Calgary Public Library

Dropout, how school is failing our kids (and what we can do about it), Leslie Gavel

eng

no index present

non fiction

Dropout

Leslie Gavel

how school is failing our kids (and what we can do about it)

"One family's story of coping after their teenage daughter drops out of school, and an examination of the public school system itself. In the fall of 2000, while in Grade 7, Leslie Gavel's daughter Avery began what would be a four-year disengagement from school. Avery didn't fit the stereotype of the 'dropout.' Why would a privileged, middle-class adolescent choose this path when dropping out was a social stigma and would complicate her personal life and career choices? Leslie began to analyze the school system itself, but all of her research led not to answers but to further questions. Did school-its history, structure, practice-play any role in underachievement? Was the problem of marginal or failing grades, chronic student dissatisfaction, and disruptive classroom behaviour always the fault of the student-and, by extension, her parents-or could it be the fault of the school system itself? And did dropping out-an ultimate taboo for teenagers, along with pregnancy and drug abuse-really have to mean the end of the world for child and parent? Told from the deeply personal perspective of a concerned parent, Dropout is a memoir about one family's experience in the public school system. It also considers the latest research in alternative approaches to school, and offers suggestions for students who may not fit the educational mould or society's definition of 'success.'"--, Provided by publisher