Possible Lives: The Promise of Public Education in America

by Mike Rose

"This big-shouldered book, full of ardor...offers us a reasonable hope that with attention and care we can again make public education what it was meant to be, and must yet be."— The Los Angeles Times .

Genres: Education, Teaching, Nonfiction, Read For School

488 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1995

About the author

Mike Rose spent his career in public service, first as a city planner and eventually as a town manager. Mike’s fertile imagination and desire to be a writer started at an early age. Being from a family with an Irish Catholic background, Mike had his share of funny stories and wonderful characters. Add to that nearly 40 years of dealing with the public and elected officials, well, books practically write themselves.

Reviews

[Charles Moody · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mike Rose spent extended periods of time in public-school classrooms across the country – urban schools, rural ones, and even a one-room schoolhouse in Montana. They have little in common other than dynamic teaching and engaged students, in settings where one might expect the obstacles to sink the chances for a rich education. His profiles of each location are filled with his keen observations, and are lengthy enough to allow us to feel that we spent a few days with him each of these classrooms, learning and laughing along with the students and teachers. In the book’s conclusion, Rose makes some observations about shared characteristics of the classrooms, but in contrast to a lot of the education literature out there today, he does not try to break successful teaching into its elements, or to have his book serve as a manual for teachers or administrators. And I think that that is his point: we should be wary of claims to have found a replicable model for saving public education, especially when they start from the premise that the system is in crisis and should be overhauled. Rose believes, I think, that the classrooms in his book show that wonderful things are possible within the public school system as it now exists, if we are willing to commit ourselves to it fully.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read more than half of this book (it was required for my grad education course) but still have a few chapters to go before I an say I'm officially done. Based on what I have read, I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in education -- teaching or just learning more. I love the concept -- Rose went around the country and basically highlights good classrooms and good teaching in many diverse contexts. My favorite chapter was on Calexico, a border town in California. But I also enjoyed reading about places such as rural Montana, where one teacher really does still teach in a one-room schoolhouse kind of setting. It's a neat book that shows you how much education (as well as students' needs) vary across the country. I like that it's much more positive than most books on American education and it does really show just how hard teachers have to work. It's slightly dated now because it was published/researched pre-NCLB and I'm sure that if Rose wrote his book now, much of it would be devoted to discussing the impacts of that legislation. However, it's a great book for teachers and non-teachers who want to see what good things are being done in classrooms.

[Aunnalea · Rating 4 out of 5]

A critical but hopeful look at public schools and what teachers are doing right.

"It is revolutionary to get kids to believe they are worthy, to think, to understand themselves as learning, growing beings - and to realize that in order to grow, they must continue to change. And how can we help them to see that even if you've had a very, very hard life, there have been things that have supported you up this point. What rituals, what people have sustained you? And how can we create a school that offers something further to sustain these children? A core, some thread that binds us, something that runs through the culture of the school. A respect for all individuals. That is what we have to work out - and figure out how to translate that into a curriculum that says to every child: We believe in you. We believe you have the capacity to change yourself." p. 211

"What was common was a belief in the worth and potential of the children, all the children, who came under their charge. Such affirmation of intellectual and civic potential, particularly with populations that have been historically devalued in our society, give to those teachers' work a dimension of advocacy, a moral and political purpose." p. 423

"A defining characteristic of good teaching is a tendency to push on the existing order of things. This is not simply rebelliousness; the teachers we visited are institutional beings. Rather, it's an ability to live one's working life with what philosopher Maxine Greene call 'a consciousness of possibility,' an ability to imagine a better state of things." p. 428

[jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is the book i have picked up again to reignite my hope in the power of excellent teachers in public schools. i hope that more people like mike rose will get out there into public schools across the country and shed light on what great things teachers are doing every single day...it has seemed like all we ever hear about are the horrors of education in the united states, so this book is a refreshing change.

[Jamie Barringer (Ravenmount) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book. It looks at the many serious flaws in our education system, but then also looks at many good solutions that individuals within the US education system have developed. The end result of reading this book is not so much awareness of how bad our schools are, but rather inspiration as to what improvement is possible right now, with the resources and knowledge currently at hand.

[Whitney · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is really inspiring and gives me hope about the future of education. Rose does a great job addressing the issues in our schools and at the same time addresses teachers who are fighting the system and giving our students a meaningful education.

[Molly Iiams-hauser · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book to read if you are a teacher, in the education industry, or want to learn about the way schools work and what's impacting you child's education. This book explores a few different schools and different situations within the schools. It's very relevant in today's world.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Frustrated with the negative discourse about public education, Mike Rose writes about good teachers and good classrooms and good schools across the country. Inspiring.

[stephanie]

recced by anna, pre-NCLB, which is actually fascinating to see how much the legislation screwed up education.

[George Orwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great hope for the American Educational system. Look for the good...it's out there :)

[Jessa Dayhoff · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a little outdated by today's standards, but has a good message about education in the United States.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mike Rose visits classrooms all over the country and offers readers a chance to glimpse at public education in a multi-faceted point of view. Must read for educators.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good book on public schools in the United States and anecdotes of personal lives of teachers, students, and educators across the country. Really informative, but a little repetitive.