Schools That Do Too Much: Wasting Time and Money in Schools and What We Can All Do About It [Paperback]

Etta Kralovec (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 5, 2004

Schools That Do Too Much argues that American schools systematically misspend their two most precious resources: time and money. From class schedules that fragment students' time to budgets that sink money into dozens of activities-especially sports-that distract from learning, Kralovec shows us how schools over and over try to do too much and end up delivering too little by way of real teaching and learning.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this concise proposal for school reform, Kralovec asks a simple question, but one with complex and profound implications: "what would happen if we held all school programs to the same criterion: they must contribute to learning in core academic areas as defined by state learning standards?" Schools are trying to do so much, she says, that actual time for instruction has eroded, students suffer fragmented and chaotic school days, and they leave school unprepared for the challenges of the world. Kralovec-former schoolteacher, education professor and consultant-is no back-to-basics ideologue. Her acclaimed and controversial book The End of Homework argued against excessive homework and made a case for releasing children and parents from this burden. But she does care about learning, and to the extent that competitive athletics in particular, but other "extras" as well, detract from this essential mission, they should be reconsidered, she says. Kralovec calls for schools and communities to "recalibrate" their relationship, with communities becoming actively involved in providing educational opportunities for young people-e.g., sports, drama and community service-and to allow schools and teachers to do what they do best: focus on academic learning. This will involve a radical shifting of priorities and budgets, deep changes in school structures and a new commitment on the part of parents, teachers and others to participate in the lives of young people. Kralovec's succinct work should set the tone for conversations that administrators, school boards and politicians need to be having across the nation in order to improve education.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Designed to "start a national conversation" about misplaced school priorities, this book challenges the way that most American schools are structured. Kralovec, the author of the controversial The End of Homework, argues schools spend too much time and too much money on schedules and programs that actually undermine the learning process. She advocates rethinking how both time and money are spent and offers some radical solutions to the educational woes afflicting U.S. schools. Maintaining that zero-based budgeting is actually a tool for reform, she outlines an educational budget that starts from scratch and necessitates a complete articulation of community goals for education before any resources can be allocated. She also recommends the end of homework, the elimination of student fundraising, and the removal of athletic and drama programs from the public school domain. Though many will balk at some of her more drastic solutions, Kralovec presents well-reasoned arguments and provides plenty of food for thought about the contemporary educational crisis. Margaret Flanagan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 152 pages
• Publisher: Beacon Press (January 5, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807032514
• ISBN-13: 978-0807032510
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.4 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,385,176 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Radical Reform with Reason, January 28, 2003

By 

Heather (Surry, ME, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Schools That Do Too Much: How Schools Waste Time and Money and What We Can Do about It (Hardcover)

In her new book, Schools That Do Too Much, Dr. Etta Kralovec advocates rethinking the amount of time and financial backing given to "school sports, DARE and extra-curricular activities", but not without rationale. She documents the toll taken upon academics from the seemingly endless stream of fundraising for one project or another. She notes that with each new societal challenge; AIDS, drugs, poverty, disrupted family units, we have expected our schools to assume responsibility for instruction on the issue, and to act as surrogate parents. Although there is undoubtedly a need for a larger community support network to support our youth, is that the role of the school? With each new program or curricula added to an already hectic week, some other piece of the day must give way. Inevitably, it is a core academic piece that is lost. With the recent increase in federally mandated standards, and a drive towards "learning results", it is especially difficult to accomplish. Kralovec acknowledges the value in special programs and extra-curricular activities, many of which grew out of progressive reform movements of the past aimed at making our communities more cohesive and nurturing places. However, in the face of nsufficient time and funding devoted to academic pursuits, she argues thatit is time to fundamentally revisit the purpose of school. We must alter the curriculum, the budget, and our own expectations to achieve success.

That the average student's day is chaotic and fragmented is more than just the "view" of Dr. Kralovec. As reported in her book, studies show that during the average high school day, a comparatively small percentage of the day is devoted to actual learning. Large chunks of precious time are squandered on moving between classes, settling into the new class, taking roll call, and the numerous and frequent interruptions from announcements,
bells, and other distractions. Furthermore, the time spent `in class' is not always spent `on learning'. Even the very nature of that time is examined. Research shows that the current model asks students to engage at hours when they are least able to do so, and then divides their day into ways which make it particularly difficult to focus. Perhaps from a sense of familiarity, perhaps from lack of a clear alternative, we continue to cling to this unproductive model. Kralovec offers an alternative.

Following an illustration of how to read and understand a school budget (so that parents and interested community members can see where the money is spent), Kralovec goes on to present concrete and well developed, if radical, solutions. These include doing away with homework as it is now (see her prior book The End of Homework), altering the length and structure of the school day, eliminating the bells and loudspeakers which fragment thought, respecting the time allotted to learning, and making the classroom `sacred space'. She challenges schools and parents to revisit their long-held assumptions about what a school is, in an attempt to see what a school might be. I challenge you to read
her book, loan it to a teacher, pass it around your local school board, and start the dialogue.

Heather Martin-Zboray

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Superb Place to Begin Discussions, May 27, 2003

By 

David Kleist - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Schools That Do Too Much: How Schools Waste Time and Money and What We Can Do about It (Hardcover)

As Heather Martin-Zboray states in her review, this is a book well worth reading. Its suggestions are simple but radical for most Americans: let community groups sponsor sports and drama, and let the schools teach a core curriculum!

Shifting to longer class periods (the 90-minute block); starting high school at 9am rather than 7:30am (when most scientific studies reveal that adolescents should be asleep); removing disruptive loud speakers; extending the school day so that teachers can tutor students one-on-one on a daily basis; etc. are the core of Kralovec's suggestions.

Other than overcoming community aversion to these suggestions because "things always were done OUR way," there are no real roadblocks to the suggestions here. The question is this: Does America have the willpower to try to effect effective change which truly promotes learning?

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars interesting, important, but not perfect, April 16, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Schools That Do Too Much: Wasting Time and Money in Schools and What We Can All Do About It (Paperback)

Kralovec raises two interesting and important questions in this book: What should schools actually be responsible for, and how should the various "additional" (in Kralovec's view) activities and concepts be handled? She advocates removing athletics and drama from the domain of the school, placing them instead in the hands of community groups and businesses, and argues that doing so will allow schools to focus more effectively on the business of learning.

Kralovec's stance is a brave and innovative one, but she barely acknowledges the fact that any such radical change would be possible only after a LOT of hard work by school and community leaders. She does recognize the fact that many people would be angry about proposing these changes. Overall, I don't feel the book does enough to make this kind of change possible -- that is, there isn't enough concrete information about how to bring about real school reform.

Kralovec uses a kind of composite sketch to describe the problems in American secondary schools; some schools are better learning environments than the author describes, and some are even less productive. She also seems to rely on a very few studies to support her ideas, and frequently speaks in generalities. The book as a whole could have been edited better for things like parallel structure, consistent verbiage, and Those Mistakes that Spell-Check Can't Help With.

I think these are important ideas, and it's clear that Kralovec really believes in her thesis. _Schools That Do Too Much_ is worth reading, but the writing itself leaves a bit to be desired. I would (actually, I did) get it from the library rather than purchasing.