Life in Schools

Peter McLaren is world-renowned in the fields of education and social justice. He is Professor of Urban Schooling at the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles.

• Part I Class Dismissed; Part II Cries from the Corridor; Chapter 1 The Frontiers of Despair; Chapter 2 The Invisible Epidemic; Chapter 3 “The Suburbs Was Supposed to Be a Nice Place…”; Part III Critical Pedagogy: An Overview; Chapter 4 The Emergence of Critical Pedagogy; Chapter 5 Critical Pedagogy; Part IV Analysis; Chapter 6 Race, Class, and Gender; Chapter 7 New and Old Myths in Education; Chapter 8 Teachers and Students; Chapter 9 Conclusion to Parts III and IV; Part V Looking Back, Looking Forward; Chapter 10 Unthinking Whiteness, Rethinking Cultural Contact as Interculturality; Chapter 11 Hope and the Struggle Ahead; Chapter 12 Conclusion to Part V; epi Epilogue;

“Life in Schools is (among other things) a sprawling, many-sided, and brilliant manual of theory, history, and practice for teachers, teachers-in-training, and current and future education professors ready to enlist in that “war of position…” It is loaded with deeply informed radical perspectives that should [also] interest progressive thinkers and activists in all spheres of life under contemporary capitalism.” —Paul Street in Truthout “There is only one reason to become an educator: to change the world! Life in Schools 6th edition offers the best foundational knowledge and strategies for doing just that. This timeless work has been required reading for my future teachers since 2007 and I know of no comparable replacement.” —Catherine Beaunae Praise for Previous Editions: “. . . brilliantly combines theory and practice . . .” —Joel Spring “There’s been nothing like this in a long while. . . . I have admired McLaren’s work for many years.” —Jonathan Kozol “Students need not agree with McLaren but they must engage with him.” —Christine Sleeter “With this book, Peter McLaren shows himself as a comrade in the path of reclaiming and constructing what is most excellent and mysterious in human beings: their ability to protect against a world of oppressions, their will for creation, and their determination to seek those paths that nurture the new.” —Leonardo Boff “McLaren’s work is a passionate challenge to all forms of education that limit rather than enhance the project of human emancipation. Life in Schools testifies to the need for schools to play a major role in the struggle for democracy and liberation, and offers an important direction for those who wish to be part of that struggle. It is a book that should be read by all.” —Paulo Freire “There really is no second choice. I don’t see any book on the market that gets at the issues McLaren does. I have used this text since it first came out and will continue to use it.” —Sandy M. Grande, Connecticut College