Getting to Where We Meant to Be: Working Toward the Educational World We Imagine/d

by Patricia H. Hinchey, Pamela J. Konkol

Overview

At a moment when brawls are breaking out at school board meetings and state officials are increasingly issuing curricular mandates, it’s possible that this text’s central question is more important than ever: How is it that given good intentions and hard work among education professionals, things in schools can go so very wrong?

As in the first edition, Hinchey and Konkol suggest that unspoken and misleading assumptions can produce choices, decisions and policies with disastrous consequences for kids. They tease out such assumptions on the key issues of school goals, curriculum, education for citizenship, discipline and school reform, inviting readers to question the taken-for-granted in order to better align intentions and outcomes. Such contemporary issues as book banning and parents’ movements are presented not as isolated controversies, but instead in their historical, cultural and political contexts.

Designed for both undergraduate and graduate classrooms, the text applies to a wide range of studies related to public education, including its theory, policy, history and politics. Without proselytizing, the text asks readers to think for themselves and articulate their own commitments guided by end-of-chapter questions, some intended for all readers and some specifically for experienced professionals. Suggested additional readings, websites and videos invite further exploration of the topics under discussion and offer still more food for thought.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781975506582
Publisher:	Myers Education Press
Publication date:	04/24/2024
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	250
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Patricia H. Hinchey is Penn State Professor Emerita of Education and a Fellow of the National Education Policy Center. She holds a doctorate from Teachers College, Columbia University, where she taught several graduate courses in secondary English education. In addition to teaching a wide variety of both undergraduate and graduate education courses at Penn State, she has conducted professional development for K-12 and university faculty nationally and internationally. She also served as director of a professional development unit serving university faculty at multiple campus locations. In addition to teacher education, professional development, and action research, her interests include the intersection of theory and classroom practice, a focus of this most recent work from Myers Education Press. She is as well the author or co-author of several well-known books and numerous articles.
Pamela J. Konkol, PhD is the Executive Director of the American Educational Studies Association and a professor of foundations, social policy, and research at Concordia University. She holds a PhD in Policy Studies in Urban Education and an MEd in Curriculum Studies from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and a BS in Communication/Cultural Studies and Women’s Studies from Northwestern University. When not fighting the good fight for children, families, and communities, she’s active in English Bull Terrier rescue efforts.

Table of Contents

A Message from the Publisher

Preface

1. “You Have Arrived at Your Destination.” Oh, Really?
The Many Ways We Lose Our Way
The Many Ways We Lose Our Way in Schools
Where Do You Want to Go . . . and How Will You Get There?
Things to Think About
Things to Explore
Notes

2. What Are Schools for, Anyway?
Assumptions about the Goals of Public Schools
Frameworks for Goal Setting
Choices for Educators
Things to Think About
Things to Explore
Notes

3. Whither and Whence Curriculum?
Assumptions about Curriculum
Frameworks for Curriculum
Choices for Educators
Things to Think About
Things to Explore
Notes

4. What Does It Mean to Educate for Citizenship?
Assumptions about Educating for Citizenship
Frameworks for Citizenship Education
Choices for Educators
Things to Think About
Things to Explore
Notes

5. How Much Control Does a (Student) Body Need?
Assumptions about Control in Schools
Frameworks for Disciplinary Policies
Choices for Educators
Things to Think About
Things to Explore
Notes

6. Reform? By Whom and for What?
Assumptions about Reform
Frameworks for Reform
Choices for Educators
Things to Think About
Things to Explore
Notes

7. The Way Forward . . .
This book invites readers to think deeply about their own intentions and to consider whether their actions are leading toward or away from their original goals—and to follow up with action. Those who feel encouraged because they seem to be on the right path might consider trying to persuade others to come along. Those who feel the need for a course correction might consider possible changes. No matter any individual’s specifically intended destination, no step in the right direction is too small to be worth the effort.
Notes

Index

What People are Saying About This

"Education is plagued with good intentions gone awry, particularly when the follow-through is framed by commonsensical assumptions that lack a sound research basis. Hinchey and Konkol paint a compelling and nuanced picture of exactly how this is happening in many core areas of schooling, and then offer concrete tools for reframing and reimagining. In this moment when too many so-called reforms are taking advantage of seductive rhetoric, educators and policy makers alike who are fortunate enough to pick up this book will find themselves at once enraptured, unsettled, and more hopeful."

Miami University - Brian D. Schultz

“In this provocative and compelling book, Pat Hinchey and Pamela Konkol challenge us to rethink assumptions about teaching, learning, and curriculum. Their powerful text details assumptions currently dominating neoliberal education reform as well as alternative perspectives, illuminating complexities in critical issues that often go unexamined. Those who care about public education and the imperative of its deep potential need to read, contemplate, and take purposeful action prompted in Getting to Where We Meant to Be.”

Kevin Kumashiro

"Education is plagued with good intentions gone awry, particularly when the follow-through is framed by commonsensical assumptions that lack a sound research basis. Hinchey and Konkol paint a compelling and nuanced picture of exactly how this is happening in many core areas of schooling, and then offer concrete tools for reframing and reimagining. In this moment when too many so-called reforms are taking advantage of seductive rhetoric, educators and policy makers alike who are fortunate enough to pick up this book will find themselves at once enraptured, unsettled, and more hopeful."

Editorial Reviews

In this provocative and compelling book, Pat Hinchey and Pamela Konkol challenge us to rethink assumptions about teaching, learning, and curriculum. Their powerful text details assumptions currently dominating neoliberal education reform as well as alternative perspectives, illuminating complexities in critical issues that often go unexamined. Those who care about public education and the imperative of its deep potential need to read, contemplate, and take purposeful action prompted in Getting to Where We Meant to Be.

Brian D. Schultz

If you’d like to see public education thrive, here is a book to bolster your arguments. Down-to-earth writing and excellent choice of content allow vitally important concepts about schooling in contemporary America to be analyzed and easily comprehended. It is one of the clearest discussions of curriculum issues and their meaning and importance for our teachers, schools, parents and yes, for our nation as well. Every schools’ decision about curriculum is a decision about what’s in and what’s out of the knowledge base for students in their state or nation. This insightful and highly readable book explains why these decisions should never be made lightly.

Arizona State University - David C. Berliner

"The value of this book lies in its detailed analysis of common assumptions related to the various futures imagined for K-12 education. The authors treat each of the assumptions with an even hand and bring a variety of important research into the conversation. At a minimum, this book is useful for early-career educators looking to understand the complexity of the U.S. system of education. Also, this volume would serve as an invaluable resource to schools, districts, or systems looking to either consider future directions or to understand the implications of some of the broader policy changes. Finally, the volume is useful for professionals working in higher education, looking to understand more about the education that students receive before they are admitted to college. In each area, the evenhanded and accessible style of Hinchey and Konkel provides exceptional value."

Ryan Korstange

"As any preservice teacher can attest, interrogating our taken-for-granted assumptions about education, teaching, and learning is a fundamental proposition in becoming an effective, quality teacher. Hence, this practice is embedded in many preservice teacher education courses and programs, in the attempt to develop preservice teachers’ ability to think critically about teaching and learning. But what happens when preservice teachers move into the field and join the educational workforce? The practice of examining these assumptions remains crucial to the role and responsibilities of all stakeholders engaged in any education endeavor. Hinchey and Konkol’s (2018) book, Getting to Where We Meant to Be, supports this key stance, making a strong case for the importance of reevaluating assumptions that currently dominate the education landscape in the hopes of clearly articulating our goals and determining whether or not our actions are placing us on a path to successfully achieving them." (Read the full review HERE.)

Rachel Ginsburg for The Educational Forum (2020)

"Getting to Where We Meant to Be is an insightful, thoughtful, and readable book well-suited for undergraduates in teacher education programs. The authors stimulate the reader’s critical reflection on the assumptions they may hold about schools while also discussing social justice orientations and the importance of the relationship between public education and democracy."

Melanie Janzen for Teachers College Record (ID Number 22615)