Whitney Tilson's, blog is currently one of my favorites. Possibly because he floods my inbox with articles, youtube videos, interviews, and all things ed reform. Last week he told everyone to read Brills' new book and offered to send a free copy to anyone who couldn't afford to purchase it. I'm in! Yay for pleasure reading that is relevant to everything I'm doing as an educator.
Here's an excerpt from the WSJ review by Joel Klein:
"Class Warfare," by Steven Brill, is an extremely well-reported survey of the modern reform movement that is likely to have a big impact and will appeal to a wide audience. "Special Interest," by Terry M. Moe, is a carefully researched analysis of the power dynamics underlying today's policy disputes. Mr. Brill, a celebrated media entrepreneur and longtime journalist, takes us on a breezy journey through the education-reform landscape, written with a storyteller's page-turning magic; Mr. Moe, a political scientist, offers a painstaking study, also compelling if less fast-paced.
Mr. Brill opens with a quick visit to the Oval Office early in the Obama administration, where the new president commits himself to an aggressive reform agenda. "Just make sure," he says to his advisers, "that we don't poke the unions in the eye with this." The bulk of "Class Warfare" is a series of vignettes of reformers and traditionalists, and of struggling schools they are fighting to save.
Read the indignant response from education historian and ed reform opponent Dr. Diane Ravitch to Simon and Schuster Inc. Their response to her accusations can be found here.
No comments:
Post a Comment