Left Back
A Century of Failed School Reforms
New York : Simon & Schuster, [2000]
Format: Book
Description: 555 pages ; 25 cm
For the past one hundred years, Americans have argued and worried about the quality of their schools. Some have charged that students were not learning enough, while others have complained that the schools were not in the forefront of social progress. In this authoritative history of education in the twentieth century, historian Diane Ravitch describes this ongoing battle of ideas and explains why school reform has so often failed.
"Left Back" recounts grandiose efforts by education reformers to use the schools to promote social and political goals, even when they diminished the schools' ability to educate children. It shows how generations of reformers have engaged in social engineering, advocating such innovations as industrial education, intelligence testing, curricular differentiation, and life-adjustment education. These reformers, she demonstrates, simultaneously mounted vigorous campaigns against academic studies.
"Left Back" charges that American schools have been damaged by three misconceptions. The first is the belief that the schools can solve any social or political problem. The second is the belief that only a po
Subjects:
Education -- United States -- History -- 20th century.
Educational change -- United States -- History -- 20th century.
Public schools -- United States -- History -- 20th century.
Education -- United States -- History -- 20th century.
Educational change -- United States -- History -- 20th century.
Public schools -- United States -- History -- 20th century.
ISBN:
0684844176
Availability | |||
---|---|---|---|
Call Number | Location | Shelf Location | Status |
EDUCATION Rav | Main (Downtown) | Available by placing a hold, Repository - Adult | In |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 529-531) and index.