Product Description
What is the purpose of education? What kind of people do we want our children to grow up to be? How can we design schools so that students will acquire the skills they’ll need to live fulfilled and productive lives? These are just a few of the questions that renowned educator Dennis Littky explores in The Big Picture: Education Is Everyone’s Business. The schools Littky has created and led over the past 35 years are models for reformers everywhere: small, pu… More >>
The Big Picture: Education Is Everyone’s Business
Tags: Business, Education, Everyone's, Picture
#1 by G. Smith on March 21, 2010 - 8:30 pm
This book is truly an inspiration for me, as a future teacher. The points the author hits coincide with what I believe to be the purpose of education. Although the message is somewhat idealistic, I believe that to be a quality in order for teachers to motivate the change they wish to see in their students
Rating: 5 / 5
#2 by Noodle on March 21, 2010 - 9:44 pm
I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in making a difference in the world through education.
Rating: 5 / 5
#3 by Jessica Dabbeekeh on March 21, 2010 - 11:41 pm
Dennis Littky truly understands the education system and HOW it SHOULD be run! The Big Picture is well written and an easy understandable read! Littky’s book focuses on his life endeavor and efforts to change our failing school system. Littky shares personal stories throughout his teaching and administrative career and the development of the Big Picture Schools. These schools have had a profound impact on all students with 98% of students going on to college. He believes that students should be educated “one student at a time, evaluating students with multiple forms of assessment and measuring students’ progress against real-world standards” (Littky, 2004, p. xvi). Each chapter ends with a set of questions to help you further your thought and apply it to your workplace. If you want to make a difference in the education system, this book is a MUST READ!
Rating: 5 / 5
#4 by Brent Hibbert on March 22, 2010 - 12:25 am
This book opened my eyes to the endless possibilities, and opportunities of learning for students. It is an easy read that is hard to put down. Dennis Littky is a person that is not just talking about change in education, he is making change. He takes the focus off of the schools and puts it on the students. Littky has found that by focusing on students interest’s, they are able to reignite students excitement they once had for learning. He also believes that we must act now and become involved if we plan to have an impact in these students learning opportunities, and their future. Students are encouraged in Met schools to pursue personal interests, and then a curriculum is designed around that to guide the student through their learning process.
I would highly recommend this book to any parent, teacher or administrator that wants to begin on the path to get their child or student excited about their own education.
Rating: 5 / 5
#5 by Gregory M. Nehen on March 22, 2010 - 12:39 am
Dennis Littky’s, The Big Picture is a portrait of how school should look-at least to Littky. The book is a brief description of Littky’s work as cofounder of New Hampshire’s Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center, “The Met,” and its many successes as an alternative to traditional schooling. But there is much more to it. The Big Picture is also a very critical look at the issues that America faces with its broken and failing education system. Every chapter ends with a handful of very deep and thought provoking questions that every educator, policy maker and parent should be asking of their local schools. The book is also filled with anecdotes, student writing and articles that support the idea of student directed learning. And finally, the book ends with a chapter entitled “Make It Happen,” where readers are encouraged to begin looking at how to effect positive change in a school that does not want to change. Overall, The Big Picture is a very positive look at what can be done with a different approach, a little effort and the willingness to change.
Rating: 4 / 5