The New American High School

The late Theodore Sizer's vision for a truly democratic public high school system Our current high schools are ill-designed and inefficient. We have inherited a program of studies that in its overall structure has not changed in over a century. The question is What's next? Theodore Sizer, the founder of The Coalition of Essential Schools, was a passionate advocate for the American school system. In this, his last book, he offers a vision of what a future secondary education might look like. In a book that tells the story of his own odyssey, Sizer gives shape to a much-needed agenda for improving our high schools. Includes a vision for the future of our High Schools from one of America's greatest leaders of educational reform Written by Theodore Sizer founder of The Coalition of Essential Schools and author of landmark book Horace's Compromise This final book from the late Theodore Sizer reveals the man and his vision for our secondary education system.

Foreword by Deborah Meier vii Preface: The Lay of the Land xix Introduction by Nancy Faust Sizer xxv 1 The Problem 1 2 Growing up American 15 3 Learning 36 4 Differences 56 5 The Language of Schooling 74 6 Time 90 7 Space and Costs 106 8 Courses 116 9 Technology 135 10 Pedagogy 142 11 Testing 164 12 Choice 181 13 Faith 193 14 Morality 201 15 The Prospect 221 Acknowledgments 232 Further Reading 233 About the Author 236 Index 238