teachers' judgment and knowledge, ignore the different backgrounds of students and parents, and debase the learning process. These voices offer stories of activism, hope, and possibility. Though these stories describe the negative effects of the corporate-driven educational initiatives of the past decade, they are primarily stories of resistance-of educators, parents, and education activists fighting mightily to uphold the ideals of democratic public education. In doing so, they inspire others to do the same.

Nancy Schniedewind teaches in the master's program in humanistic/multicultural education at the State University of New York-New Paltz. Among her publications are Open Minds to Equality and Women: Images and Realities. Mara Sapon-Shevin is professor of inclusive education at Syracuse University. Her publications include Because We Can Change the World and Widening the Circle.