My favorite book on the state of public education is Inside American Education by Thomas Sowell. The book covers many problems in our government schools. Over the years Janine and I have loaned this book to dozens of our friends. (We bought four copies with the expressed purpose of loaning the book.)
World Net Daily is publishing a book by Steve Baldwin and Karen Holgate to meet the same need. Currently the book is number 209 on Amazon. The authors of From Crayons to Condoms: The Ugly Truth about America's Public Schools document many of problems with public schools. From the World Net Daily book review:
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American schools are "not just rife with bizarre, inaccurate textbooks and failed teaching practices – they encourage classroom activities that produce dangerous, even deadly results," they say.
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I love the question the authors ask: "The educational bureaucracy is willing to tolerate failure for and from our children ... The question is: Are we willing to tolerate their failure to educate our children, and will we continue sacrificing our children at the altar of experimental education."
It appears that the book will do a good job of opening eyes to the many problems with government schools.
I agree there is a great problem; I disagree with the authors on the solution. The authors seem to feel that public schools are salvageable in their current state. They hope parents, after reading their book, will work to reform education. I've made this point before, over the last several decades tens of thousands of people have tried to fix public education, while it has only gotten worse. These are smart people, people who care and are concerned. I have little faith that the system can be fundamentally improved. I think the solution for now is for parents to homeschool their children, or put them in private schools.
I will check this new book out and see if it is worth loaning to our friends.
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Technorati tags: government schools, public school, public education, education
2 comments:
It sounds a little inflammatory, Henry, or am I being unfair? I worry about too many emotional appeals (e.g., the fear of random condom distribution) and fearmongering tactics. Is the book reliable?
I don't know if it is reliable. My guess is the facts in the book are accurate. You don't have to dig much to find problems with public schools.
My library doesn't have it yet. After it comes in, I'll check the book out and then report back.
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