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Expecting Excellence in Urban Schools
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Expecting Excellence in Urban Schools
7 Steps to an Engaging Classroom Practice

Foreword by Marcia L. Tate



April 2013 | 224 pages | Corwin
One of the most immediate challenges in K–12 schools lies in implementing powerful pedagogy which emotionally, intellectually, and behaviorally engages students. The challenge is compounded in urban schools where higher proportions of underprepared minority students are in classrooms with teachers who find it difficult to not only create bonds but also in packaging pedagogy in relevant, interesting, and meaningful ways. Though many teachers can temporarily tap students’ interests or episodically engage students in a portion of a lesson, the ability to create and sustain an engaging educational practice remains largely elusive.  
 
This book supplies the missing threads through establishing a framework for student engagement, which has been cited as the number one factor impacting achievement.  It is an easy read, written a highly conversational tone with a strong research basis.  You will explore a 7 step process for emotionally, intellectually, and behaviorally engaging students with a wealth of specific strategies, techniques, and tools which create an engaging educational experience. Utilizing cornerstones of professional learning communities, suggestions are offered for utilizing action research, collaborative inquiry, journal study, and shared practice to integrate ideas into practice.

 
List of Tables and Figures
 
Foreword by Marcia L. Tate
 
Preface
 
Acknowledgments
 
About the Author
 
1. The Engaging Educational Practice
 
2. Inspect to Inspire: Become a Scholar of Your Students
 
3. Nurture Their Attributes: Turning Commonly Perceived Deficits Into Classroom Deposits
 
4. Sew Success Into Your Instructional Fabric
 
5. Partner to Make Emotional Connections
 
6. Intersect Their Interests and Experiences With Instruction
 
7. Reflect on Practice as a Tool of Improvement
 
8. Expect Nothing Short of Excellence
 
Appendix: Interest Inventory
 
References
 
Index

"In a day and age when excellence is espoused and yet dropout rates in inner city schools can approximate or exceed 60%, it is time for a book that provides more realistic answers than questions. Jelani Jabari has done just that."

From the Foreword by Marcia L. Tate

"This book provides real hands-on experiences from successful teachers of inner city youth. Jabari’s positive, win-win, reality-based approach to teaching can work in all kinds of learning environments."

Ken Klopack, Education Consultant
Chicago Public Schools, IL

"Most teachers would agree that student engagement is our most difficult 21st century challenge. Jabari gives you the courage, tools, and motivation to fight the battle."

Karen Kersey, Second Grade Teacher
Kanawha County Schools, Charleston, WV

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