Kathy Emery and Susan and Susan Ohanian have written a magnificent,
carefully documented, and high-voltage manifesto to confront the degradation
of our nation's schools by powerful corporations whose self-serving motives
and assaultive tactics have developed into a relentless and dehumanizing
juggernaut. Steam will be coming out of your ears by the time you finish
this extraordinary book. It should be a wake-up call to all who care abut
the future of our schools and all who truly value children.
—Jonathan Kozol, author of Savage Inequalities: Children in
America's Schools
Kathy Emery and Susan Ohanian shout "J'accuse!" to the Business Roundtable,
the Education Trust, politicians, and the rest who are selling out America's
children in the name of "high standards." A must read for all citizens, not
just parents and educators. —Gerald L. Bracey, Author of On the Death of Childhood and the
Destruction of Public Schools
Emery and Ohanian decode the Orwellian doublespeak on education-such as "no
child left behind"-cutting through the smokescreen of testing that obscures
the actual agenda of privatization. —David Barsamian, founder and director of Alternative Radio
An invaluable combo of information and fiery inspiration, this book equips
us to resist the business powers that be coiling themselves around public
schools to squeeze out all respectful, individual teaching. —Carol Bly, Author of Changing the Bully Who Rules the World
Deluged by demands to regiment the curricula, noosed by high stakes tests,
many educators ask, "How can I keep my ideals and still teach?" With
meticulous research engagingly presented, Emery and Ohanian offer teachers
ways to both resist and create. —Rich Gibson, San Diego State University
Q: How many businessmen does it take to screw up American schools?
A: Only 13, the number of members of the Business Roundtable assigned to the
Business Coalition for Education Reform! Emery and Ohanian explain why this
joke isn't funny, asking readers to raise their consciousness and their
voices to take back public education. —Patrick Shannon, Pennsylvania State University, author of
Becoming Political, Too
Where exactly did high-stakes testing come from anyway? Neither parents,
teachers, administrators, nor school boards demanded it, and now many
communities feel powerless to reverse its appalling effect on our schools.
Hot on the heels of the testing masterminds and peeling back layer upon
layer of documentation, Kathy Emery and Susan Ohanian found a familiar scent
at the end of the paper trail. Corporate money. CEOs and American big
business have blanketed United States public education officials with their
influence and, as Emery and Ohanian prove, their fifteen year drive to
undemocratize public education has yielded a many-tentacled private-public
monster.
With stunning clarity and meticulous research, Emery and Ohanian take you on
a tour of board rooms, rightist think tanks, nonprofit "concerned citizens
groups," and governmental agencies to expose the real story of how current
education reform arose, how its deceptive rhetoric belies its goals, and the
true nature of its polarizing and disenfranchising mission.
Why is corporate America bashing our schools? Because it's in their
interests-not yours. What can you do to promote your best educational
interests? Read this expose and get ready to dismantle the education-reform
machine.
Review ''Educational thinkers from Jefferson to Dewey would
applaud and admire [Proefriedt's]work. His lucid, perceptive book shows
how perennial questions become submerged in political discourse, and
how society unfairly scapegoats schools while neglecting larger
structural issues.'' --CHOICE, February 2009
Product Description '''Inquiry, Not
Recipes,' indeed! This book is an historically sophisticated and
philosophically wise critique of the rise and fall of expectations in
the gnarled bequest of American educational thought and practice. Path
breaking!'' --John J. McDermott, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy
and Humanities, Texas A&M University
A valuable guide for reconstructing an education that responds to the
needs of heart and mind while contributing to a productive and just
society. --H. M. Levin, Teachers College, Columbia University
For
everyone who cares about the well-being of every child, Angela Engel's
Seeds of Tomorrow presents a thoughtful, provocative, and
well-documented case for discarding traditional standards when
measuring educational achievement. And while recognizing that public
investments in quality education may be the most important thing a
society can do for its children, Engel makes the case for the nation
concretely addressing poverty, family stability, health care, child
abuse, and other needs which make learning more likely. To her credit
she offers many of the policy and practice changes needed to inspire
children to learn and which restore confidence in adults that
constructive change is possible. --Michael Petit, President, Every
Child Matters Education Fund
Put your feet up, grab some tea and
read this book. Engel writes as if in the kitchen with friends. She is
candid, clear and offers up story after story as both a parent and a
teacher on the challenges and the solutions to improving student
learning. This book is special in tone, detail, analysis and passion.
It is worth every teacher and parent reading Seeds of Tomorrow to
understand why and how we have become a nation driven to judge and
reshape our educational system through standardized testing, and what
our children will lose and gain through this decision. --Elaine
Zimmerman, Connecticut Commission on Children and Parent Leadership
Training Institute.
American School Board Journal's Noteable Books for 2002
This has certainly been a good year for books bemoaning the effects of
standardized tests. Our favorite bemoaner is Susan Ohanian, the
teacher-writer who coined the term Standardistas for the politicians
and media types who have supported the widespread use of standardized
tests.
On the very first page of What Happened to Recess and Why Are Our Children Struggling in Kindergarten?
Ohanian declares that apes and maggots appearing in Hollywood films are
better protected from stress than are children in public schools today.
The book races on, with breathless accounts of misery, frustration, and
outrage. Tension is running so high in schools these days, Ohanian
says, that some principals schedule extra janitors on test days just to
clean up all the vomit.
The stress of tests is getting to parents, too. While some are
organizing parties with games designed to raise guests' scores on
standardized tests, others are yanking their kids out of school or at
least boycotting school on test days. Several parents warn that their
protests have moved beyond a backlash against testing into a genuine
political movement. ("They want 'world class'?" one mother fumes.
"We'll give them a 'world-class' fight!")
This book doesn't pretend to help you raise test scores in your
district. Nor does it offer guidance toward any genuine educational
improvements. But if you're just a wee bit tired of the tyranny of the
Standardistas, you'll surely enjoy the comeuppance they get.
A scathing indictment of standardized testing, delivered with sharp wit
(reserved for the proponents of testing), and love and empathy (for the
students whose lives and learning is profoundly affected by it).
Brief Review:
Ohanian crafts a powerful argument against the use of standards. It is
witty and aggressive and polemical-qualities that will make some giggle
with delight and others scowl with anger. The book is certain to
inspire debate.
