Product Description
An inspiring new vision for America’s public schools from one of the nation’s top educators American fourth graders score twelfth in the world in math skills, after Latvia and Hungary. Our eighth graders are fifteenth, below Malaysia and Slovakia. And by the time they’re fifteen years old, our students have slipped off the map—to twenty-fourth place internationally. If these stats don’t make you angry or ashamed or plain sad, then at the very least they sho… More >>
Only Connect: The Way to Save Our Schools
Tags: Connect, eighth graders, fifteen years, hungary, latvia, map, math skills, new vision, ONLY, Save, schools, slovakia
#1 by Loyd E. Eskildson on January 31, 2010 - 3:45 pm
“Harpers” September issue includes an excellent article listing most of the American education fads during the past several decades. The list is long, often repetitive, and embarrassing to review. “New” math, compensatory education, Head Start, expanded kindergarten, magnet schools, computer-assisted instruction, open schools, team-teaching, uniforms, class-size reduction (27 in 1950 to 17 in the 1990s), special-education, gifted education, Advanced Placement courses, “Back to Basics,” boosting pupil self-esteem (lower graduation standards and grade inflation), bilingualism, bigger high schools, smaller high schools, more homework, less homework, laptops for all students, merit pay and more pay for teachers, accountability for administrators, voucher plans, charter schools, high-stakes testing, Phonics, whole language instruction, direct instruction, expanded middle school role, eliminated middle schools, more education courses for teachers, teacher testing, “No Child Left Behind,” equal opportunity, tripling inflation-adjusted per-pupil expenditures for current operations, free and reduced-cost lunches and breakfasts, and countless renovations and new buildings – most were listed, and all have been tried extensively.
“Has any of this made a difference?” asks the article’s author – Peter Schrag. The short answer, he says, lies somewhere between “not sure” and “not much.” U.S. performance vs. other nations continues to sag, the number of high-performing U.S. SAT-takers on the verbal portion declined nearly 25% from ‘73 to ‘90 (the test has since been revised, precluding further long-term comparisons), small gains in SAT math have been made since the mid-1960s, but 17-year-olds’ NAEP scores have remained flat.
What does this have to do with “Only Connect?” Crew espouses much of the above (eg. higher teacher pay, increased spending in most schools, preschool, equal opportunity – “code” for more money, better buildings – despite strong research evidence contradicting their value), though I do credit him with pushing for more parental involvement.
Three important implications follow from our recent education history: 1)Roughly two-thirds of our current $468 billion/year in public school expenditures is wasted. 2)Much of the monies spent within Colleges of Education is also wasted. 3)It’s time to try something Asian schools have found to be very important – substantial parental involvement.
As for Crew being a dynamic, knowledgeable leader and writer, read Ram Charan’s “Know-How” about how charisma, etc. even once fooled Jack Welch when picking those to hire or promote. It doesn’t anymore. Finally, education degrees in general, including doctorates, are viewed as lacking rigor.
Rating: 2 / 5
#2 by Middle School Science Teacher on January 31, 2010 - 4:50 pm
Dr. Crew’s book is a fantasy of my deepest desires. Heartfelt, from someone whom has been in the trenches for 14 years, his strategy is not only common-sense he builds a path which could lead to America’s salvation. My personal credo is “We did not inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we are borrowing it from our children.–Native American Wisdom” Dr. Crew seems to be one of the few in a position of authority, committed to change that understands what this means.
Rating: 5 / 5
#3 by Susan Moore on January 31, 2010 - 7:03 pm
Rudy Crew’s book is filled with dreams of how to get others to work for success. If it were not for his emphasis on a federal view of education instead of a state’s rights view of education, it would rate five stars.
Rating: 4 / 5
#4 by Educator on January 31, 2010 - 7:20 pm
“Only Connect” is a must read and highly recommended. It is thought-provoking, insightful, and very informative. For parents, it underlines the important role they have in their children’s education. For anyone who is concerned about the plight of American education, “Only Connect” lays out a plan for ensuring that all children graduate with the skills and knowledge necessary to compete in a global economy.
What’s truly unique about “Only Connect” is how Dr. Crew brilliantly uses a story-telling style that engages the reader and makes what could have been just another policy book into a real page turner.
Rating: 5 / 5
#5 by Susan Landis on January 31, 2010 - 8:29 pm
This book is a very readable mix of the experiences of an accomplished educator, a well-raised son, and a father with whom any parent could empathize. Rudy Crew gives a solid accounting of what ails public schools and gives us a prescription that will work if only we have the courage to follow it — all of us, not just some of us. He takes a commendable big view, extolling things like arts education and civic awareness and not simply the 3Rs. We’d be better off if more school leaders had the clarity of vision found here and if more parents had the singlemindness of Crew’s father Eugene. If you want to understand the complex solution to problems that too often seem intractable, this is a book to read.
Rating: 5 / 5