Public Education
Public Education: An Autopsy by Myron Lieberman. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1993.
You may as well disband all those task forces and subcommittees working on reform and restructuring in your school. The most they can do, says Myron Lieberman, is “rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic.” Their tinkering won't solve the problems that have already doomed schools as we know them. The rationale for public education has “expired,” and no degree of dedication or altruism will revive it.
The demise of America's current view of schooling is fine with Lieberman. It's time to move on, he contends, to a system of public, private, and for-profit schools that are driven by competition.
To Lieberman, developing a market system for public education means far more than giving parents vouchers. Contrary to what advocates of “choice” claim, granting parents tuition tax credits or some other means of selecting their children's schools won't create a market system.
What Lieberman has in mind is supply and demand, buyers and sellers, efficiency or the lack of it, controlling every aspect of education. Capital and labor would ebb and flow with the tides of demand. In turn, demand—not union contracts—would determine the size and configuration of a school district's staff.
Throughout his text, Lieberman repeatedly pounds raw nerves. Will his argument for market-driven education take hold? Probably the answer depends on those with the nerve to withstand his criticism.
Available from Harvard University Press, 79 Garden St., Cambridge, MA 02138, for $27.95.
—Reviewed by Susan Black, Hammondsport, New York.
B. F. Skinner
B. F. Skinner: A Life by Daniel W. Bjork. New York: BasicBooks, 1993.
The renowned behavioral psychologist, Burrhus Frederic Skinner, spent his formative years in pre-World War I Susquehanna, Pennsysvania. The fundamentally religious, gritty railroad community would have a lasting impact on young Skinner's life.
From Bjork's vignettes of Skinner's parents, grandparents, and neighbors, a comprehensive portrait of Skinner emerges. A maternal grandmother, for instance, opened the oven door for young Fred, all the better to demonstrate the terrible fires of Hell.
In short, Susquehanna is evocative of Sinclair Lewis's Main Street. The town's small-minded boosterism, censuring of unorthodox ideas, smothering of intellectual curiosity, and invasive policing of conduct were all a part of Skinner's early life. Later, he would rebel against Susquehanna, but he never entirely broke free of it.
Bjork's academic biography reads like a novel. One need not be a psychologist or even particularly interested in what Skinner brought to the field to be intrigued by this fascinating portrait of a most remarkable man.
Available from BasicBooks, 10 E. 53rd St., New York, NY 10022-5299, for $25.
—Reviewed by Lowell Horton, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois.
To Teach
To Teach: The Journey of a Teacher by William Ayers. San Francisco, Calif.: Teachers College Press, 1993.
In To Teach: The Journey of a Teacher, we have an example of the truly reflective practitioner who can resist didacticism. Ayers (now an associate professor of education at the University of Illinois) is a teacher who follows the writer's edict: show, don't tell. He tells his stories, and we see what it means to teach and how we should do it.
Ayers insists that we need to know our students personally and remain “open to the mystery” of students. This perspective is especially inspiring, for much of Ayers' work has been done with students from many different cultural backgrounds. His reflection honors them all and shows that “everything can be learned from anything” so long as everything is approached with an engaged mind.
Ayers challenges all of us to question the sources of our knowledge, the ways we teach, and the roles we play in our students' lives. This message is good tonic, for only by developing (or maintaining) the habit of reflection can we become aware of what works, what doesn't, and where we fit in the whole process.
Available from Teachers College Press, 1234 Amsterdam Ave., New York, NY 10027, for $13.95.
—Reviewed by Jim Burke, San Francisco, California.
Healing Multicultural America
Healing Multicultural America by Henry T. Trueba, Cirenio Rodriguez, Yali Zou, and José Cintrón. Bristol, Pa: The Falmer Press, 1993.
When studying multicultural issues, it often becomes too easy to dwell on the problems that occur when people from diverse cultural backgrounds live close together, practice different customs, and speak languages that may not be mutually understood. By not concentrating on the difficulties, Healing Multicultural America: Mexican Immigrants Rise to Power in Rural California contributes a refreshing perspective.
Trueba and his co-authors document the successful cultural infusion of Mexican immigrants into the small community of Yolo County, California, and particularly into the town of Woodland. The history, growth, politics, and education system of this small, diverse community are described with great clarity. Of special interest to educators is the portrait of Woodland's Beamer Elementary School. Its design and practices have supported the effective implementation of bilingual and Spanish immersion programs.
Healing Multicultural America could be put to good use in classes concerning multicultural issues, history, social science, or education issues. The penultimate chapter, titled “Cultural Therapy in Action,” offers many ideas for activities and reflections that promote understanding and tolerance.
Available from The Falmer Press, 1900 Frost Rd., Suite 101, Bristol, PA 19007 for $25 (paperbound) or $75 (hardbound).
—Reviewed by Barbara McEwan, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon.
Learning to Teach, Teaching to Learn
Learning to Teach, Teaching to Learn. Jean Clandinin, Annie Davies, Pat Hogan, Barbara Kennard, eds. New York: Teachers College Press, 1993.
This unusual documentary records the commments of 28 student teachers, 28 cooperating teachers, and 5 university teachers. All participated in an experimental teacher education program, which used narrative inquiry to reveal what teacher education programs can and should accomplish. Through journals and dialogue, participants tell their stories, listen to others' stories, and jointly write about their work.
The narratives unfold in five areas: student teachers exploring their experiences as learners; students and cooperating teachers hesitantly learning to talk to each other; cooperating teachers reflecting on their evolving roles; university teachers examining implications for teacher education; and editors seeking to explain their theoretical framework. The collaborative inquiry also dissolved the limits of traditional roles.
Learning to Teach: Teaching to Learn is a “must read” for those who believe that teaching is learning and for those who are learning to collaborate, improvise, and examine teacher training so that new paradigms for teaching and learning can be devised.
Available from Teachers College Press, 1234 Amsterdam Ave., New York, NY 10027 for $18.95.
—Reviewed by Meena Wilson, Center for Creative Leadership, Greensboro, North Carolina.
The Politics of Social Class in Secondary School
The Politics of Social Class in Secondary School by Ellen A. Brantlinger. New York: Teachers College Press, 1993.
Ellen Brantlinger is going to rattle some cages with this fascinating study. It, combined with her excellent review of the literature, makes important reading for anyone dealing with adolescent attitudes or school improvement.
The study, which involved 70 students, looks closely at topics like classroom arrangements, tracking, special education, classification denial, teenage jargon and labels, values, peer relationships, and teacher attitudes. From the data, Brantlinger draws conclusions that go counter to certain commonly-held beliefs, including: that it is easier to desegregate social classes than racial groups, that genetic or home conditions lie at the root of achievement differences, and that American schools genuinely practice student meritocracy.
Not only is this book well-organized and easy to read, but it also can be used as a reference tool to disaggregate data for school improvement efforts, to examine equity issues, and to generate solutions to a school's social concerns. If any educators detect a mismatch between their schools' idealistic mission statements and actual experience, Brantlinger's book may be the one to provoke the realignment.
Available from Teachers College Press, 1234 Amsterdam Ave., New York, NY 10027 for $19.95.
—Reviewed by Jonathan Swift, School of Global Education, Livonia Public Schools, Livonia, Michigan.
Enhancing Teaching
Enhancing Teaching by Madeline Hunter. New York: Macmillan, 1994.
Designed for preservice and new teachers and principals, this eminently practical and readable text delineates many of the techniques that make for good teaching, but which are not necessarily taught in schools of education. Hunter begins with a discussion of the contributions of psychology to education and develops this idea through an explication of her model. She thoroughly addresses the misuse of her model, especially the idea that an observer should sit in on a lesson with a checklist to determine whether the teacher is using all of the “seven elements of effective instruction.”
Hunter's perspectives range from the implications of brain research on classroom instruction, to the proper use of the chalkboard. Although her many examples demonstrate a philosophical leaning toward a skill-based, rather than a constructivist, approach to learning, she focuses on meaning-centered learning. Among her topics: instructional objectives, homework, testing, the use of time, and putting the student at the center of learning. She helps make it possible for teachers to translate “research-based knowledge and skills ... into daily artistic practice.”
Available from Macmillan College Publishing Co., 866 Third Ave., New York, NY 10022 for $21.
—Reviewed by Marian Matthews, Eastern New Mexico University, Portales, New Mexico.
Educational Renewal
Educational Renewal: Better Teachers, Better Schools by John I. Goodlad. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1994.
Goodlad's most recent book elaborates on his vision outlined in his 1990 study of teacher preparation programs, Teachers for Our Nation's Schools. The vision rests on the concept of the “center of pedagogy,” a setting where college of education faculty, arts and science professors, and professional teachers in partner schools work together to prepare educators for entry into the profession.
Goodlad details a mission and moral foundation for the center's program. He “unpacks” 119 postulates for evaluation of teacher preparation programs, describes how to nurture the necessary partnerships, and sketches the principles governing the program's curriculum and structure. In addition, he highlights schools that are attempting to implement the center of pedagogy concept.
Although teacher educators are the natural audience for this book, anyone interested in school improvement would benefit from reading Goodlad's incisive assessment of school partnerships, his eloquent presentation of the moral dimensions of educational issues, and his analysis of the ecology of school change.
One might best describe Educational Renewal as a travel guide for the reform of teacher education, not so exhaustive that it posts signs for every possible turn in the road, but sufficiently detailed to provide a valuable, if occasionally dense, guide to the journey.
Available from Jossey-Bass Publishers, 350 Sansome St., San Francisco, CA 94104 for $28.95.
—Reviewed by John Cronin, Loess Hills Area Education Agency, Council Bluffs, Iowa.
Punished by Rewards
Punished by Rewards by Alfie Kohn. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1993.
Given the title and content of Alfie Kohn's new book, I feel constrained from saying that the book deserves “high praise” or “five gold stars,” so I will limit my enthusiasm to the following: this is essential reading for all teachers, parents, administrators, and managers.
Kohn argues convincingly not only that rewards don't work, but that they do considerable damage in the process. Although he discusses ways to minimize the damage of rewards and how to praise if you feel compelled to, he is quite clear that setting contingencies like “If you do this, I'll give you that ” destroys intrinsic motivation and jeopardizes the potential for real learning.
If you are firmly committed to incentive systems, token economies, prizes, and stickers, this book will be critical but disconcerting reading. I suggest you read this book only if you are willing to rethink your favorite management strategy and your long-held beliefs about how and why we can get other people to do what we want.
This book is important reading for any teacher who has ever organized a reward program in the classroom or agonized about grading or stickers. Teacher educators and others who teach behavior management courses or workshops will be equally challenged by the analysis of the wrong-headedness of attempting to control students by saying, “I like the way Michael is doing his work so quietly.” Kohn questions commonsense ideas about the necessity and effectiveness of rewards, but he does not leave us stranded. The book concludes with concrete suggestions about ways to get students “hooked on learning” and to help them be “good without goodies.”
Available from Houghton Mifflin Company, 215 Park Ave. South, New York, NY 10003, for $22.95.
—Reviewed by Mara Sapon-Shevin, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York.
