Saving Our Schools: The Case For Public Education, Saying No to "No Child Left Behind" [Paperback]

Ken Goodman (Editor), Patrick Shannon (Editor), Yetta Goodman (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2004

A stealth campaign to privatize American education, George Bush’s "No Child Left Behind" (NCLB) threatens to close more than 6,000 public schools, pushing dedicated teachers and disadvantaged children out of our neighborhood schools.

In Saving Our Schools, leading educators and researchers show how NCLB shifts control of every aspect of American public education to a faceless Washington bureaucracy while marginalizing successful methods, materials, teacher education, staff development programs, and curriculum. Saving Our Schools investigates the devastating results of forcing financially strapped schools to squander meager resources on highstakes standardized tests. It reveals how the government blacklists successful professors, institutions, methods, and materials that deviate from the NCLB party line. It exposes George Bush’s top education advisors who call National Education Association members "terrorists" and would like to "blow up" teachers’ colleges. A citizens’ call to unite in defense of public education, Saving Our Schools urges every American parent and teacher to take action now— before time runs out.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

More than 6,000 schools have been targeted for closing by No Child Left Behind. Thousands more will be added to the failing schools list by the Department of Education in August. This book shows the devastating impact No Child Left Behind is having on schools and communities across the nation. It shows how NCLB is systematically attempting to close public schools and turn America's treasured community schools into a third world system. Step by step the distinguished contributors show how communities from Alaska are fighting back to save our neighborhood schools.

From the Inside Flap

Public Misinformation About NCLB
Ends on Page One of This Book

"We are engaged in an unprecedented war against children, teachers and schools. The contributors to Saving Our Schools are among the few who understand and know what to do about it. Saving Our Schools exposes what may be the most damaging action taken by the Bush administration: The war against children, teachers, and schools. Bush’s No Child Left Behind is not merely "underfunded." It is all wrong. It has the potential of ruining millions of lives and destroying the public education system. The contributors to Saving Our Schools are among the most distinguished scholars in the field of education in the world. They understand the dangers and know what to do about them"
—Stephen Krashen, Professor Emeritus
Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California

"Public misinformation about NCLB ends on page one of this book. This informative and incisive account of how NCLB came to be and why we must get rid of it will be the cornerstone of the resistance."
—Susan Ohanian, author of
Why is Corporate America Bashing Our Public Schools?

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 321 pages
• Publisher: RDR Books (March 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1571431020
• ISBN-13: 978-1571431028
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,132,493 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Left Behind: America's Public Schools, April 10, 2005

By 

Jordan Hurst (Stillwater, OK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Saving Our Schools: The Case For Public Education, Saying No to "No Child Left Behind" (Paperback)

Would a loving parent willingly allow her child's school to be permanently closed? Many parents do not realize that this fate already awaits them. In Saving Our Schools: The Case for Public Education, Saying No to "No Child Left Behind," Ken Goodman and the other editors write about the effects of the "No Child Left Behind" Act of 2001. In this collection of research based essays, the editors argue that the act is a conservative movement which will lead to the privatization of the American school system. This book also covers the wide range of consequences the act will have on the public school system, the teachers, and the students. The editors also offer different methods of fighting against the act and its effects. I really enjoyed reading this book. It was easy to read and understand, and the authors supported all of their facts. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to know what the real "No Child Left Behind" Act is all about.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An eye-opening social commentary, October 10, 2004

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Saving Our Schools: The Case For Public Education, Saying No to "No Child Left Behind" (Paperback)

Saving Our Schools: The Case For Public Educaton Saying No to "No Child Left Behind" is the collective effort of Ken Goodman, Patrick Shannon, Yetta Goodman, and Roger Rapoport. It exposes the ugly side of President George Bush's "No Child Left Behind" mandate, which has threatened to close more than 6,000 public schools, to the detriment of dedicated teachers and disadvantaged children alike. Revealing how NCLB forces schools with strictly limited resources to teach its children test-taking skills in a desperate bid to pass high-stakes standardized testing, and how the government blacklists successful professors, institutions, and methods that balk the NCLB party line, and much more, Saving Our Schools warns of an immediate threat to the integrity of public education and urges the reader to take action. An eye-opening social commentary, of keen importance in determining the nation's future.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The war against children, teachers, and schools, June 1, 2004

By 

Stephen D. Krashen (California, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Saving Our Schools: The Case For Public Education, Saying No to "No Child Left Behind" (Paperback)

Saving our Schools exposes what may be the most damaging action taken by the Bush administration: The war against children, teachers, and schools. No Child Left Behind is not just "underfunded." It is all wrong. It has the potential of ruining millions of lives and destroying the public education system. The contributors to Saving our Schools are among the most distinguished scholars in the field of education in the world. They understand the dangers and know what to do about them.