Quiet Desperation » (New Edition)

With standardized testing and predetermined subgroups garnering the attention of educational leaders, abused and neglected children have fallen deeper into the crevice of the system. For years these children have been ignored, save the obvious, visible bruises or child-initiated confessions. Because researching children is difficult without parental consent, it is nearly impossible to expose this problem with any level of legitimacy. By combining research from scientific research and the humanities, autobiographical flashbacks fuse with narratives that vividly detail the author's disturbing encounters with abused children as a school administrator. The effect is the realization that public schools unknowingly feed on weaker children beneath the awning of accountability.

Preface     vii
A Face in the Crowd     1
Mr. Hatley's Carport     1
Daddy Dearest     9
Brethren     17
The Football Star and the Military Brat     17
Family Ties     20
Bus 355     21
Dirty Socks     25
Defense Mode     31
Stress Fractures     31
Caged Birds     40
The Sting of Competition     45
Orange Paper     45
The Coldest Rain     50
Taxed Elitism     52
The Seedling     55
Candles and Cameras     57
The Ugly Underbelly of Competition     62
Without Nets     62
The Sacred Cow     66
Dogs and Rats     70
Breaking Away     73
The Resilient Self     77
A Sweaty Note     77
Hot Water     84
Master of My Fate     87
Bottom Up     91
Out the Window     96
Arming the Educators     103
An Eye for Abuse     103
The Science of Art     106
The Delicate Nature of Investigation     108
Knight of the Round Tables     111
Climate Control     115
Making Sense     119
Flight     122
Phillip     122
Trey     124
Me     127
Bibliography     133