Published in 1790, this work presents the historian Catharine Macaulay's enlightened views on the equal education of girls and boys.

“This remarkable book is a testament to teachers who not only respect and advocate for children on a daily basis but who are the necessary guardians of the spirit. Every citizen who cares about the future of our children ought to read this.”—Eric Carle, author of The Very Hungry Caterpillar and other classic works for children “Kozol’s love for his students is as joyful and genuine as his critiques of the system are severe. He doesn’t pull punches.”—The Washington Post In these affectionate letters to Francesca, a first grade teacher at an inner-city school in Boston, Jonathan Kozol vividly describes his repeated visits to her classroom while, under Francesca’s likably irreverent questioning, he also reveals his own most personal stories of the years that he has spent in public schools. Letters to a Young Teacher reignites a number of the controversial issues Jonathan has powerfully addressed in his bestselling The Shame of the Nation and On Being a Teacher: the mania of high-stakes testing that turns many classrooms into test-prep factories where spontaneity and critical intelligence are no longer valued, the invasion of our public schools by predatory private corporations, and the inequalities of urban schools that are once again almost as segregated as they were a century ago. But most of all, these letters are rich with the happiness of teaching children, the curiosity and jubilant excitement children bring into the classroom at an early age, and their ability to overcome their insecurities when they are in the hands of an adoring and hard-working teacher.

When a group of educators from Massachusetts traveled to Singapore to visit schools and talk to teachers, teacher educators, and school and system-level leaders in the fall of 2015, they were determined to learn how Singapore had built a high-performing education system. Singapore has transitioned from an education system focused simply on universal literacy and primary education to one that aims for universal high school graduation and post-secondary success. It has gone from a developing nation in 1965 to a first-world economy today-and it has done so largely by focusing on education. In this series of letters, members of the delegation identify the educational practices and policies that have enabled Singapore to become a prosperous knowledge economy. Many of their practices and successes could be transferred to the United States and elsewhere.

In Letters to a Young Education Reformer, Frederick M. Hess distills knowledge from twenty-five years of working in and around school reform. Inspired by his conversations with young, would-be reformers who are passionate about transforming education, the book offers a window into Hess’s thinking about what education reform is and should be. Hess writes that “reform is more a matter of how one thinks about school improvement than a recital of programs and policy proposals.” Through his essays, he explores a range of topics, including: -Talkers and Doers -The Temptations of Bureaucracy -The Value in Talking with Those Who Disagree -Why You Shouldn’t Put Too Much Faith in Experts -Philanthropy and Its Discontents -The Problem with Passion Hess offers personal impressions as well as lessons from notable mistakes he’s observed with the hope that readers will benefit from his frustrations and realizations. As the policy landscape continues to shift, Letters to a Young Education Reformer offers valuable, timely insights to any young person passionate about transforming education—and to not-so-young reformers who are inclined to reflect on their successes and failures.

The invitation to serve as Minister of Education and lead a bold and significant reform of an education system never comes with an instruction manual. Leading such an opportunity effectively, requires access to the best knowledge about how to make change happen. In this book, Ministers of Education and system level leaders in ten countries share what they learned in the process of advancing audacious reforms aimed at transforming public education so schools would better prepare students with the necessary skills to participate civically and economically in a rapidly changing world. A product of the Global Education Innovation Initiative, a practice-research consortium of leaders and institutions that advance knowledge to support the transformation of public education systems to augment their relevancy, the book is anchored in the proposition that successful educational change requires the appropriate combination of knowledge based on practice with knowledge based on research. The contributors to this volume embody the best qualities of reflective practitioners who can make visible what they have learned from their practice. In sharing with what they have learned with others, they demonstrate also the generosity and commitment of those who understand that we all share responsibility for the education of the entirety of the world's children. In this book, the reader will find discerning and intimate accounts of what it is like to transform the largest organization in society, so it does a better job educating all children. The themes that resonate in their accounts across systems as diverse as Australia, Brazil, Colombia, India, Mexico, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Russia and Singapore are fascinating, surprising and valuable to those who hope to leave a legacy as Ministers of Education. Fernando M. Reimers is the Ford Foundation Professor of the Practice of International Education and Director of the Global Education Innovation Initiative and of the International Education Policy Masters Program at Harvard University. His research and teaching focus on understanding how to educate children and youth so they can thrive in the 21st century. Over more than three decades he has advised Ministers of Education and other leaders of education institutions in Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe and the Middle East.