The Succeeders


Book Description

"This book--a story of social reproduction and change--illustrates how the larger ideological struggles over who belongs in this country, who is valuable, and who is an American are worked out by young people through their everyday acts of striving in school and caring for friends and family. It uses the experiences of everyday high schoolers, some undocumented and some from families with mixed legal standing, to understand the roles that education and a broad definition of achievement play in shaping how young people, who are today the focus of xenophobic ire, come to understand their national identity and sense of belonging to the United States"--




The Succeeders


Book Description

A powerful and challenging look at what “success” and belonging mean in America through the eyes of Latino high schoolers. This book challenges dominant representations of the so-called American Dream, those “patriotic” narratives that focus on personal achievement as the way to become an American. This narrative misaligns with the lived experience of many first- and second-generation Latino immigrant youth who thrive because of the nurture of their loved ones. A story of social reproduction and change, The Succeeders illustrates how ideological struggles over who belongs in this country, who is valuable, and who is an American are worked out by young people through their ordinary acts of striving in school and caring for friends and family. In this eye-opening book, Andrea Flores examines how ideological struggles over who belongs in this country, who is valued, and who is considered to be an American are worked out by young people through ordinary acts of striving in school and caring for friends and family. Through examining the experiences of everyday Latino high school students—some undocumented, some citizens, and some from families with mixed immigration status—Flores traces how these youth, in the college-access program Succeeders, leverage educational success toward national belonging for themselves and their families, friends, and communities. These young people come to redefine what it means to belong in the United States by both conforming to and contesting the myth of the American Dream rooted in individual betterment. Their efforts demonstrate that meaningful national belonging can be based in our actions of caring for others. Ultimately, The Succeeders emphasizes the vital role that immigrants play in strengthening the social fabric of society, helping communities everywhere to thrive.




Don't Be Needy Be Succeedy


Book Description

L. Vaughan Spencer studied the Philosophy of Table Tennis and Anti-Social French at the University of the Isle of Wight and gained his MBA at the Jimmy Connors Institute in San Diego over the course of a weekend. Aside from holding motivational workshops in Watford, he also writes books; previous works include Chicken Nuggets for the Soul, Who Grated My Cheese? and What they don't teach you at Harvard Nursery School. All of his work is based on rigorous analysis - apart from when it's easier not to. In a hilarious - and surprisingly useful - satire of the corporate self-improvement industry the satirical character L. Vaughan Spencer finally puts his wisdom into book form. This ultra-observant how-not-to guide, on everything from clothes and hairstyles to spellology and 720 degree feedback, is a based on a successful stage show that won the Edinburgh Fringe Report Award for Best Satire of 2002 and has toured to theatres and corporate conferences across the world.




A Prison Called School


Book Description

Why are our educational institutions and practices such a poor fit for so many students? A Prison Called School addresses the complex issues that place many students at a disadvantage as they try to survive yet another hurdle in life—school. Although some students are able to navigate and succeed in the current system, other students struggle to survive a system that is unable to meet their needs. For those students, school can feel like a twelve-year prison sentence. Students who cannot fit the outdated, one-size-fits-all model, are further penalized by a system that blames the struggling student rather than holding the institution accountable. For students to thrive in school, the system, not the students, must change in deep and substantial ways. A Prison Called School is a powerful catalyst for creating the empowering, engaging, and effective learning environments that all students need to succeed in school and life.




The Recipe for Success


Book Description

If you've ever wondered what makes some people seem to excel effortlessly at everything they do, business coach Blaire Palmer explains all in The Recipe for Success. Profiling a number of 'serial succeeders' to capture the essentials of what makes them stand out, it will help readers work out the combination of skills and talents will help them reach their own goals. Ideal for managers, entrepreneurs and even large organisations who want to shake things up a bit, the book uses an unusual cookery book style to explain the main 'ingredients' - such as stubbornness, magnetism and persistence - that go into creating success at work, and then follows up with some 'recipes' showing how a range of high flyers have used them, in various combinations, to get excellent results.










Yes She Can


Book Description

"Young women can run the world. These are the stories of those who did..." @hillaryclinton "An excellent guide to the how and why of a life of public service." --Amy Poehler Return to President Obama's White House in this New York Times bestselling anthology for young women by young women, featuring stories from ten inspiring young staffers who joined his administration in their 20s with the hope of making a difference. Includes a foreword by actress (Grown-Ish) and activist Yara Shahidi! Shahidi is the creator of Eighteen x '18, a platform to empower first-time voters. They were teens when Barack Obama announced he was running for president. They came of age in the Obama Era. And then they joined his White House. Smart, motivated, ambitious--and ready to change the world. Kalisha Dessources Figures planned one of the biggest summits held by the Obama White House--The United State of Women. Andrea Flores fought for the president's immigration bill on the Hill. Nita Contreras traveled the globe and owned up to a rookie mistake on Air Force One (in front of the leader of the free world!). Here are ten inspiring, never-before-told stories from diverse young women who got. Stuff. Done. They recall--fondly and with humor and a dose of humility--what it was like to literally help run the world. YES SHE CAN is an intimate look at Obama's presidency through the eyes of some of the most successful, and completely relatable, young women who were there. Full of wisdom they wish they could impart to their younger selves and a message about the need for more girls in government, these recollections are about stepping out into the spotlight and up to the challenge--something every girl can do. With contributions from Jenna Brayton, Eleanor Celeste, Nita Contreras, Kalisha Dessources Figures, Molly Dillon, Andrea R. Flores, Vivian P. Graubard, Noemie C. Levy, Taylor Lustig, and Jaimie Woo.







Juárez Girls Rising


Book Description

Working-class girls in Ciudad Juárez grow up in a context marked by violence against women, the devastating effects of drug cartel wars, unresponsive and abusive authorities, and predatory U.S. capitalism: under constantly precarious conditions, these girls are often struggling to shape their lives and realize their aspirations. Juárez native Claudia G. Cervantes-Soon explores the vital role that transformative secondary education can play in promoting self-empowerment and a spirit of resistance to the violence and social injustice these girls encounter. Bringing together the voices of ten female students at Preparatoria Altavista, an innovative urban high school founded in 1968 on social justice principles, Cervantes-Soon offers a nuanced analysis of how students and their teachers together enact a transformative educational philosophy that promotes learning, self-authorship, and hope. Altavista’s curriculum is guided by the concept of autogestión, a holistic and dialectical approach to individual and collective identity formation rooted in the students’ experiences and a critical understanding of their social realities. Through its sensitive ethnography, this book shows how female students actively construct their own meaning of autogestión by making choices that they consider liberating and empowering. Juárez Girls Rising provides an alternative narrative to popular and often simplistic, sensationalizing, and stigmatizing discourses about those living in this urban borderland. By merging the story of Preparatoria Altavista with the voices of its students, this singular book provides a window into the possibilities and complexities of coming of age during a dystopic era in which youth hold on to their critical hope and cultivate their wisdom even as the options for the future appear to crumble before their eyes.