Actions Speak Louder Than Words : Community Activism As Curriculum, Paperback...

Actions Speak Louder Than Words : Community Activism As Curriculum, Paperback by Oyler, Celia, ISBN 0415881625, ISBN-13 9780415881623, Brand New, Free P&P in the UKOyler (curriculum and teaching, Teachers College, Columbia U.) describes seven examples of activism projects in elementary grades through graduate school focused on local or global community improvement to show educators how to use them to teach the skills of civic participation. She focuses on how to engage students with real social problems without telling them how to think or what actions to take, as well as educate for strong democracy skills that require direct community involvement. She collected the case studies over a period of five years, and through interviews and focus groups, examined how and why the teachers used social action projects, how and what students learned, and the issues of power, authority, and decision making that arose. She considers the advocacy and activism activities students engaged in and how they were structured for learning, the role of the concept of public good in instruction and teachers' motivations, and the opportunities for students to engage with multiple viewpoints. She describes each project--on topics like sustainable land use, school financing, environmental racism, and globalization--and key themes in them, ending with a chapter on commonalities, tips from teachers, and a framework for teachers. Annotation ©2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR ()