Reforming Education: The Opening of American Mind [Paperback]

Mortimer J. Adler (Author), Geraldine Van Doren (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 30, 1990

Addler addresses the controversy of what should be taught in our schools. He suggests that is should serve and be made available to all. He begins with a stinging critique of Allan Bloom and offers his advice for the best education.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A founder of the "great books" movement, Adler presents a collection of essays that span a half century. "As philosopher, humanistic teacher and educational pioneer, Adler is well viewed in these essays that contribute sound judgment to the controversy of what should be taught in our schools," commented PW.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

This collection of programmatic essays and occasional pieces argues for the restoration of form and substance to the dishwater mixture we currently call education in America. Adler, the foremost proponent of the Great Books program (adult education at its purest) and the Paedeia Proposal (public school reform), writes eloquently and passionately in defense of a truly democratic vision of education. The best education for the few is the best education for everyone; education for free people must be founded in the discussion of values, encountered in dialogue with great minds as revealed in great books. Education's goal is "citizenship and . . . a life enriched by continuous learning." There is, of course, repetition in an anthology which covers 50 years of writing on educational reform, but even the oldest of these essays seems fresh. Highly recommended.
- David Keymer, SUNY Coll. of Technology, Utica
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 362 pages
• Publisher: Collier Books and Macmillan Publishing; 1st edition (April 30, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0020301758
• ISBN-13: 978-0020301752
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #969,439 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mortimer Jerome Adler (December 28, 1902 - June 28, 2001) was an American philosopher, educator, and popular author. As a philosopher he worked within the Aristotelian and Thomistic traditions. He lived for the longest stretches in New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, and San Mateo. He worked for Columbia University, the University of Chicago, Encyclopædia Britannica, and Adler's own Institute for Philosophical Research. Adler was married twice and had four children.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reform your own mind first by reading this book, July 11, 1999

By 

Mark Valentine (Port Angeles, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Reforming Education: The Opening of American Mind (Paperback)

Editor Geraldine Van Doren has collected 25 essays on educational reform by Dr. Adler. Each essay is masterfully written and all are united by a common theme calling for the revitalization of education in our schools. Dr. Adler's program consists of using the Great Books as a means to bring back the Liberal Arts. He is a generalist who disclaims specialization in schools (students may specialize as they enter the work force or advanced degrees), discredits textbooks, elective courses, and narrow, didactic teaching. He supports the Humanities, calling for more Socratic-style teaching.

This is must reading for educators, administrators, parents, and all learners.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Adler 60 years of educational writing are a treasure., August 5, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Reforming Education: The Opening of American Mind (Paperback)

No one has spoken with as clear and sound a voice about the problems facing 20th century education as has Mortimer J. Adler. As an elected member of a local board of education in Colorado, I have turned again and again to this book as a source of wisdom and direction.

No other book talks about reform with such a sane and logical approach. Stripped of all the polemics and dogma, education reform can be seen as a problem that does not require blame or self-righteousness. It is, as you will learn from this book, a profoundly difficult problem with which we have struggled for the last century without success--not because we haven't tried, but because the demands of 20th century democracy on education are a tall order.

I am indebted to Dr. Adler for the work he has done in education.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A presentation of revolutionary educational ideas, April 10, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Incline Village, Nevada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Reforming Education: The Opening of American Mind (Paperback)

This excellent work by Dr. Adler presents an in depth analysis of problems and solutions for the American educational system. Dr. Adler presents his readers with revolutionary and practical educational proposals supported by long standing philosophical principles.

Many educational scholars may disagree with some of Dr. Adler's ideas. However, most scholars would be hard pressed to dispute the proposition that Dr. Adler's proposals provoke considerable thought in the common quest to improve America's educational structure.