Detailed and thoughtful.
Education reporter Carr debuts with a balanced account of the growing charter-school movement in post-Katrina New Orleans.
Deftly weaving in background on the abysmal historical performance of New Orleans public schools and the strong focus on discipline and routine of charter schools aimed at preparing students for college, the author shows how the charter approach is working on the ground through the eyes of individuals in three randomly selected schools: 14-year-old Geraldlynn Stewart, who struggles to find her way as a high school student; Aidan Kelly, a 24-year-old teacher and Harvard graduate who sees his school as an academic boot camp; and Mary Laurie, veteran principal of one of the first schools to reopen after Katrina, who asks students, “Would you come along with me on this journey?” Their closely reported experiences in schools of the national chain KIPPS (Knowledge Is Power Program) illustrate the issues, challenges and satisfactions of the demanding, no-excuses charter way. Like the other charters, Sci Academy, where Aidan teaches, emphasizes success on standardized tests; it is “a technocrat’s dream: run by graduates of the nation’s most elite institutions, steeped in data, always seeking precision, divorced from the messiness…of democracy.” With their missionary zeal and outsider status, its young teachers “resemble the settlement house workers of a century ago,” writes Carr. Principal Laurie hopes her students will journey on to college; Geraldlynn’s parents, too, hope the new charter schooling will open a longed-for door. While often repetitive, the book evokes the realities of a city school system in transition. The schools are improving and test scores are up, she writes, but only college graduation rates in future years will tell whether charters make a difference.
Detailed and thoughtful.Pub Date: Feb. 26, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-60819-490-2
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Nov. 12, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2012
On the doorstep of age 90, Edmund has performed a national service.
An authoritative examination into the collapse of the scientific method in American education and intellectual life, and the resulting collateral damage.
Edmund writes with verve, and adds more than a dollop of spice by offering $100,000 to certain organizations that prove him wrong. He doggedly advances the notion that America’s egghead community–led by influential intellectuals such as James B. Conant (Harvard president, 1933-1953)–perpetrated a monumental blunder in denigrating the use of the scientific method. In turn, writes Edmund, Conant’s crowd opened the doors to the slipshod thinking that has ruined American education. Fads such as “look-say reading instruction,” “new math” and “new new math” followed in a confusing progression that continues to this day in charter schools and the self-esteem movement. Edmund contends that researchers, using scientific methods, should have halted the process in its tracks by determining quickly the winners and losers among these trendy programs, rather than falling for the “do your own thing” philosophy espoused by Conant and crew. Furthermore, the trial and error method taught by natural philosophers and used by classical scientists has not lost its relevance in a “do as you please” world. Edmund is dumfounded by educators’ unwillingness to use testing and analysis to determine what works best in the classroom. Instead, he writes, the useless debate continues unabated, and the blunder continues its proliferation.
On the doorstep of age 90, Edmund has performed a national service.Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-9632866-6-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Adorable characters demonstrate the unselfish qualities of true friendship.
A bear’s epic quest for the Golden Pear illuminates valuable life lessons.
Lee (The Cake Thief, 2008, etc.) returns with a spirited animal fable for preschool children that sheds light on basic moral principles. Magdalena is a cuddly white bear who sets off on a quest to find the Golden Pear. She is told by a “reliable source” that before she finds it, she must first learn a few simple lessons about life. Magdalena seeks out the advice of her friends. Edwin the Ant is unable to provide any answers but requests help carrying sand he’ll use to build his home. Henry the Butterfly, with his pink polka dot wings, is equally clueless but needs assistance catching bugs for dinner. Next, Magdalena encounters Samantha the Snake, who doesn’t know much about life lessons. In fact, Samantha doesn’t even know the directions to her own home. Malcolm the Mouse is gathering nuts and seeds for winter, and Magdalena pitches in before moving on to Francine the Fish. But Francine needs to clean up her polluted pond. Although she is quite happy to help her friends out, Magdalena is disheartened when she discovers she is no closer to discovering the location of her much sought-after Golden Pear. Hungry and tired, she heads home. Along the way, she stops to nap beneath a tree that is suddenly filled with golden pears. Magdalena delights in finding the elusive fruit and realizes that she’s discovered life’s simple lessons, and more so, the “secrets of the universe.” Charcoal and color pencil illustrations display soft, chunky crayon-like, folk appeal. Simple full and partial page designs warmly interact with the text’s mood and movement. Although references to the “reliable source” and the “secrets of the universe” are too advanced for the book’s intended audience, the overall effect is both inviting and endearing.
Adorable characters demonstrate the unselfish qualities of true friendship.Pub Date: Aug. 5, 2003
ISBN: 978-1594575266
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf
