"Teaching in a Diverse Society. Second Edition" is written for students beginning their study in education. As the school population increasingly reflects the diversity of America's population, many prospective teachers, typically from the middle classes, will be unprepared for the diverse classrooms they will inevitably encounter. This text helps students prepare to be teachers in a pluralistic society whose classrooms represent an increasingly varied set of cultural histories and values. This book identifies and examines key educational topics and issues: (1) A history of Education that goes beyond the standard Puritan background and begins instead with indigenous Americans and the influence of the Spanish; (2) Surveys of a broad spectrum of children's backgrounds, including experiences with drugs, poverty, and lack of access to vital cultural currency like the Internet. And provides numerous pedagogical aides; (3) Reflective in-text questions that challenge students to think beyond their own cultural backgrounds and to develop an appreciation for a variety of different cultures; (4) Student Web materials including supplemental readings involving issues in contemporary American education; (5) In-text case studies; (6) An issues-based guide to websites on hot topics like vouchers and the No Child Left Behind Act; and (7) Instructor's Manual with Test Bank (still under construction). The book is divided into six parts. Part I, Teaching as a Career, contains the first two chapters of the book: (1) Becoming a Teacher; and (2) Teaching as a Profession. Part II, Schools in America and Other Societies, follows with 3 chapters: (1) The Framework of Our Multicultural Nation; (2) Coming of Age: Education in the Twentieth Century; and (3) Schools in the Global Community). Part III, Philosophy and the Classroom, also contains two chapters: (1) Putting Philosophy to Work in Culturally Diverse Classrooms; and (2) Learning and Teaching in the Classroom. Part IV, Educational Governance, Organization, and Funding provides the following 3 chapters: (1)The Organization of Schools and How They Are Governed; (2) Teachers and Students as Citizens: Rights and Responsibilities; and (3) Educating Children Takes Money: Financing Schools. Part V, The Worlds in Which Children Live, contains 2 chapters: (1) The Child's World Beyond the Classroom; and (2) The Child's World of the Classroom. Part VI, Effective Classrooms, Professional Teachers, contains the final 2 chapters of this book: (1) Educational Reform and Effective Classrooms; and (2) Joining the Profession.