NEW BOOK: Beyond the classroom

[Jody Gerlock <Jody_Gerlock@pds.k12.nj.us>]

I just got a new book with my recent book order and thought I'd share my
thoughts with you on this. We've been through a lot of "teacher bashing" in
NJ lately and I was getting pretty fed up with it (I was a classroom teacher
5 years ago). It seems that so many wish to blame educators for their
childrens' failures in school. Laurence Steinberg's _Beyond the Classroom:
Why School Reform Has Failed and What Parents Need to Do_ is about studies
conducted on our nations public schools about why kids fail. They conclude
what most of us already know: that parents and peer groups have more
influence on school performance than do the teachers. Not only do successful
peer groups need to be encouraged, but parents need to show their children in
positive ways that they care about the classroom performance. Although I'm
comfortably ensconced in a private school full of highly motivated students,
I am going to read this book through and keep it in my professional
collection. I haven't read it yet, so please don't accept this as a positive
review, I just read sections and was happy to know that the obvious was
concluded as a result of the study.
My $0.02 worth!
Jody