Troublemaker

A Personal History of School Reform since Sputnik

Häftad, Engelska, 2016

AvChester E. Finn Jr.,Jr. Finn, Chester E.,Chester E. Finn

639 kr

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Few people have been more involved in shaping postwar U.S. education reforms--or dissented from some of them more effectively--than Chester Finn. Assistant secretary of education under Ronald Reagan, and an aide to politicians as different as Richard Nixon and Daniel Moynihan, Finn has also been a high school teacher, an education professor, a prolific and best-selling writer, a think-tank analyst, a nonprofit foundation president, and both a Democrat and Republican. This remarkably varied career has given him an extraordinary insider's view of every significant school-reform movement of the past four decades, from racial integration to No Child Left Behind. In Troublemaker, Finn has written a vivid history of postwar education reform that is also the personal story of one of the foremost players--and mavericks--in American education. Finn tells how his experiences have shaped his changing views of the three major strands of postwar school reform: standards-driven, choice-driven, and profession-driven.Of the three, Finn now believes that a combination of choice and standards has the greatest potential, but he favors this approach more on pragmatic than ideological grounds, arguing that parents should be given more options at the same time that schools are allowed more flexibility and held to higher performance norms. He also explains why education reforms of all kinds are so difficult to implement, and he draws valuable lessons from their frequent failure. Clear-eyed yet optimistic, Finn ultimately gives grounds for hope that the best of today's bold initiatives--from charter schools to technology to makeovers of school-system governance--are finally beginning to make a difference.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum2016-02-23
Mått152 x 235 x 26 mm
Vikt539 g
FormatHäftad
SpråkEngelska
Antal sidor376
FörlagPrinceton University Press
ISBN9780691171036

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Introduction ix Part I: Early Days 1 Chapter 1: Schoolkid in the Fifties 7 Chapter 2: Into the Sixties 14 Chapter 3: Becoming an Educator 26 Part II: The Seventies 33 Chapter 4: White House Days 41 Chapter 5: Out of Washington 56 Chapter 6: The Politics of Aiding Private Schools 66 Chapter 7: A Federal Department of Education? 77 Chapter 8: Becoming a Republican 87 Part III: The Eighties 95 Chapter 9: Quality Gains Traction 101 Chapter 10: Educators Awaken 108 Chapter 11: Professing in Tennessee 118 Chapter 12: Inside the Beast 125 Chapter 13: The Quest for Better Information 134 Chapter 14: Goals, Standards, and Markets 149 Part IV: The Nineties 165 Chapter 15: Bipartisan Reform in Action--and Inaction 169 Chapter 16: Charters and Vouchers 181 Chapter 17: International Alarums, Contentious Responses 187 Chapter 18: Whittling and Think- tanking 194 Chapter 19: Clinton, Goals, and Testing 204 Chapter 20: Priests, Professionals, and Politicians 211 Chapter 21: Choices and Summits 216 Chapter 22: Back to Dayton 224 Chapter 23: Leaving No Child Behind 237 Chapter 24: Shaky Tripods 246 Chapter 25: The Burden of Choice 261 Chapter 26: Technology and Governance 273 Chapter 27: Teachers, Time, and Money 283 Chapter 28: Still Learning 296 Epilogue: Two Little Girls 307 Glossary 313 Notes 319 Index 347

Honorable Mention for the 2008 PROSE Award in Education, Association of American Publishers "I love the fact that no one is spared [Finn's] acidic sense of humor. That makes him a first-class writer, and Troublemaker may be the best of his many books... The book offers one of the most enjoyable, astute and fair-minded reviews of the topsy-turvy course of our national effort to improve schools. It flavors that complex tale with the story of Checker Finn, a smart kid from Dayton, Ohio, who wisely attached himself to some of the most thoughtful political figures of his era and brought their practical approach to fixing schools to a new generation... These stories will not make Finn any less unpopular with people on both sides of our often bitter educational debates, but I wish we had more thinkers as aggravating and insightful as he is. All of us can learn much from him, and his book."--Jay Mathews, Washington Post "A lively and wise new memoir...Should be required reading for charter school leaders and left-wing teacher unionists alike. A 'personal history' of the last five decades of public schooling, Mr. Finn's memoir weaves America's story with his own...Mr. Finn's conclusions have the unpopular characteristic of adhering neither to one side nor to the other. Yes to vouchers, he says, as long as voucher schools have high quality; yes to business involvement, as long as it does not abandon sound instructional knowledge and the imperative of a civic mission; yes to standards, but only if they are rigorous. These are not sexy answers, but they are thoughtful ones, and for the field of education, that is quite the right medicine."--Elizabeth Green, New York Sun "A blow-by-blow account of Checker's efforts to improve American schooling...Finn approaches education with [a] sense of personal dedication, but the book is neither wistful nor weary. Troublemaker displays the energy and combativeness of a man who knows a good education can solve problems and improve lives."--Phil Brand, Washington Times "A very readable rundown of the past four decades of education policymaking by a man who was there."--Neil McCluskey, School Reform News "Having meticulously and fair-mindedly detailed four decades of 'staggering inertia' in American educational policy, Finn nevertheless tries to end on an upbeat note."--Commentary "Chester Finn's book is an indispensable guide and an inspiring portrait of what individuals and groups with common sense, civic commitment, and perseverance can accomplish in realizing the battered but noble promise of modern education--but also a sobering picture of what they are up against."--M. D. Aeschliman, Modern Age