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Title: Left Back: A Century of Failed School Reforms by Diane Ravitch ISBN: 0-684-84417-6 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Pub. Date: 01 August, 2000 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $30.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.68 (22 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Must-read for Educators, Education Policy Makers, Parents
Comment: I have personally known Brookings Institution education scholar Diane Ravitch for almost five years. She has become my most trusted adviser on education issues. We have debated frequently and disagree occasionally, but we are in complete agreement on the most important issue of all, the need to restore explicit and systematic instruction in American classrooms, at least as a choice for those educators and parents who fervently believe that traditional/classical education is best for children.
I have just completed reading her latest book, Left Back: A Century of Failed School Reforms, which is the culmination of a dozen years of research and writing. Although I am very knowledgeable about the history of the two opposing philosophies of education (progressivism vs. traditionalism/classicalism), Dr. Ravitch's book introduced new material to me on every page. This is a must-read book for all education professionals and education policy makers and I encourage parents to read this book so that they more fully understand the schools their children attend and the education their children are receiving.
The book provides detailed information about significant people throughout the 20th century who have influenced American education to this day. One thought-provoking chapter explains how leading progressivist John Dewey and project method advocate William Heard Kilpatrick were impressed with the progressive education in schools in the former Soviet Union in the early decades of the 20th century. Dr. Ravitch writes on page 209 that Dewey was convinced that "education was the key to social transformation, for he wrote repeatedly that the most significant aspect of the Russian Revolution was not political or economic but psychological, moral, and intellectual."
Another chapter explains the history of intelligence testing and how IQ scores have been used throughout the past century to prevent children from receiving an academic education. Another chapter discusses how a former Harvard president, James B. Conant, influenced the current state of high school education in America. Dr. Ravitch writes on page 364 that "Conant almost obsessively insisted that the schools must stand firm against parents who wanted their children to take academic courses even though they were not 'academically talented.'...Counselors would have to be prepared to persuade 'overambitious parents' that their child was not 'academically talented.' To withstand 'unreasonable parental pressures,' schools would have to insist upon 'policy' - that is, a consistent bureaucratic defense of what was done and not done..."
Dr. Ravitch does identify problems that exist in American education, but her message is not a pessimistic one, but is a message of hope. By better understanding the history of American education in the past century, our American system of education will move forward in a positive direction for our children and our nation.
Rating: 5
Summary: A BOOK FOR ALL INTERESTED IN EDUCATION
Comment: WHAT A TERRIFIC BOOK! I RECOMMEND THIS BOOK FOR ALL THAT ARE INTERESTED IN SCHOOLS, THE EDUCATION OF THEIR CHILDREN AND FOR ALL TEACHERS THAT REALLY CARE. AS THE MOTHER OF SIX CHILDREN I FEEL THAT THIS BOOK BELONGS ON EVERY BOOKSHELF IN AMERICA. DIANE RAVITCH IS A SUPBURB WRITER WITH GREAT IDEAS AND A BRILLIANT MIND, WHO HAS ONLY THE BEST AT HEART FOR EVERY CHILD IN AMERICA. YOU CAN TELL SHE PUTS ALL OF HER OWN LEARNING EXPERIENCES INTO HER WRITINGS. SHE IS ABSOLUTELY RIGHT ABOUT CHILDREN BEING IN SCHOOL FOR ACADEMICS AND NOT TO BE SIDETRACKED BY THINGS THAT SHOULD BE TAUGHT AT HOME, CHURCH OR SYNAGOGUE.WE MUST KEEP OUR SCHOOLS OUT OF POLITICS AND LET OUR TEACHERS DO THEIR JOBS..I AM PROUD TO SAY THAT MY DAUGHTER IS A TEACHER AND HAS BEEN FOR ALMOST 20 YEARS AND I GAVE HER THIS BOOK AS A GIFT..AS NO ONE WANTS TO SEE ANY CHILD "LEFT BACK". AGAIN I WOULD RECOMEND ALL OF MY FRIENDS TO READ THIS AND YOU REALLY MIGHT LEARN SOMETHING,I DID.
Rating: 5
Summary: Read This Short Thought
Comment: I just finished reading THE MOST AMAZING BOOK in the
world on this topic, and I believe it is "The Underground History of American Education" by John Taylor Gatto.
If you want a MIND-BLOWING, HEART-RENDING, EYE-OPENING
read, check out that book as well!
Best of luck!
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Title: Summing Up by Richard Light ISBN: 0674854314 Publisher: Harvard University Press Pub. Date: 01 October, 1984 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title: The Language Police: How Pressure Groups Restrict What Students Learn by Diane Ravitch ISBN: 0375414827 Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf Pub. Date: 15 April, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.00 |
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Title: No Excuses: Closing the Racial Gap in Learning by Abigail Thernstrom, Stephan Thernstrom ISBN: 0743204468 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Pub. Date: 01 October, 2003 List Price(USD): $26.00 |
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Title: The Black-White Test Score Gap by Christopher Jencks, Meredith Phillips ISBN: 0815746091 Publisher: Brookings Institution Press Pub. Date: 01 October, 1998 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Left Back: A Century of Battles over School Reform by Diane Ravitch ISBN: 0743203267 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Pub. Date: 01 August, 2001 List Price(USD): $17.00 |
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