Learning Power: Organizing for Education and Justice

by Jeannie Oakes, Martin Lipton, John Rogers

In cities across the nation, low-income African American and Latino parents hope that their children’s education will bring a better life. But their schools, typically, are overcrowded, ill equipped, and shamefully under-staffed. Unless things change dramatically, more than half the students will never graduate and many will face a life of poverty-wage work. Learning Power documents a radical approach to school reform that Here are the best arguments against those who want to give up on public schools in America. Read Learning Power for clear examples of how ordinary people can influence schooling through their organizing and social critique. "Policymakers, school administrators, and educators continue to over-rely upon technical solutions to improve students' academic performance. This provocative and propitious book not only emphasizes that public schools will not improve without broad public participation and increased personal responsibility, but illustrates numerous examples of empowering disenfranchised constituencies."
― Wendy D. Puriefoy, President, Public Education Network

Genres: Education

216 pages, Paperback

First published March 23, 2006

Reviews

[bruin · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was the book i had all of the staff read for our summer trip on ed-equity and racial justice in california. deep deep shit. really radicalized and pushed our theory and practice. these folks are badass. we ended up meeting with jeannie oakes at ucla with all the young folks who went on the trip and she was super impressive and on point. this book gives us some badly needed vision for what it means to always pair ed-equity with racial justice and to vision for better ways to grow and learn with justice and equity.

[Meg · Rating 2 out of 5]

It sounds like the authors have done worthwhile projects with students in LA. But unfortunately this book is poorly organized, and their analysis of power quite shallow. Likewise, their description of what "community organizing" is incredibly narrow, ignoring too many diverse grassroots traditions and tactics.

[Gail Cavanaugh · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book was very interesting and gave an interesting account of the inequalities present in the public schools relative to the quality of education. The book was written about ten years ago, but the situation has not improved very much. It is really scary and so unfortuanate theat inner city children do not have adequate resources available to them.

[Josefina Duran]

Im reading this for my Urban Educational Policy course.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

An honest accounting of one story of developmentally moving from academic research (in the "ivory tower of academe") to research grounded within the practical and rooted in collaborative inquiry.

[Abby Jean · Rating 2 out of 5]

interesting projects, but odd organization and repetitive writing made it hard to get out the relevant info.