Customer Reviews

The Big Picture: Education Is Everyone's Business

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Littky's book challenges the traditional philosophy and practices of American schools. And we deserve that challenge. We are raising kids in dysfunctional schools, dysfunctional even when we believe they are working satisfactorily. At the most fundamental level the philosophy upon which the schools are based, a philosophy laid down in the Nineteenth Century designed to train people to fulfill the needs of industry, has not changed. The problem is that training is not educating. Defining the success of schools by standard tests, the method used to upgrade the dysfunctional system by No Child Left Behind only serves to make the dysfunctional system worse. America's children need a better system.

Littky, after thirty or more years of work in public schools as a principal has turned the old philosophy out the door. His objective is to lead children to love learning and that leads to radically different kinds of schools. In his schools parents are closely involved with the work in every way. Students and teachers work in small groups focusing on projects that cultivate the interests and the skills of the students. School bells do not ring interrupting the process of learning. Students open themselves to the learning process, develop confidence and the needed basic skills of writing and mathematics in the process of doing the projects that fascinate them. Learning becomes joyful. Teachers then become not loaders of information but leaders, fellow learners, who help the child develop the information necessary to the learning process. And, yes, to do this schools must be smaller than we have come to make them in the last fifty years. Huge consolidated, impersonal schools have failed. Littky demonstrates how much more effective small schools are at every level.

The results speak for themselves. Over ninety percent of the children who leave Littky's schools go on to higher education and most of those students when they come into his schools are children who have failed to flourish in traditional schools. For this and a dozen other reasons, Littky's challenge to American education is a powerful book that must not be ignored. Besides, it's a good read. The man speaks to us and we hear his passion for learning. He is his own model for the philosophy and the practice he would inculcate in his students, their parents, his teachers, and us.

American education needs a model that works. Littky offers us that model

This was a very interesting read for me; I highly recommend it to parents, teachers and anyone who is interested in alternatives to the public school system. I was rapidly losing my trust in the current educational system. What's most disturbing for me is all of the professionals who write about urban education, its causes and how to repair it. Often, these professionals are so far removed from the problem its incomprehensible how they can propose to interpret the real life issues that exist. Littky's common sense approach that he introduced to The Met starts with treat every child with respect; give value to their dreams and their interest. Help them discover THEIR talents. Help them find the connection in putting their talents and interest towards building a life goal. Hire only educators who embrace this vision, and recognize that as teachers they are also part of the learning experience. I was most inspired by Littky's belief that all of the children who walk through the door of The Met will graduate, will succeed and will do something great with their lives. Believing in them, makes them believe in themselves. To quote Franklin Covey "begin with the end in mind".

Wow! This is an amazing book about the Met - a charter school in Rhode Island. I can see why teachers are on waiting lists trying to work there. This is a must read for any teacher, school administrator, and parent. This guy gets it right.

This was my first time ordering a used book from an Amazon affiliate and I couldn't be more pleased!! The review said the book was in fair condition, but I found that the book was in excellent condition. The price was great and they shipped my book promply. I would definitely do business with this organization again!

This is a very good book. I would love to have my children in a school like the Met. The Stories are very interesting and very meaningful to anyone not just someone in the career of education.Well worth reading!!

This book is beyond inspiring. It sets a tone for the way public education in America should be. Truth be told, when I first started reading this book I felt it was an advertisement for a school I had never even heard of, but by the middle of this book I was doing research on the school mentioned throughout the text. I found that more of these schools have been popping up across the United Sates and I even have one in my own neck of the woods.

It's time we take a solid look at the way out school system is being run and see that it is no longer effective. This book proves that drastically changing the way a school is run makes it so the students have more respect for those around them as well as education, that graduation rates do not have to be so high (they are constantly increasing), and most importantly that we can set students up for success in furthering their education.

Please read this book and see that the American educational system is do for a renovation.

This book is truly an inspiration for me, as a future teacher. The points the author hits coincide with what I believe to be the purpose of education. Although the message is somewhat idealistic, I believe that to be a quality in order for teachers to motivate the change they wish to see in their students :)

I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in making a difference in the world through education.

Dennis Littky truly understands the education system and HOW it SHOULD be run! The Big Picture is well written and an easy understandable read! Littky's book focuses on his life endeavor and efforts to change our failing school system. Littky shares personal stories throughout his teaching and administrative career and the development of the Big Picture Schools. These schools have had a profound impact on all students with 98% of students going on to college. He believes that students should be educated "one student at a time, evaluating students with multiple forms of assessment and measuring students' progress against real-world standards" (Littky, 2004, p. xvi). Each chapter ends with a set of questions to help you further your thought and apply it to your workplace. If you want to make a difference in the education system, this book is a MUST READ!

This book opened my eyes to the endless possibilities, and opportunities of learning for students. It is an easy read that is hard to put down. Dennis Littky is a person that is not just talking about change in education, he is making change. He takes the focus off of the schools and puts it on the students. Littky has found that by focusing on students interest's, they are able to reignite students excitement they once had for learning. He also believes that we must act now and become involved if we plan to have an impact in these students learning opportunities, and their future. Students are encouraged in Met schools to pursue personal interests, and then a curriculum is designed around that to guide the student through their learning process.

I would highly recommend this book to any parent, teacher or administrator that wants to begin on the path to get their child or student excited about their own education.