be the change: teacher, activist, global citizen(1 Global Studies in Education)

This book examines the ways young people engage in action, dialogue, and activism, and how they become global citizens. The essays in the book illustrate how young people with deep convictions on how to change the world make a difference in their communities. The community becomes the classroom, and their activism the true lesson. Possible «utopias» are realized with every effort to engage in activism, to be an advocate for both oneself and others, and with each critical engagement with oppression. These young activists are the unsung heroes and theirs are the victories in current educational debates. Moving away from theoretical debates on multicultural and progressive education, this book illustrates how youth action, curriculum strategies and creative writing, service learning projects, advocacy work at community-based and grassroots organizations, and global initiatives can result in real-life victories.

Table of Contents:
Contents: Christine Sleeter: Foreword – Rita Verma: Introduction: Acknowledging Activism and Global Citizenship in Our Schools and Our Communities – Michael W. Apple: Critical Education, Speaking the Truth, and Acting Back – Eric (Rico) Gutstein: Human Rights and Liberating Education: Critical Mathematics in a Chicago Public School – David Stovall: Teaching, Organizing, and Justice: Tapping the Resources of K-12 Classroom Teaching and Community Organizing for Solidarity, Praxis, and Survival – Diana Feige: Mapping Slippery Transformative (Service Learning) Roads – Nicole Lynne Bannick: Teaching Social Studies through an Empathetic Lens to Understand Human Conflict – Virginia Coyne: Service Learning with Darius Goes West – Tara Ryba: High School for Global Citizenship – Laraine Wallowitz: Feminist Pedagogy: Taking Action to Make Change – Diane Caracciolo: «It Has Your Grandmother’s Knowledge»: Native American Legacies – Melody González/Natasha Noriega-Goodwin/Marc Rodrigues/Jorge Rodríguez/Marina Sáenz-Luna/Sean Sellers/John-Michael Torres and Kandace Vallejo: Harvesting Victory: Education, Student/Farmworker Solidarity, and the Growth of an Organizing Model – Madeline Fox/Stephanie Andersen: Working the Openings: Youth Participatory Action Research – Rita Verma/Parveen Verma: Representin’ Mi Raza: Moving beyond the Barriers of Gang Affiliation – Brian W. Lagotte: Gunning for School Space: Student Activists, the Military, and Education Policy – Tracy Hogan: Students Finding Their Voice for Change: The Role of Student Publishing and the Authentic Audience – Nick Martell: When Seagulls Cry – Oliver Mashaka: Kenya and the Political Dilemma: A Youth Activist’s Perspective.

About the Author :
Rita Verma is Assistant Professor in Social Studies Education at Adelphi University and received her Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in curriculum and instruction. She is the author of Backlash: South Asian Immigrant Voices on the Margins. Her work is featured in numerous books and journals. Dr. Verma collaborates with the United Nations and various human rights organizations to engage educators from around the world in dialogue about human rights and global citizenship education, activism, and social justice.

Review :
"At a time when teachers are the scapegoats for all that is wrong with education, Rita Verma and colleagues push back by illuminating the critical and creative roles that teachers and youth are playing to make education impactful. The examples in this book model the possiblities for anti-oppressive activism through education, and inspire." (Kevin Kumashiro, author of 'The Seduction of Common Sense: How the Right has Framed the Debate on America's Schools')