Quiet Wisdom: Teachers in the United States and England Talk About Standards, Practice and Professionalism

The sturm-und-drang quality of educational reforms in the United States and England has prompted educators to ask how curriculum changes will affect teaching and learning. Central government in England and state agencies in the United States increasingly control curriculum development by writing the standards, monitoring teaching, and assessing standards’ impact on students’ achievements. But how does increasing government regulation of education impact teachers’ professionalism and morale? In arguing that teachers need to retain significant control over what and how they teach, Quiet Wisdom addresses this question for elementary- and secondary-level English teaching. Quiet Wisdom should be read by every preservice and inservice English teacher in graduate-level teacher education courses. This book is also written for a wider audience of administrators, curriculum planners and policy makers.