Customer Reviews

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• Stephen Himes

  Beth engages the core question in education of our moment: What is the difference between "equity" and "equality." This isn't a meaningless semantic debate; it's actually the key to understanding the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, and as such, the key to understanding the purpose of public education in America. Beth--an attorney and veteran K-12 teacher and administrator--takes us through the seminal cases in American education law, but also some smaller ones that illustrate how the courts both reflect and drive practices in education, with academic impacts on not just students, but how our society functions in practice. With that foundation, she illustrates these ideas with wisdom from her actual practice in schools--and this is where the true value of the book is. She establishes these principles founded in law, then traces them through history and into the classroom, ending with practical, ready-to-use practice points and questions for reflection at the end of chapters. If all this sounds like A LOT, Beth has written a concise, accessible book that I read over the weekend, which, in her words, is intended to be a working document for you to use in practice. So, as you think about your school and how "equity" and "equality" bear on the lives of your students, this book is there for you to take notes in, to guide your thinking into next year.

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