Several theories of criminology, the learning theories, state that delinquency is the result of close proximity to other delinquent peers in combination with a lack of norms and definitions that favor conventional behavior. Taking the learning theory of delinquency into account, separating "good" students from struggling students may increase the rate of delinquency instead of helping it. If the Broads, Waltons and Gates really want to fix America's schools, a good place to start would be by purchasing a copy of Dr Ravitch's book for every Washington bureaucrat, senator, representative, state legislator, mayor, school superintendent, school board member, and principal. That could set the whole system moving in the right direction.
I would pick it up right away. I am reading it a second time.
Diane was one of the first to take notice. Her courage is amazing.
As Ravitch says on page 223, "The nature of our education system--whether mediocre or excellent - will influence society far into the future." Considering the initiatives currently being pushed by President Obama and Secretary of Education Duncan, Ravitch's words couldn't be truer. Using test scores alone to judge which schools are improving or slipping is dangerous. Likewise it is impossible to identify effective teachers by their students' performance on a set of tests that emphasize reading and math techniques over content and understanding.
Through research, case studies, and wisdom, Dr Ravitch uncovers the veil that has cloaked our understanding of American schools for the last decade. Please read this book, and encourage others to read it as well! Most of these foundations seek business people who lack experience in the education field to lead their programs and charter schools. Like many politicians, these groups also define student achievement very narrowly by looking at standardized test scores. This well researched fact is ignored by Ravitch and by too many other educational scholars. Particularly since seventy percent of those in prison in America are high school dropouts. If they can't do that then they cannot hope to engage the English medium curriculum. Ravitch is exactly right that non-educators - often with no classroom experience - are simply not qualified to reform schools let alone run them. The speakers suggested many reasons, but Ravitch found "especially striking that many parents and students did not want to leave their neighborhood school, even if the federal government offered them free transportation and the promise of a better school." That was only the beginning of Ravitch's transformation. At last, we teachers have an esteemed researcher and long-time educator that has presented the history and facts behind why we are failing now more than ever in the public schools. I read this book cover to cover after ordering it thinking I'd pick and choose the sections I'd read. But it has also been, at least in some quarters, anticipated with a certain foreboding, because it was likely to debunk much of the conventional - and some not so conventional - wisdom surrounding education reform. This is a fabulous book that may well become the most widely read volume on education reform in memory.
It has nothing to do with ideology, agenda, or "politics." As a teacher from "the trenches" who has kept an open mind over 35 years of classroom experience and endorsed ideas solely on their proven merit in practice, I am awed by Ravitch's perfect grasp not only of research, but the reality "in the field." For the first time, I understand how we got into the current perilous situation and what must done to reestablish the public schools as the foundation of our democratic system. As promised, I am replacing my brief summary with my full review now that it has been published in a major metropolitan newspaper.
I would pick it up right away. I am reading it a second time.
Diane was one of the first to take notice. Her courage is amazing.
As Ravitch says on page 223, "The nature of our education system--whether mediocre or excellent - will influence society far into the future." Considering the initiatives currently being pushed by President Obama and Secretary of Education Duncan, Ravitch's words couldn't be truer. Using test scores alone to judge which schools are improving or slipping is dangerous. Likewise it is impossible to identify effective teachers by their students' performance on a set of tests that emphasize reading and math techniques over content and understanding.
Through research, case studies, and wisdom, Dr Ravitch uncovers the veil that has cloaked our understanding of American schools for the last decade. Please read this book, and encourage others to read it as well! Most of these foundations seek business people who lack experience in the education field to lead their programs and charter schools. Like many politicians, these groups also define student achievement very narrowly by looking at standardized test scores. This well researched fact is ignored by Ravitch and by too many other educational scholars. Particularly since seventy percent of those in prison in America are high school dropouts. If they can't do that then they cannot hope to engage the English medium curriculum. Ravitch is exactly right that non-educators - often with no classroom experience - are simply not qualified to reform schools let alone run them. The speakers suggested many reasons, but Ravitch found "especially striking that many parents and students did not want to leave their neighborhood school, even if the federal government offered them free transportation and the promise of a better school." That was only the beginning of Ravitch's transformation. At last, we teachers have an esteemed researcher and long-time educator that has presented the history and facts behind why we are failing now more than ever in the public schools. I read this book cover to cover after ordering it thinking I'd pick and choose the sections I'd read. But it has also been, at least in some quarters, anticipated with a certain foreboding, because it was likely to debunk much of the conventional - and some not so conventional - wisdom surrounding education reform. This is a fabulous book that may well become the most widely read volume on education reform in memory.
It has nothing to do with ideology, agenda, or "politics." As a teacher from "the trenches" who has kept an open mind over 35 years of classroom experience and endorsed ideas solely on their proven merit in practice, I am awed by Ravitch's perfect grasp not only of research, but the reality "in the field." For the first time, I understand how we got into the current perilous situation and what must done to reestablish the public schools as the foundation of our democratic system. As promised, I am replacing my brief summary with my full review now that it has been published in a major metropolitan newspaper.
About the Author:
This is a fantastic and eye opening book, even for a teacher working within the current NCLB system. MIG WELDING GAS CYLINDER.
