Fear And Learning In Americabad Data, Good Teachers, And The Attack On Public Education (The Teaching For Social Justice Series,Used

John Kuhns book is packed with more wisdom than any 10 books that I have read about American education. It is the wisdom born of experience. It is the wisdom of a man who cares about children, families, and community.From the Foreword by Diane Ravitch, author of Reign of ErrorIn Fear and Learning in America, John Kuhn weaves together stories from his life as a teacher and missionary with tales from history. The result is a fresh way of thinking about schools and educational policy. Refuting A Nation at Risk, Mr. Kuhn warns, persuasively, of a rising tide of inequality. His message, artfully delivered in this important book, should be heeded.John Merrow, education correspondent, PBS NewsHour, and president, Learning Matters, Inc.Kuhn is a superb educator and his valuable book effectively dissects the myths about todays highstakes testing environment and the worsening conditions under which educators are expected to make miracles every day, or else. His cogent arguments against such policies demonstrate what is really important and should inform the debate about public education.Randi Weingarten, president, American Federation of TeachersThis book is a brilliantly clear defense of public education as our nations most valuable asset. John Kuhn fearlessly names the fact that todays education reformers, like the renowned emperor, wear no clothes.Christine Sleeter, professor emerita, California State University Monterey BayIn this moving account, Americas Superintendent John Kuhn lays bare the scare tactics at the root of the modern school reform movement. Kuhn conveys a deeply held passion for the mission and promise of public education through his own experience as a school administrator in Texas. When his Alamo Letter first appeared in the Washington Post, it galvanized the educational community in a call to action that was impossible to ignore. This powerful book requires us to question whether the current education crisis will be judged by history as a legitimate national emergency or an agendadriven panic, spurred on by a media that is, for the most part, uninterested in anything but useless soundbites.Essential reading for teachers, administrators, policymakers, and everyone concerned with public education, Fear and Learning in America: Analyzes school reform from the perspective of a practicing school administrator who isnt sold on the corporate reform package. Places school reform in the historical context of similar episodes of national handwringing. Offers encouragement and appreciation to classroom teachers who are exhausted by the vilification that modern school reform has served up.Chapters:1. An Unlikely Activist2. Scaring America3. Standardized Junk Science4. Superteachers, Miracles, and Destructive Idealism5. The Educational Dark Ages I: Ignorance6. The Educational Dark Ages II: Mendacity7. Why We Dont Fix Things8. Compounding Poverty with Inequity9. The Prescription has Failed