Customer Reviews

Angry Parents, Failing Schools

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As a parent who was having doubts about the curriculum and instructional methods in our schools, I read this book from cover to cover in one night. Elaine McEwan strips the candy coating off such methods as multiage classrooms, School-to-Work, whole language, and Every Day math and exposes them for what they are: viruses that are invading our schools and failing our children. This book not only helps parents identify the problems in their schools, it also gives great advice on how to work at making changes - from dealing with school board members that ignore the facts to listing dozens of websites where parents can get more information. Elaine cuts through the educational jargon used by school officials and writes in a way that is easily understood by all. I urge all parents to read this book - you will be enlightened and empowered by the experience!

As a parent who knew instinctively that something was amiss at my kids' public school, but didn't have the information handy at the time to help me name the problems, I highly recommend Angry Parents, Failing Schools by Elaine McEwan.

This book, written by a teacher/principal/asst.superintendent, explains the progressive methodology which has led our schools into the tank via whole language, fuzzy math, inventive spelling, etc. She describes in "real person" language the federal education programs, the education establishment's mindset, and the philosophy behind the ill-conceived programs they are promoting.

All parents should have this book to help them understand the current controversial educational landscape in America. Parents will discover the source of that vague uneasiness, or downright frustration so many of us experience each year that our children are in school. And because Angry Parents, Failing Schools was written by an educator, it is not only powerfully credible, but encourages positive action to help heal our public schools. This is a must read for all parents.

INITIAL COMMENTS ON:

"ANGRY PARENTS, FAILING SCHOOLS" by Elaine McEwan

I have completed a first read of this book, and I think there is an excellent chance for it to become a "best seller." Dr. McEwan does a great job of explaining many of the concerns voiced by parents in user-friendly language.

Consider the chapter titles:

"Reality Check" "The Customer is Never Right?" "Where Did the Schools Go Wrong?" "The Reading Wars" "Is the 'New Math' Really Fuzzy" "Other Educational Viruses in Schools" "Fifty Plus Things You Can Do"

Those alone say a mouthful about the on-target character of this book.

Some of the things I really liked:

"Tales from the Trenches" are liberally salted throughout the book. These make the points more relevant to common members of the public.

There is extensive identification of web sites. Many are good research sources.

There is a great history of the development of Progressive Education, short and readable. "Progressivism" is nicely compared to traditional education, as well.

The reading wars and the NCTM math deficiencies receive excellent coverage.

There are sources for tests that parents can have individually administered to their children to get around the inadequacies of some current state testing programs.

The book is directed at non-educators, and terms are very nicely explained in everyday language. A large percentage of the public can read this book and understand the problems with little, if any, extra help.

There is an extensive listing of things parents and citizens can do to get active in the education discussions.

And a whole lot more.

This book is a wonderful reference source. The many subjects covered in "Angry Parents, Failing Schools" are well indexed. All are beautifully clear and accurate descriptions that can be easily understood and quoted.

I strongly recommend this book. It should be liberally supplied to legislators, school board members, and anyone else you can think of.

Our town could be the model for this book. The detrimental effects of whole language, creative spelling, and now "fuzzy" math (NCTM endorsed program) are causing parental concern and consternation. Parents are told they are uninformed and older curriculum will not teach your child the "skills he needs for the 21st century" and "just trust us" is the watchword of the day. Our superintendent forms Task Forces and Study Committees then packs them with teachers, administrators and PTO parents (who serve as his foot soldiers) to arrive at his predetermined solutions. No honest disagreement is allowed,dissenters are to be personally attached! All the while achievement test scores are falling! American Education grades K-12 is sinking like the Titanic, and sadly those educators trusted to guide the ship have crashed it headfirst into that iceberg. Our children are failing because our educators are more interested in "Feelings" and "Fads", rather than educational excellence. Well documented scientific research is dismissed as mere opinion and parents with advanced scientific degrees "just don't understand todays child centered learning". Every parent must read this book and take action to protect their children! Dr. McEwan strips away the phony veneer of progressive education and exposes the incompetence of todays educrats and curriculum.

I've just finished reading the entire book and there is a lot of good information in it. The descriptions of the reading wars and fuzzy math are good. I've used the recommended reading list and the education web site list. I agree with a lot of the book, but there is a lot of hostile finger-pointing that's going in the wrong direction. If you're a parent and read the book, don't go immediately jumping on your child's teacher. Teachers have very little say in what or how they teach. This is a quote from Becoming a Nation of Readers:

"Teachers generally have less leeway for personal initiative and decision-making than members of other professions. Depending upon the school, they are expected to adhere to policies decreed by administrative superiors, which they have had little or no voice in formulating."

In my district teachers' opinions don't count for much. We're told what methods to use in teaching whether we agree with them or not. If we don't use them, we get bad reviews by our superiors and could possibly lose our jobs. Don't think that parents are the only ones who have been 'met with suspicion and downright hostility when they've had the temerity to question the status quo.' I've been treated that way many times when I've questioned the teaching methods I'm told to use. I've been made to feel like a complete idiot when I didn't agree with the 'cooperative grouping' and 'discovery learning' techniques that have been pushed on us and, ultimately, I was told that I wasn't cut out for teaching and my job was threatened. I learned to keep my mouth shut. I don't talk to parents too often because what I have to say would get me fired and it's nothing about their children or about them. I can't, in good conscience, defend the methods we use. I'd have to tell them that what we're doing has been proven by research to be ineffective, but that we have no choice.

On the other hand, this book seems to assume that all parental complaints and concerns are reasonable, informed and justifiable. I would welcome parents who did some 'homework' and attempted to get some policies changed. Unfortunately, we typically get demands for policy changes akin to a banking customer who has just written several hot checks demanding that the policy for charging overdraft fees be abolished.

Consider a retail employee being berated for not accepting returns on clothes that have obviously been worn or for asking for identification before accepting a check. Consider a bank employee being accused of being a 'bad' employee for asking for identification when someone wanted to withdraw money from an account or for not cashing a check for someone who has no account at that bank. All too often, those are the kinds of complaints we get. I've been accused of being an 'ineffective' teacher when I had the audacity to tell parents that their child was weak in reading. The child entered 2nd grade and couldn't sound out 'r-i-p'. But the parents had the child removed from my classroom and put with a teacher who would just 'give' him good grades. By the time the child completed 2nd grade he was so behind that it's unlikely he'll ever catch up. The parents moved him to another school. I had another parent accuse me of being a bad teacher because her child was behind when he got to my class. She upbraided me, accused me of not being able to teach and finally put him in another school. That school tested him and put him back in first grade. They said he was too behind to even be in a second grade classroom - that the second grade teacher didn't have time to teach him first grade material. I've had a parent accuse me of being a 'bad' teacher because her child wasn't making good grades. The child paid very little attention during class (which I had contacted her about several times). The child was extremely weak in reading and needed tutoring, but she refused to even consider that. The child never did his homework so he fell even further behind (My homework assignments are to read for 30 minutes daily and to practice math facts with flash cards 10-15 minutes four days a week.) and she refused to look at his test folder and sign it each week. The only time she showed up at school was when report cards were issued. So, no, the customer is NOT always right.

This quote comes from The Educated Child (a book that I recommend that EVERY parent of children in preschool through eighth grade read):

"...no group is more frustrated with declining standards than teachers. Many are troubled by having to face classrooms in which significant numbers of children are not prepared at home to put forth their best efforts. They are frustrated at having to fight off administrators and parents who claim they want higher expectations, but whose first reaction when children don't meet them is: give these kids a break. `What happens in reality is that when several students fail, the principal hears from their parents,' says one veteran Texas teacher. `The students and their parents make wild claims about the unfairness of the teacher. Instead of supporting the teacher's high standards, the principal runs to the teacher and requires him to `dumb down' his course. When teachers are not supported by administrators, there is no possible way for us to keep our standards high.'"

Ms. McEwan fails to mention that some complaints are extremely unreasonable. Unfortunately, this is the kind of complaint we get about 98% of the time. Is it any wonder that we're on the defensive?

If you're a parent and you have a reasonable, informed, and justifiable concern - please stick with it. A lot of teachers out there agree with you, but are unable to say so for fear of losing their jobs.

As a concerned father of two boys, I found this book to be an extremely useful starting point for educating myself about the current state of American schools. McEwan does a wonderful job of wading through the educational jargon, identifying the major issues being debated today, and giving a brief history of the evolution of public schools in the US. The book is full of relevant anecdotes and is heavily footnoted.

While McEwan makes no secret of her traditionalist views, her critical treatment of progressivism is abrupt and consequently shallow. My suspicion is that many of the progressivist ideas have merit, but incompetent implementation of those ideas has resulted in such prominent failures that the ideas themselves are condemned. McEwan simply fails to make this distinction.

Overall, though, this was a great book that defied me to put it down.

Most parents with children in public schools will tell you that they have heard all kinds of horror stories about other public schools around the country, and they are so relieved that their child's school is not doing any of that bad stuff! This is the enigma that Elaine McEwan effectively addresses in her book. How can this untested, ineffective education be happening all over and yet most parents do not realize that it is being practiced on their children as well? This book correctly indicates that the answer lies in the rhetoric that public school administrators use to placate concerned and caring parents. If one term or phrase is perceived by administrators as possibly upsetting parents, they will redefine parent-friendly words (such as high expectations, phonics, rigorous curriculum, critical thinking, real world problems) and use them to describe the progressive curriculum they are implementing. It is a clever and very effective way of silencing any parent who might be moved to voice concerns and to keep all other parents happy because they like the sound of the programs. As this book points out, it is not until a parent starts looking beneath the surface of the curriculum that the real substance of the program becomes apparent. I would recommend this book to be read by everybody with any connection to public education - parents, students, teachers, administrators and board members. Until we all recognize the truth about public schools, as Elaine McEwan (a former public school administrator) outlines in her book, there will be no resolution to the education debate. The resolution to this debate will only occur when the truth is clearly stated and parents are given the ability to choose the type of curriculum that will best educate their children. Thank you, Ms. McEwan, for writing the truth. By the way, many of these progressive reforms are alive and well in Wheaton!

Have the teachers and administrators at your kids' schoolexplained their teaching methods using phrases like"developmentally appropriate", "child-centered","individual learning styles", "critical thinking skills", "problem-solving approach","discovery learning" and "integrated holisitic curriculum"?

Have you ever walked away from the school thinking deep down that they seemed to be wasting a lot of time and effort on frivolous activities that have little in the way of clear learning objectives, but decided not to say anything because they seemed to know what they were doing?

Well, they don't. Elaine McEwan makes this fact abundantly clear in this book. All the flowery education jargon aside, McEwan reveals that these "progressive" teaching methods are not just unproven -- they have been actually been shown by controlled, replicated experimental research to be LESS effective than the practices they replace.

McEwan explains how the progressive movement in K-12 schooling, which accelerated in the 1990's with such "reforms" as "Whole Language", "Fuzzy Math", "Goals 2000" and "School-to-Work", have brought public education in America to a point that it is no longer focused upon academic learning, but is increasingly concerned with instilling the proper attitudes, beliefs and values in the children it supposedly educates.

Parents around the nation are indeed angry. The most vocal are those who have done their homework, looked into the research behind the teaching methods the schools have adopted and found that the schools are headed exactly in the wrong direction. McEwan does a good job of relating the frustrations of the parents who have approached the school to express their well-founded concerns, only to be met by a patronizing arrogance borne of the knowledge that the parents really have very little influence over school curriculum and instruction policy.

She describes the awakening of the many parents she interviewed, who after months and years of observation and research have come to realize that the schools have been hijacked by an education establishment that use them to forward their own liberal social agenda through politically-centered and value-laden "curricula" such as multilturalism, environmentalism and health (read: sex)education.

McEwan taps into this growing vien of discontent, and provides numerous specific examples of the obstacles parents have encountered when they ask questions of their school officials or try to bring about changes.

"Angry Parents" helps people make sense of the opaque jargon school officials use to give their failed methods an aura of professionalism. It's indespensible reading for anyone who has a nagging fear that their child's school is on the wrong track, but have been quiet about their concerns because of an innate trust in the institution of public schooling.

McEwan shows that this trust is misplaced, a conclusion that she, as a public school educator, came to only after a period of soul-searching and honest, objective study that we can only wish was more common among our public school officials.

I am a Ph.D. student in mathematics and a mother of three children. I was oblivious to the crisis in the public schools until I read this book. I wrote to the author and thanked her for writing the book. This book is very understandable and is a good introduction into what is REALLY happening in our public schools. Every parent and tax payer should read this book. Get informed and get involved!

A MUST-READ! In a fever to "reform" our schools for "21st century" "higher-order thinking skills", educational bureaucrats have reduced the amount of substantive content in curricula and replaced it with touchy-feelie psychobabble encouraging feelings, writing about problems instead of solving them, and meaningless goals. McEwan, an award-winning school principal takes the educrats to task. Warning: the subject is not inner-city schools; it may very well include the school YOUR kids attend. Yes, YOUR kids!

I found McEwan's book invaluable simply because it is up-to-date and focused on everyday schools that we might suppose would be less influenced by wacko theories.

I'd heartily recommend this book to parents, school board members, newspaper editors and others who are concerned about quality in supposedly "good" school districts.

There are some great books that are more detailed and technical (Hirsch, Ravitch) and some that are passionate (Sykes), but THIS is the book to recommend to parents who want to quickly understand the odd practices going on in their own children's school.