Customer Reviews

Making Schools Work : A Revolutionary Plan to Get Your Children the Education They Need

5 star:		(9)
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2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I live in Seattle and have children in the public schools here (also, I'm an education activitist here). Dr. Ouchi has written quite a revisionist history of Seattle education and used some cunning tricks to do so. For example, on page 37 he states that it was reported by a local newspaper that our last superintendent, Joseph Olchefske,was to resign at the end of the school year. Immediately following that sentence he gives a reason why (making it look as though that is what the newspaper, the Seattle Times, reported). The reason, as Dr. Ouchi, states, was that the superintendent "had been criticized for moving too slowly to close small schools and reduce central office expenses". Nothing is further from the truth and if Dr. Ouchi had bothered to actually read either of our two local newspapers, he would know this. Our superintendent was ousted for mismanaging $34 million dollars (he was an investment banker and possibly could have done more but hey, it's only money). Dr. Ouchi tries to hide this information in another section of the book by calling them accounting errors. If only they had been simple errors!
He also tries to make it seem as if Seattle teachers, by voting more than 85% a no-confidence vote, were trying to get back at the superintendent for his work in changing the procedure for teacher removal. Again, untrue. Teachers voted against him because of his lack of ability in running the district. They were joined by the principals executive board and by so many parents that he was forced to resign. The only supporters he had left sat on the school board which promptly saw the majority overturned in the last election.
Couple this disinct penchant for fudging the truth to support his theories with the recent revelations in print and on television about the so-called Houston miracle makes this entire book suspect.

This is a book that I fervently hope will start a revolution in America's schools. It's message, one that calls for leadership by empowered principals rather than a conformist bureaucracy, is based on impeccable research and is delivered with fluid, engaging prose. I recommend it to anyone who cares about our children and their future.

As a member of the Hawaii State Board of Education I found Dr. Ouchi's book to be insightful and filled with practical solutions to common systemic problems.

The many examples of successful schools filled with traditionally under-achieving students really break the stereotype that certain kids can't learn. And the sympathetic explanation of the systemic impediments facing teachers clearly show that we don't have a problem with our educators -- it is the system.

I highly recommend this book to all education policy makers, legislators, educators and parents. Making Schools Work is a realistic and optimistic vision of our future.

This book explains how the organization of a school system can affect student performance. It is filled with stories and data that are interesting, uplifting and compelling. I especially like Professor Ouchi's response to the question, "What makes a school great?" His Seven Keys to Success are "right on," in my opinion. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in understanding why some schools and school systems work while others do not.

Anyone who complains about public schools should read this book. It is going to be VERY important to the national dialog about how we pull up our socks and get busy making things better.

I know you are busy, so I encourage you to do a good old college-style "gut the book" exercise on this one. It reads well and is only as long as it needs to be (262 uncrowded pages). Speed-devour 100 pages a night and you can get the essence in 2 stints.

I've been voraciously consuming education reform literature, and this one is by far the best of the lot. It gives me a considerable sense of hope that Governor Schwartzenegger has read it and reportedly gave it to some people as a Christmas present. I suspect that this will be a book that many, many people read and talk about.

Prof. Ouchi worked with a team of researchers to analyze the organizations of hundreds of schools and districts, documenting trends in function and dysfunction and examples of turnarounds. He took the findings and synthesized them into seven "keys." He does a great, sensitive job of explaining how none of these alone is the magic answer -- rather, progress is made by working on all seven together. One of the super things about this book: it is very grounded in the reality that education is about people. He speaks to the reader as a potential reformer, and never gets highfalutin or pessimistic. He reminds the reader often that the people involved almost never WANT bad things to happen. Things just seem to work out that way when the organization is busted.

The "Keys" are:
1) Every Principal is an Entrepreneur
2) Every School Controls its Own Budget
3) Everyone is Accountable for Student Performance and for Budgets
4) Everyone Delegates Authority to Those Below
5) There Is a Burning Focus on Student Achievement
6) Every School Is a Community of Learners
7) Families Have Real Choices Among a Variety of Unique Schools

Another great thing about the book: it prepares you to get involved constructively in making YOUR school or district better. This is not just an academic exercise -- it's a plan for bringing better results.

An easy must read for all!
This book is a must read. As a parent activist and public school teacher, this book is a great handbook to revolution in the schools. An easy read, he highlights good things going on and tells you how to evaluate your school in simple words. He also grants permission to everyone and anyone to question the current system, and then take action to decentralize it. It is a practical handbook to empower the public and creat revolutionary change in public education. READ IT AND PASS IT ALONG TO YOUR LOCAL SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS TOO!

This book is clearly well researched, yet manages to remain very accessable. Ouchi makes a convincing case for the restructuring of our school systems. It disassembles many of the current myths in the problems of school systems to get to the core of the problem: the central control of the power and money. This is an engaging book that makes its points clearly and concisely.

Like many books in this field, things that should be considered obvious are presented like the author has discovered the mystery of the atom. Ouchi appropriately takes potshots at top-heavy school systems. He makes the case for school independence in direction and budgeting. All perfectly reasonable. Ouchi provides examples of schools that work because they went their own way, made their own choices. Unfortunately, the book is altogether too heavy handed. In the model schools, no one ever teaches a bad lesson and every child is smiling, while test scores "rocket" upwards. It is too much. One of his main case studies is Houston. Too bad it was revealed after publication that there was systematic lying going on in that system about graduation rates and who knows what else. (See Washington Post 11/8/2003 article by Michael Dobbs).

William Ouchi does a terrific job of outlining the basic problems in the public school system today. From there he offers valuable insight into many solutions that can be applied to our ailing public school system. It's painfully clear that we must do more in order to fix our educational system.

Thie book is a terrific read from start to finish, and I highly recommend it!

Let the money follow each student. YES!
Let each campus determine their own budget, YES!
Have each ISD home office treat each Principal like a multi star general. YES! (as opposed to the norm, of Principals being forced to act on stupid administrator demands for this report/ that report.