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Schooled: Ordinary, Extraordinary Teaching in an Age of Change
Depicted variously as heroes, villains, or victims, America's teachers find themselves at the center of a sometimes nasty policy debate. Yet, while politicians, reformers, and pundits contribute to the cacophony that serves as our national conversation about education, those who teach our children everyday are barely heard over the noise. This beautifully written book highlights working teachers speaking on many key educational problems under debate as well as many of the controversial solutions put forth, including revamped teacher evaluations, curricular standardization, and increased testing and data collection. Anthropologist Catherine Lutz and high school teacher Anne Lutz Fernandez traveled the country to meet a wide range of educators on the frontlines of teaching across diverse contexts from traditional public schools to charters to the home school; early in careers and near retirement; in city, town, suburb, and country. What they learned about teaching and learning provides critical insights not just for educators but for anyone interested in American education.
160 pages, Paperback
First published July 15, 2015
3 people are currently reading
80 people want to read
About the author
Anne Lutz Fernandez
4 books6 followersAnne Lutz Fernandez was a marketer of consumer brands and spent a decade as an investment banker in New York and London before turning to writing and teaching. She taught English for two decades in public middle and high schools and lives in Connecticut with her husband, also a teacher. She co-authored her first book, Carjacked, with her sister, anthropologist Catherine Lutz; their second book together, Schooled, took them across the country to meet nine individuals doing the ordinary, extraordinary work of educating America's children.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 29, 2015
A lot of people talk about teachers but not many talk to teachers. Authors Anne Lutz Fernandez and Catherine Lutz set out to address that shortfall in Schooled: Ordinary, Extraordinary Teaching in an Age of Change (Teachers College Press, 2015). Schooled profiles nine teachers whose stories reveal patterns running through numerous different forms of American schooling.
And now a brief digression for the purpose of transparency. I’m proud to be one of the nine teachers profiled in Schooled. If you and I already know each other, you probably won’t learn much new about me from this, but you should probably read it anyway for the authors’ insights into the context of my story. I’ll say more about my experience with Schooled and its authors toward the end of this piece.
The Schooled teachers share pragmatism in the face of obstacles and optimism in the face of challenges. Whether they are situated in small schools, large schools, home schools, charter schools, or reservation schools, these teachers see their jobs as not just conveyers of core curricula but as shapers of the future by way of their students.
Those students who inhabit the classrooms (or other learning spaces) with these teachers represent a young microcosm of our society. Some students have relatively easy lives; some students have incredibly difficult lives. For better or worse, these young people bring to school the outlooks and issues present in their families and communities, and the teacher's challenge is to sort through all of that as effectively as possible and still use their expertise to foster learning.
Even though our professional circumstances varied, I found common ground with each of the other teachers in Schooled. Ulla Tervo-Desnick, a Finnish-born first-grade teacher in Minnesota, shared my frustration with mandated, data-centered collaboration time with colleagues: "If the focus of your time together is data collection, then the focus is data collection. It's not how to help this child or that child. So unfortunately we look at it as a missed opportunity."
Lisa Myrick, a high school science teacher in South Carolina clearly articulated one of the fallacies of standardized testing: "Any teacher knows that scores on a test may vary greatly from year to year, although she may have taught the material using the same practices. What is different is who walks through those doors in August and what their prior experiences have been. Did they travel to the Caribbean this summer or did they get bounced between foster homes?"
Robert Lewis, a learning support teacher in Colorado is the kind of teacher all parents want for their children: "I never think they can't do it. I always think, okay, well, we just have to get to it another way. There's a thousand ways to climb a mountain."
I dare you to try not being inspired by the devotion of Glorianna Under Baggage, a teacher on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota whose mantra is "encourage, encourage, encourage" but who has special fire in her words for "the reformers": "Who are you to judge those children that are suffering? Who are you to judge them when they don't even have a bed in their home? That's what they [the reformers] need to take care of."
My involvement in Schooled came about when author Anne Lutz Fernandez, a public school teacher in Connecticut, contacted me through Twitter to ask if I was interested in being included in her newest book, co-written with her sister Catherine Lutz, a Brown University sociology professor. Of course, I was interested, but I needed several layers of approval before Anne and Cathy could visit me on campus. After I assured my supervisors that I was not under duress and was not being paid, the authors traveled to suburban Chicago.
We first met after school in a public library conference room just a couple of hours after the Boston Marathon bombings. Because Anne and Cathy would be visiting my classes the next day, we talked about how that tragedy would affect my teaching. Then we had a great conversation about all kinds of issues involved in contemporary American education.
The following day Anne and Cathy shadowed me throughout the school day. They had agreed with our administration's request not to talk to students, but they soaked up everything that happened in my classes and perceptively noted numerous quirky aspects of our school that I sort of took for granted.
I'm thrilled with the chapter that grew out of our interview and site visit. I'm glad that my passion for nurturing lifelong reading habits and developing young writers come through so clearly. I'm also glad my "irreverent and strong-headed" views on educational issues of the day are likely to be read by a wide audience and preserved for posterity.
Schooled will be an illuminating read for educators who are likely to find themselves nodding in agreement on page after page; parents who wonder what is really going on in the minds of their children's teachers; those considering a career in education; and anyone who wants a more balanced view of what American education looks like in this time when much of the news coverage about schools is so negative.
Cross-posted on my What's Not Wrong? blog
And now a brief digression for the purpose of transparency. I’m proud to be one of the nine teachers profiled in Schooled. If you and I already know each other, you probably won’t learn much new about me from this, but you should probably read it anyway for the authors’ insights into the context of my story. I’ll say more about my experience with Schooled and its authors toward the end of this piece.
The Schooled teachers share pragmatism in the face of obstacles and optimism in the face of challenges. Whether they are situated in small schools, large schools, home schools, charter schools, or reservation schools, these teachers see their jobs as not just conveyers of core curricula but as shapers of the future by way of their students.
Those students who inhabit the classrooms (or other learning spaces) with these teachers represent a young microcosm of our society. Some students have relatively easy lives; some students have incredibly difficult lives. For better or worse, these young people bring to school the outlooks and issues present in their families and communities, and the teacher's challenge is to sort through all of that as effectively as possible and still use their expertise to foster learning.
Even though our professional circumstances varied, I found common ground with each of the other teachers in Schooled. Ulla Tervo-Desnick, a Finnish-born first-grade teacher in Minnesota, shared my frustration with mandated, data-centered collaboration time with colleagues: "If the focus of your time together is data collection, then the focus is data collection. It's not how to help this child or that child. So unfortunately we look at it as a missed opportunity."
Lisa Myrick, a high school science teacher in South Carolina clearly articulated one of the fallacies of standardized testing: "Any teacher knows that scores on a test may vary greatly from year to year, although she may have taught the material using the same practices. What is different is who walks through those doors in August and what their prior experiences have been. Did they travel to the Caribbean this summer or did they get bounced between foster homes?"
Robert Lewis, a learning support teacher in Colorado is the kind of teacher all parents want for their children: "I never think they can't do it. I always think, okay, well, we just have to get to it another way. There's a thousand ways to climb a mountain."
I dare you to try not being inspired by the devotion of Glorianna Under Baggage, a teacher on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota whose mantra is "encourage, encourage, encourage" but who has special fire in her words for "the reformers": "Who are you to judge those children that are suffering? Who are you to judge them when they don't even have a bed in their home? That's what they [the reformers] need to take care of."
My involvement in Schooled came about when author Anne Lutz Fernandez, a public school teacher in Connecticut, contacted me through Twitter to ask if I was interested in being included in her newest book, co-written with her sister Catherine Lutz, a Brown University sociology professor. Of course, I was interested, but I needed several layers of approval before Anne and Cathy could visit me on campus. After I assured my supervisors that I was not under duress and was not being paid, the authors traveled to suburban Chicago.
We first met after school in a public library conference room just a couple of hours after the Boston Marathon bombings. Because Anne and Cathy would be visiting my classes the next day, we talked about how that tragedy would affect my teaching. Then we had a great conversation about all kinds of issues involved in contemporary American education.
The following day Anne and Cathy shadowed me throughout the school day. They had agreed with our administration's request not to talk to students, but they soaked up everything that happened in my classes and perceptively noted numerous quirky aspects of our school that I sort of took for granted.
I'm thrilled with the chapter that grew out of our interview and site visit. I'm glad that my passion for nurturing lifelong reading habits and developing young writers come through so clearly. I'm also glad my "irreverent and strong-headed" views on educational issues of the day are likely to be read by a wide audience and preserved for posterity.
Schooled will be an illuminating read for educators who are likely to find themselves nodding in agreement on page after page; parents who wonder what is really going on in the minds of their children's teachers; those considering a career in education; and anyone who wants a more balanced view of what American education looks like in this time when much of the news coverage about schools is so negative.
Cross-posted on my What's Not Wrong? blog
March 8, 2016
Although I enjoyed reading the perspectives of nine different educators and their unique experiences, some stories were more insightful and interesting than others. Perhaps I would have enjoyed the book more overall if the chapters opened with a snippet of writing from each teacher they focused on, instead of just the author/researcher's point of view. Overall, it was a nice testament to the triumphs and challenges that come with teaching in the 21st century.
May 25, 2016
This book overlaps with my own sabbatical research on the lives of teachers. In this book, this mother-daughter team visit nine different teachers in nine places around the US. Each setting is a bit different from an urban elementary school, a home school, a parochial school, a reservation school, etc. They bring out the teachers lives well, the issues having to do with their particular type of education, the issues in their classrooms all in short, thoughtful (each about 10 pages) essays.
February 28, 2016
Fantastic read!
February 22, 2026
Read this for class. Some interesting perspectives but they kind of started to blend together at the end. I have to say, nothing against homeschool, but that section kind of made me laugh. Referring to the Odyssey as pagan literature...I mean I guess you're technically right but I found that way too funny. It's literally a classic, idk why you have to defend why your kids are reading it. Overall, it just felt the most stereotypical, sheltering their kids from anything remotely "immoral".
I liked Robert's perspective the most and maybe Ulla's. I`m personally a fan of a growth mindset, and Robert seems to really instill that in his students which I appreciated. And so many of the teachers talked about how much work they do outside of the classroom, so once again hats off to all the teachers who are working over the weekend, lesson-planning, grading, etc. They really are unsung heroes.
I liked Robert's perspective the most and maybe Ulla's. I`m personally a fan of a growth mindset, and Robert seems to really instill that in his students which I appreciated. And so many of the teachers talked about how much work they do outside of the classroom, so once again hats off to all the teachers who are working over the weekend, lesson-planning, grading, etc. They really are unsung heroes.
October 5, 2017
This is a must-read for all my teacher friends!
December 23, 2015
"Schooled: Ordinary, Extraordinary Teaching in an Age of Change" by Anne Lutz-Fernandez and Catherine Lutz is a tidy and concise exposition of teachers' daily experience, their joys and frustrations, in the context of their reasoned career choice. The reader will be able to relate on multiple levels. Everyone has been a student and the teachers interviewed, observed, and described chapter by chapter are real, candid, passionate, and to a person seem like one you'd be lucky to have. Teachers, as readers, will recognize the immense commitment, long days, and administrative challenges. They will also appreciate the various articulations of fulfillment and remarkable creativity in classrooms in spite of testing demands and structured curriculum.
Parents will get a view of teachers way beyond their discussions at parent-teacher conferences, bound to build understanding that could enhance their children's overall learning.
The authors have given teachers the voice they deserve in the discussion of our U.S. educational system. The voices are clear, thoughtful, inspiring and hopeful. They have love of learning and teaching that considers developing the whole child--intellectual, emotional, social, physical, moral. Only nine are profiled in Schooled, but I finished the book believing they could change the world.
Bravo, Anne, Catherine and teachers in "Schooled"!
Parents will get a view of teachers way beyond their discussions at parent-teacher conferences, bound to build understanding that could enhance their children's overall learning.
The authors have given teachers the voice they deserve in the discussion of our U.S. educational system. The voices are clear, thoughtful, inspiring and hopeful. They have love of learning and teaching that considers developing the whole child--intellectual, emotional, social, physical, moral. Only nine are profiled in Schooled, but I finished the book believing they could change the world.
Bravo, Anne, Catherine and teachers in "Schooled"!
May 5, 2016
Great, realistic portraits of teachers doing meaningful work. I think the variety of student ages and school situations was well done. However, my complaint is this: why no focus on a teacher of marginalized subject, such as music, art, physical education, drama, etc? Teachers in the text make the point that these subjects are too often cut from students' lives, that these subjects are vitally important, yet the book omits the story of these teachers' experience completely. Disappointing.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews