High Schools on a Human Scale: How Small Schools Can Transform American Education [Paperback]

Tom Toch (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 080703245X | ISBN-13: 978-0807032459 | Publication Date: May 15, 2003

The basic blueprint of American high schools hasn't changed in a century, and we are paying a heavy price. Anonymous, enormous, and resistant to change, huge American high schools are incapable of educating all children to high levels today, as dropout rates and remedial courses in college make increasingly clear.

High Schools on a Human Scale shows the huge power of small schools, perhaps the nation's fastest- growing reform idea. Tom Toch takes us inside four very different small schools around the country-from an entrepreneur's high-tech charter school in San Diego to a school formed out the of the breakup of a huge public high school in Manhattan. All are small enough so that every student is known well by adults, and the results are remarkable. Together they show the proven virtues of small schools-safety, community, and high achievement.

This book is sponsored in part by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's $40 million effort to support small schools nationwide.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'Imagine a high school where every student knows every teacher and most other students. Where security comes not from metal detectors but from everyone's knowing who doesn't belong. Where community replaces bureaucracy and no one is lost in the crowd--because there is no crowd. With his portraits of five small high schools that break the mold, Tom Toch makes an engaging and often provocative case for a less industrial, and more personal, brand of education.' --Jonathan Rauch, The Brookings Institution, author of Government's End: Why Washington Stopped Working

'Toch has written a compelling account of the promise and challenges of smaller more personalized schools. High Schools on a Human Scale is required reading for educators, policymakers, and anyone else seeking to modernize public education to better serve all students.' --Andrew Rotherham, Director, 21st Century Schools Project, Progressive Policy Institute

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Beacon Press (May 15, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080703245X
• ISBN-13: 978-0807032459
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.4 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #547,458 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Smaller is Better, July 20, 2003

By 

Jeanne C. Cochran (Fallbrook, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: High Schools on a Human Scale: How Small Schools Can Transform American Education (Paperback)

Thomas Toch has proven that precious things come in small packages. I agree with the author that big high schools have lost the personal touch that is needed to build relationships with students. Mr. Toch has done his homework by providing working examples and models that can be applied to any school. I recommend this book to any educator looking for a simple and concise answer to the complicated and vastly over sized American public high school systems.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Smaller Schools Yes! But how and when?, August 20, 2003

By 

Andre K. Allen (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: High Schools on a Human Scale: How Small Schools Can Transform American Education (Paperback)

I read this book and found it to be quite interesting. The cases that were presented were positive examples of successful implementation of how to make high school a more personal and meaningful experience for the students. I strongly support the idea of making high schools as a whole smaller in size. The difficulty arises in how we make this concept universal to all of the students in high schools across America. I liked that the school's that were presented represneted a broad spectrum of America, this helps to support universality. I also belive that smaller schools will bolster students self esteem, we need to find a way to have it implemented broadly and fairly. With pockets as deep as The Gates, it is no wonder there was success, and I have to wonder about biases in evaluations.

A good book over all but, I think it only serves to add support to those that already believe in "Downsizing" vice converting the skeptics. A good read and definately fuel for a good start to changing the way we now do things.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent description of the small schools movement, June 20, 2003

By 

Mary E Armstrong (Warrenton, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: High Schools on a Human Scale: How Small Schools Can Transform American Education (Paperback)

This book is an excellent read for those who desire to learn of 'case studies' of secondary schools that are changing in a positive way the school systems of our country. Discussing multiple urban and a rural school, the author goes inside the school and interviews both students and teachers. Also discussed is the mindset change that must take place to make them successful. An excellent resource for those desiring to learn more about the 'small schools' movement.