of extraordinary practice. This collection showcases the professional experience and wisdom of classroom teachers who have been navigating standards- and test-driven teaching environments in California and New York while maintaining their vision of what teaching can be. Representing diverse backgrounds, schools, grade levels, subject areas, and specialties, these teachers talk personally about their practice, their challenges, and how they learned to maintain a social and pedagogical vision for their work. This book is essential reading for new teachers who are struggling to make their teaching inspiring, creative, and culturally responsive, especially those who are working in less than supportive environments.This practical resource for pre- and inservice teachers: Examines the struggle between grassroots, culturally responsive teaching and a top-down, teach-by-the-numbers approach. Shows teachers constructing math curriculum, history units, and writing projects grounded in their students’ lives and the world beyond the classroom. Offers both an antidote to standardization and a source of inspiration for public school teachers, teacher educators, students, and parents.

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