Re-awakening the Learner: Creating Learner-centric, Standards-driven Schools

Re-Awakening the Learner is a rousing text that will be invaluable for any teacher, administrator, or parent. The book goes beyond describing small changes like introducing new instructional strategies and focuses on creating the conditions for students to ‘reawaken’ into interdependent learners. The book is invaluable to educators because it alone can be used as a step-by-step guide for making the dramatic changes necessary to shift into a true twenty-first century educational system. The insight provided by stories from students, parents, teachers, and administrators who have implemented this transformation provide real-world examples of successes and failures that are priceless. This book belongs on all educators’ must-read list!

Stoll and Giddings (both, Don’t Ever Stop LLC) offer a compelling argument for today’s struggling public schools. Working from a learner-centric, standards-driven platform, they walk the reader through the problems with today’s schools, noting the need to align six critical systems: learner, classroom, school, central office, district board of education, state legislature, and state department of education. With ‘proficiency for all’ as their guiding light, Stoll and Giddings provide the steps for and discuss the challenges of creating a culture of continuous improvement from planning to implementation. Not surprisingly, significant changes in practices at the classroom and school levels are recommended, as well as the initiation of a national dialogue to support the transformation. Most impressively, and unlike many authors recommending substantial changes to public education, Stoll and Giddings have embedded their recommendations in the actual transformation of a school district, including reflections of principals, teachers, students, and parents. Given that all chapters begin with thought-provoking guiding questions and end with key points, the reader is assured of understanding the authors’ recommendations on this critical topic. Given the current national agenda regarding Common Core State Standards, this book a must read for everyone concerned about the future of public schooling in the US. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readership levels.

Stoll and Giddings make a convincing argument for change from an antiquated educational system designed for proficiency for some to a system designed for proficiency for all. We can no longer allow learners to be passive bystanders in their education. Re-Awakening the Learner provides a comprehensive process to bring about the necessary change in public education.

There has never been a greater sense of urgency for educational reform in our country than now. Today’s students cannot wait any longer for us to bring education into the twenty-first century. The major themes presented by Mr. Gene Giddings and Dr. Copper Stoll are the perfect blueprint for any district to move forward with real sustained educational reform.

This is not a book for failing schools. It is a book that should join all of us: parents, students, policy makers, teachers, principals, school boards and businesses to the national dialogue about educating our next generation of citizens. It tackles educational reform, not classroom by classroom, or school by school but as a national system. The authors point out real problems in our school system and offer real solutions using a framework that can be implemented at all levels of the system. Finally, a book that blends the theoretical need for systemic change with real-life practical application! We owe it to our children to read Re-Awakening the Learner.

Copper Stoll has facilitated students’ learning as a teacher, principal and Chief Academic Officer in public school for 30 years across America. She is currently an educational reformer in personalized mastery practices with Gene as Don’t Ever Stop! LLC.