First Things First!: Creating the New American Primary School

Takanishi, Ruby

ISBN 10: 0807756938 / ISBN 13: 9780807756935

Published by Teachers College Press (edition ), 2016

About this Item

It's a well-cared-for item that has seen limited use. The item may show minor signs of wear. All the text is legible, with all pages included. It may have slight markings and/or highlighting.

Seller Inventory # 0807756938-8-1

Bibliographic Details

• Title: First Things First!: Creating the New American Primary School
• Publisher: Teachers College Press (edition )
• Publication Date: 2016
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0807756938
• ISBN 13: 9780807756935
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: Very Good

About this title

Synopsis

Challenging policymakers, educators, reformers, and citizens to replace piecemeal reforms with fundamental redesign, First Things First! calls for a different way of organizing the American primary school. Ruby Takanishi outlines a new framework for integrating early education with primary education (pre-K–5), including both short- and long-term strategies, that starts with 3- and 4-year-olds. Featuring portraits of primary schools that have successfully integrated pre-K, the book includes resources on dual-language learners, dual-generation family engagement, effective philanthropy, rethinking advocacy, and more. The book centers on four basic questions: Why should the United States design a new primary school as children’s first, widely share educational experience? How can the educators of the new primary school use new knowledge about how children learn to improve their practice? What will it take to create a new primary school that educates all children well? How can the design of the new primary school reflect demographic, social, linguistic, and cultural changes and adapt to the requirements of a global economy? First Things First! reframes the basic structure of traditional primary education, challenging us to get the early years of a 21st-century public education system off to a new and stronger start.

About the Author

Ruby Takanishi is senior research fellow in the Early & Elementary Education Policy Division at New America in Washington, D.C. She has been honored by the American Education Research Association with the 2014 Distinguished Public Service Award.