Customer Reviews

America's Public Schools: From the Common School to "No Child Left Behind" (The American Moment)

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Just recently having gone back to school I deided to do my first research study on the history of education in America and immigration. Having pretty much no idea what to chose I came across this book. Boy am I glad!!! This is an outstanding book that gives an in-depth look into the history of public education in America. Reese goes all the way back to the original "common school" and covers 200+ years of history in public education.

Reese discusses major reformers - you know those poeple that were so profound that you wondered why "that" school was named after "that" person. This book tells who those reformers were and why they were so important. What is better is that Reese does not get "overly educational" on you! What is also important is how Reese illustrates just through the history alone how society and schools are intertwined.

Definitely a good book and more than what I expected. Take your time with this book to hear and see all that William J Reese is trying to show and reveal to the reader!

This book was so dry it was almost painful to read. I felt like the time I spent reading this book were parts of my life that are lost to me forever now. I got nothing from reading this book except frustration. Reese covers the history of American schools very well, if you can read it. He talks himself into circles and I swear he reuses passages in this book just to make it longer. He also jumps around within a time period, making it near impossible to get a clear idea of what education was like for people at one certain time.

His ability to cover the subject well dose not make up for the unpleasantness of reading this book. If you are looking for something fun to read about the schools, stay the hell away from this. If you are looking for a book for research purposes then find something more coherent.

To put this review in a frame of reference, I do not know anything about the history of American education. I am taking a class on it and was assigned this book. So, in all fairness, it may not be Reese that is convoluted and impossible to work though, but the subject itself. I find this difficult to believe, however.