Thirteen Years Of School ― What Students Really Think

A Florida high school teacher from 1996 to 2002, Scherff now teaches education at the U. of Tennessee, Knoxville. During 2003-2004, the author conducted a survey of some 800 K-12 students from across the U.S., asking the students to submit stories, letters, editorials, and art expressing their concerns and suggestions for maintaining and improving schools. She presents a representative collection of their submissions, grouped thematically into chapters covering Eisner's five aspects of schooling--the intentional, structural, curricular, pedagogical, and evaluative dimensions--stress at school, what the students have learned so far, what they envision for themselves in the future, positive experiences and missed opportunities. For the general public, parents, and school personnel. Distributed by Rowman & Littlefield. Annotation c2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Lisa Scherff is an assistant professor in the College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences at the University of Tennessee.