We Don't Need Another Hero: Struggle, Hope, and Possibility in the Age of High-Stakes Schooling

by Gregory Michie

In his latest book, bestselling author Gregory Michie critiques high-stakes schooling and provides a powerful alternative vision of teaching as a humanistic enterprise, students as multidimensional beings, and schools as spaces where young people can imagine and become, not just “achieve.” Drawing on his experiences over the past two decades as a classroom teacher, community volunteer, researcher, and teacher educator in Chicago’s public schools, Michie offers compelling accounts of teaching and learning in urban America. Mindful of the complex realities educators face, he portrays urban schools as they really sites of struggle, hope, and possibility. At a time when others relentlessly trumpet a competitive, data-driven, corporatized notion of education, the essays in We Don't Need Another Hero challenge the dominant narratives of failing urban schools and bad teachers. Like Michie’s now classic Holler If You Hear Me , this book gives much-needed hope to new and seasoned teachers alike. It is also an important resource for school administrators, policymakers, parents, and anyone who wants to better understand what is really happening in American schools.

Genres: Education

168 pages, Paperback

First published October 19, 2012

About the author

Gregory Michie is a public school teacher in Chicago and senior research associate at the Center for Policy Studies and Social Justice at Concordia University Chicago. He is the bestselling author of Holler If You Hear Me (2nd ed.), See You When We Get There, and We Don’t Need Another Hero.

Reviews

[Antonia Simmons · Rating 4 out of 5]

Must read for educators!

[Chea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Michie puts into words a lot of what I have thought about social justice and education. I realize that his focus for the project is education in urban settings, but much of what he discusses is pertinent for the oft-ignored rural setting. It was an accessible and enjoyable read, even if heartbreaking at times.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

good book about urban education

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

More people should read Michie's writings. He's the next Kozol, presenting the failings and triumphs of urban education in this country.

[Mills College Library]

371.82694 M6241 2012

[Faith Underwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read for educators.