Daring To Be Different: An Experiment In Busing Verona, New Jersey, 19681696,New

Product Description To The Parents Who Want To Improve The Lives Of Their Children Through Education . . . And To Those Who Understand.Kurt Landsberger And His Wife Reared Their Children In Verona, New Jersey, And Have Long Been Involved With The Community. Like Many Idyllic Small Towns In America, Landsberger States, Verona Was Not Exempt From Facing Urgent Social Issues Of The Day And Verona Essentially Became Polarized In Its Social Beliefs. Daring To Be Different Is A Closeup Look At Neighborhood Fractionalization Amidst Urban Decline; It Is Both Sociology And Urban History, An Eyeopener Into Local School Boards, Local Governance, And The People Involved. Verona, In 1967, Was Thrown Into Unexpected Turmoil After The July Newark Riots, Just A Few Miles Away. The Racial Violence Devastated The Newark Community 21 Dead And Hundreds Injured. Following The Turmoil, The Verona Board Of Education Voluntarily, Without Government Coercion, Offered To Share Its Educational Facilities With Children From A Blighted Area In Newark. Yet The Heartfelt Experiment Lasted Only A Year, Then Was Forced To Be Abandoned. Amidst The 'Spirit Of Community And Sharing' Was An Ongoing Unrest, Not Anticipated By The Verona Board Of Education An Unrest That Resulted In A Sizeable Group Of Verona Citizens, Who Had Opposed The Sharing Plan, Taking Their Case To Court To Stop It. No One Could Have Anticipated The Unbridled Open Forums On Busing Becoming A Battleground For Other Issues Of The Day The Vietnam War, Sex Education, Sports, Teachers' Rights, And, Money. The Suburban Expression 'Not In My Backyard' Became A Syndrome Typical Of The '60S Era, And As A Result Landsberger States, 'The Educational Process Started For Everyone.' About The Author Kurt Landsberger Was Born In Prague And Educated In Vienna. He Emigrated To The United States In 1939 With The Advent Of The Third Reich In Austria, Then Served In The U.S. Army During World War Ii. Landsberger'S First Book, William Steinitz, Chess Champion, Was Published In 1993. In 1996, A History Of Verona, New Jersey, Edited And Partially Researched By Landsberger, Won First Prize From The New Jersey Historic Societies. His Weekly Column Is Published In Essex County, New Jersey, Newspapers.