Rating: 
Summary: praise for The Students are Watching:
Review: "In the Students are Watching, Theodore and Nancy Sizer descrive, with passion, wisdom, and diligence, what a moral school could look like. Let us strive to give our children schools where teachers are given new mandates to teach, parents recognize the value of community participation, and the intelligence of children is never underestimated." -Marian Wright Edelman, president, Children's Defense Fund"Teaching is a moral profession, and the Sizers provide us with invaluable insights into the way in which values play themselves out in the lives of children and teachers." -Herbert Kohl, author of The Discipline of Hope "The power of a good school to grow good people who can reinvigorate public life is enormous -- and the Sizers have got it just right. It isn't an "add-on" but part-and-parcel of the whole enterprise -- as it has been part-and-parcel of their own lives." -Deborah Meier, author of The Power of Their Ideas "The Sizers offer us an important and clarifying book on a subject that begs for their exceptional thoughtfulness -- the moral aspects of education, explained here, suggestively and astutely, by two wise, experienced teachers." -Robert Coles, author of The Moral Life of Children "This book is a must-read for anybody concerned with character education, moral teaching, or simply with the values of our children. Carefully thought out, cutting edge, and completely compelling." -Amitai Etzioni, author of The New Golden Rule
Rating: 
Summary: Joe says read this book!
Review: "To find the core of a school, don't look at its rulebook or even its mission statement. Look at the way the people in it spend their time..." (p. 18). This quotation from The Students are Watching is exactly what the Sizers have done in this book. This book examines how the students, teachers, administrators, and everyone else who is involved in schools spend their time. It is a book wrought with parables about high school life. This book is not meant as a case study, but rather a reflection of what high school is really like. The stories used to illustrate the authors' points are not necessarily factual literal cases, but are realistic and well chosen. I found this book to be very readable and well organized. The six chapters describe what happens in schools: 1. Modeling 2. Grappling 3. Bluffing 4. Sorting 5. Shoving 6. Fearing Within these chapters, the Sizers reflect on what they have observed in their combined 40+ years in education. Each of the above verbs is done in schools both in positive and negative ways. The Sizers do a wonderful job of explaining what schools do, why they do it, and the consequences for their actions. This book is not a how to manual for improving academics. Rather, it is a well-written thought provoker that helps those involved with school to think about what students are really learning. Much more important than academics, the Sizers focus on what values our schools are sharing with our young people. I would highly recommend this book for anyone who is involved with school in any capacity.
Rating:
Summary: Joe says read this book!
Review: "To find the core of a school, don't look at its rulebook or even its mission statement. Look at the way the people in it spend their time..." (p. 18). This quotation from The Students are Watching is exactly what the Sizers have done in this book. This book examines how the students, teachers, administrators, and everyone else who is involved in schools spend their time. It is a book wrought with parables about high school life. This book is not meant as a case study, but rather a reflection of what high school is really like. The stories used to illustrate the authors' points are not necessarily factual literal cases, but are realistic and well chosen. I found this book to be very readable and well organized. The six chapters describe what happens in schools: 1. Modeling 2. Grappling 3. Bluffing 4. Sorting 5. Shoving 6. Fearing Within these chapters, the Sizers reflect on what they have observed in their combined 40+ years in education. Each of the above verbs is done in schools both in positive and negative ways. The Sizers do a wonderful job of explaining what schools do, why they do it, and the consequences for their actions. This book is not a how to manual for improving academics. Rather, it is a well-written thought provoker that helps those involved with school to think about what students are really learning. Much more important than academics, the Sizers focus on what values our schools are sharing with our young people. I would highly recommend this book for anyone who is involved with school in any capacity.
Rating:
Summary: Perfect Role Models
Review: If ever there are two people who embody morality in education as well as in life, they are Ted and Nancy Sizer. Their candid voice and wealth of experiences contribute to a much-needed commentary on the state of American public schools. In the aftermath of so much school-related violence, a truly American epidemic, it is imperative for adults-- teachers and parents alike-- to heed the Sizers' advice and commit themselves to greater deliberation in their actions.
Rating: 
Summary: a bit preachy
Review: It discusses some obvious things about high schools--including some high schools are bad and some are good-- and makes a lot of general statements about how high schools should be run.
I would have liked something a little more positive happening, something more inspiring and less like laying down what's good. Indeed the moral importance in high schools that runs through the book is a positive thing, but there was something judgemental or negative about it. I'm not sure why I dont feel compeled by the advice given. More suggestions which are actually ideas, at least to get the creative juices flowing would be a good thing also.
Rating:
Summary: a bit preachy
Review: It discusses some obvious things about high schools--including some high schools are bad and some are good-- and makes a lot of general statements about how high schools should be run.
I would have liked something a little more positive happening, something more inspiring and less like laying down what's good. Indeed the moral importance in high schools that runs through the book is a positive thing, but there was something judgemental or negative about it. I'm not sure why I dont feel compeled by the advice given. More suggestions which are actually ideas, at least to get the creative juices flowing would be a good thing also.
Rating:
Summary: The Students are Watching
Review: quote from The Students are Watching: "School exists to change young people. The young people should be different--better--for their experience there. They should know some important things, they should know how to learn additional important things, and they should be in the habit of wanting to learn such important things. They should have a reasoned, but individual point of view. They should be judicious, aware of the complexity of the world. They should be thoughtful, respectful of thought and of ideas which are the furniture of thought." The Students are Watching is about teaching morals through example and treating students with respect while delivering education in an ethical manner. I don't really view this as a "how to teach morals" book, but as a guide to running an ethical school.
Rating:
Summary: The Students are Watching
Review: quote from The Students are Watching: "School exists to change young people. The young people should be different--better--for their experience there. They should know some important things, they should know how to learn additional important things, and they should be in the habit of wanting to learn such important things. They should have a reasoned, but individual point of view. They should be judicious, aware of the complexity of the world. They should be thoughtful, respectful of thought and of ideas which are the furniture of thought." The Students are Watching is about teaching morals through example and treating students with respect while delivering education in an ethical manner. I don't really view this as a "how to teach morals" book, but as a guide to running an ethical school.
Rating:
Summary: evaluation of our educational system, including home-schools
Review: Rated as excellent in 6/19/00 U. S. News & World Reports, I am pursuing research on this book while attempting to locate a library or preview copy to read myself!
Rating:
Summary: evaluation of our educational system, including home-schools
Review: Rated as excellent in 6/19/00 U. S. News & World Reports, I am pursuing research on this book while attempting to locate a library or preview copy to read myself!
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