Emerging as a Teacher
Emerging as a Teacher by Robert V. Bullough, Jr., J. Gary Knowles, and Nedra Crow. London: Routledge Publishers, 1992.
Through compelling and engaging narratives, Emerging as a Teacher offers a candid and thought-provoking look at the many struggles confronting first-year teachers.
Part I introduces the reader to three novices experiencing self-doubt and high vulnerability as beginning teachers. Though they have difficulty finding their identities as teachers, their painful beginnings don't necessarily lead to tragic endings. Conversely, an easy beginning does not guarantee a happy ending. Part II examines three teachers who had an easy start in the profession but later encountered difficulties.
Bullough, Knowles, and Crow have gained their insight into this topic through years of combined research into the process of emerging as a teacher, and their book has universal appeal. The personal accounts describe challenges all educators experience at one time or another. Emerging as a Teacher will certainly help first-year teachers recognize the common challenges novices face, and they can feel encouraged as they read how others resolved similar situations. Principals will appreciate the suggestions and commentaries on ways to facilitate beginning teachers' socialization into the profession, including reducing their isolation. Every beginning teacher and caring principal should read and reread this important work.
—Reviewed by James R. Birrell, University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Head Start
Head Start: The Inside Story of America's Most Successful Educational Experiment by Edward Zigler and Susan Muenchow. New York: Basic Books, 1992.
In the realm of educational and social programs, Head Start is an extraordinary success story. From the President to Congress to parents and educators, everyone recognizes the significant contributions of Head Start.
In this insightful book, Zigler, who helped found Head Start in the '60s, and Muenchow, who is Executive Director of the Florida Children's Forum, tell the inside story of what it took to make Head Start a success in the face of overwhelming odds. Zigler and Muenchow candidly discuss how Head Start has survived the myriad of ideological battles and painful budget cuts. They reveal for the first time that this highly successful program was not based on a particular psychological theory and was expanded long before the formula was perfected.
Beginning as “Project Rush-Rush,” the benefits of Head Start have reached nearly 11 million children. Benefits are not only educational; they promote health, nutrition, and intellectual development.
Today's climate reflects the erosion of public faith in our schools and the professionals within them. With declining test scores, enrollments, and resources, Americans are looking for ways to energize education and release the optimism that is needed for viable solutions to become reality. The lessons from Head Start can be used to stimulate debate about how to improve schools and enrich public understanding of needed services for children and their families.
—Reviewed by Lynn Malarz, Assistant Director, ASCD Professional Development.
