Social Reform

Grounded in extensive research and reporting, Spy Schools reveals how academia has emerged as a frontline in the global spy game. In a knowledge-based economy, universities are repositories of valuable information and research, where brilliant minds of all nationalities mingle freely with few questions asked. Intelligence agencies have always recruited bright undergraduates, but now, in an era when espionage increasingly requires specialized scientific or technological expertise, they're wooing higher-level academics.

Higher education has seen better days. Harsh budget cuts, the precarious nature of employment in college teaching, and political hostility to the entire enterprise of education have made for an increasingly fraught landscape. Radical Hope is an ambitious response to this state of affairs, at once political and practical - the work of an activist, teacher, and public intellectual grappling with some of the most pressing topics at the intersection of higher education and social justice.

Fair Work by Sage Ellison is a vital guide that addresses the injustices within the prison labor system, particularly the need for fair wages and ethical practices. The book examines the systemic barriers that create inequities for incarcerated workers, offering insights into advocacy for meaningful reform. Ellison outlines the challenges faced by those seeking to support fair labor practices, such as exploitation in prison work, ineffective policies, and the need for practical advocacy steps.

"Money in Politics: Achieving Campaign Finance Reform and Dark-Money Transparency" by Sage Ellison provides a vital guide to understanding and combating the overwhelming influence of money in political systems. Recognizing the frustrations many feel about the lack of transparency in campaign financing, Ellison empowers listeners to reclaim their voice and push for necessary reforms. The book addresses key challenges including the opaque nature of political donations and the pervasive impact of dark money on elections.

A "persuasive and essential" (Matthew Desmond) work that will forever change how we look at life after prison in America through Miller's "stunning, and deeply painful reckoning with our nation's carceral system" (Heather Ann Thompson). Each year, more than half a million Americans are released...

Efforts to address inequities within our schools tend to ignore the underlying beliefs that sustain injustices, and focus instead on short-lived policies and practices. This book takes a different approach to eradicating educational disparities. Drawing on more than 40 interviews with teachers, principals, and district leaders, Manya C. Whitaker offers educators guidance for leading a school or district grounded in social justice that centers teachers - not just teaching practices - and that focuses on the belief systems that shape decision-making.

Students of all backgrounds reach their full potential when they feel a sense of belonging and inclusion. When their social identities are valued as assets rather than barriers to learning, they flourish. This guide provides evidence-based strategies that support you as a leader in creating an environment that promotes identity-safe students, who experience a challenging curriculum that respects their diverse social identities.

Good behavior is a skill that can be taught and developed through practice. It just requires a shift in our perspective. If you have tried behavior folders, clip systems, or other interventions based on punishments and rewards, you've probably discovered these one-size-fits all approaches to behavior management all too often prove to be ineffective with the very students they were designed to help.

Montessori in Action: Building Resilient Montessori Schools delivers a practical and actionable method to provide a strong Montessori experience for all children, families, and educators. The first of its kind, this book offers listeners a collection of modern and concrete ways to build an equitable and resilient Montessori program.

The tragedy of our Indian policies demands reexamination immediately - not only because they make the lives of millions of American citizens harder and more dangerous - but also because they represent a microcosm of everything that has gone wrong with modern liberalism. They are the result of decades of politicians and bureaucrats showering a victimized people with money and cultural sensitivity instead of what they truly need-the education, the legal protections, and the autonomy to improve their own situation.

Innovation expert Ted Dintersmith took an unprecedented trip across America, visiting all 50 states in a single school year. He originally set out to raise awareness about the urgent need to reimagine education to prepare students for a world marked by innovation, but America's teachers one-upped him. He met teachers in ordinary settings doing extraordinary things. Capturing bold ideas from teachers and classrooms across America, What School Could Be provides a realistic, and profoundly optimistic, roadmap for creating cultures of innovation and real learning in all our schools.

“The Secret History meets The Price of Salt” (Vogue) in this “equal parts dangerous and delicious” (Entertainment Weekly) novel about queer desire, religious zealotry, and the hunger for transcendence among the members of a cultic chapel choir at a Maine boarding school—and the...

In Teachers We Trust presents a compelling vision, offering practical ideas for educators and school leaders wishing to develop teacher-powered education systems. It reveals why teachers in Finland hold high status, and shows what the country's trust-based school system looks like in action. Pasi Sahlberg and Timothy D. Walker suggest seven key principles for building a culture of trust in schools, from offering clinical training for future teachers to encouraging student agency to fostering a collaborative professionalism among educators.

Vincent Schiraldi was New York City probation commissioner under Mayor Bloomberg, supervising a system charged with monitoring 30,000 people on a daily basis. In Mass Supervision, he combines firsthand experience with deep research on the inadequately explored practices of probation and parole, to illustrate how these forms of state supervision have strayed from their original goal of providing constructive and rehabilitative alternatives to prison. They have become instead, Schiraldi argues, a "recidivism trap" for people trying to lead productive lives in the wake of a criminal conviction.

This thought-provoking work traces the origins of voucher-based education reform to mid-twentieth-century fears over school desegregation. It shows how, in the intervening decades, a cabal of billionaire conservatives supporting a host of special political interests-including economic libertarianism, religious choice, and parental rights-have converged around the issue of education freedom in an ongoing culture war. Through deliberate policymaking, legislation, and litigation, Cowen reveals, an insular advocacy network has enacted a flawed system for education finance driven largely by dogma.

"A dynamic and heart-pounding thriller . . . Up In Smoke has the highest of stakes and a tender love story at its core. Nick Brooks is a force." —Jessica Goodman, NYT-bestselling author of The Meadowbrook Murders and The Legacies A girl determined to clear her brother's name. A boy determined...

Shakespeare professor and prison volunteer Laura Bates thought she had seen it all. That is, until she decided to teach Shakespeare in a place the bard had never been before - supermax solitary confinement. In this unwelcoming place, surrounded by inmates known as the worst of the worst, is Larry Newton.

A lawyer, arbitrator, and judge, as well as a politicial activist and feminist, Nancy Morrison practiced law and adjudicated in Ontario, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Yukon, and the Northwest Territories. For more than 50 years, she has been a public speaker on social and political issues. As a judge, she served for nine years on the British Columbia Provincial court, 1972-1981, including three years as a vice-chair of the BC Labour relations board; and 15 years on the Supreme Court of British Columbia, 1996-2011. Raised in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, she now lives in Vancouver.

Times are changing at Fairy Tale Reform School. At least that's what Gilly's heard. Rumor is that notorious trickster Rumpelstiltskin has taken over management from Headmistress Flora, and he's locked down the school tighter than the Pied Piper's pants. Not that this news concerns Gilly - she's been released from FTRS and is now suffering through attending Jack of All Trades School, where she gets to learn about different kinds of shoe leather and ways to measure feet (truly riveting stuff!).

The United States spends far more money on health care than any other country, and yet nearly 50 million Americans are uninsured at least part of the time each year. Health Care Reform Now! is written for anyone who cares enough about our health-care situation to consider serious alternatives to the current system.