Customer Reviews

Troublemaker: A Personal History of School Reform since Sputnik

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is much the best education book I've read in ages, a delightful blend of history, autobiography, humor and policy talk. Though often called a conservative, the author turns out to be more of a radical, a family man, a goodhearted (and sometimes frustrated) father and grandfather, and a genuine human being. He has penned a balanced, thoroughly readable (and sometimes laugh-out-loud amusing)account of major developments in American primary-secondary education over the past half century or so, intertwined with his own life and work in this field. You won't encounter a clearer recounting of U.S. school reform efforts--or a more enjoyable book on the subject.

"Troublemaker" tells the story of Chester Finn's journey through American education - from young student to teacher, from graduate student to professor, from one reform position he held to another, and through the sometimes frustrating process of attempting to obtain the best education for his children and grand-children. At the same time, "Troublemaker" is also primarily a recounting of the never-ending efforts at reforming (improving?) public education.

Early in the book Finn briefly recounts the 1966 Coleman Report findings - that student achievement varied as much within schools as between, and that school differences were far less consequential than people had long assumed. This news came shortly after SAT scores peaked in 1964. Nonetheless, Americans in ever-increasing numbers believe that "more money" for schools can solve our lagging international pupil achievement problem - eg. the 6/13/08 "USAToday" reports 32% in 1965 believed schools needed more money, vs. 57% today.

Between those years we have heralded the implementation of bilingual education, gender equality in college sports, affirmative action, busing, special education, equity of funding, increased teacher union membership and militancy (attain improved salaries, protection from urban community conflicts), school choice and vouchers, a federal Department of Education, multiculturalism, ethnic and gender studies, child-centered learning, "professionalism" of teachers (putting them in charge, vs. elected officials), values-free education, back to basics, core-knowledge curriculum (knowledge builds upon knowledge), high-stakes testing manipulation of tests, phonics vs. whole language, thinking mathematically vs. accurate methodology and results, a more than doubling of per-pupil inflation-adjusted spending, "No Child Left Behind," etc. Meanwhile, 17-year-old NAEP pupil achievement scores have remained virtually unchanged, and we still lag most other developed nations.

The good news is that a few stars have shown brightly during this period - eg. Community School District #4 in New York City, Prince George's County Schools in Maryland, Jaime Escalante in L.A., and the Houston public schools under Dr. Paige. Mr. Escalante became frustrated with roadblocks and opposition, and quit, Houston's achievements turned out to be largely fraudulent, and the innovators at Community School District #4 and Prince George's County have mvoed on and faded from the memory of most. Nonetheless, Dr. Finn remains bullish.

"Troublemaker" would benefit considerably if Dr. Finn had also addressed the transitory nature of these successes, the resiliency of the status quo, as well as the generally poor quality of education research (lack of proper statistical controls, confusing operational with statistical significance), and the system's failure to sustain improvements - eg. Head Start, earlier grade-level improvements.

Finally, Dr. Finn shortchanges Coleman's findings and fails to adequately address the potential for pupil achievement via increased parental and pupil motivation. The continued examples of "over-achieving" Asian and Jewish pupils within the U.S. are not to be ignored. They mirror the "secrets" of Asian households revealed by Dr. Stevenson at the U. of Michigan and hold the secret for widespread significant and sustained improvement in America.

This is a remarkable book, not only for it's history of educational reform, but for it's insider perspective of the interplay of politics and culture on education. As an educator who attended school through the '50's and '60's and taught school beginning in the 70's, this book represents a "living history" that parallels what I, and many others, were doing "in the trenches."

Checker Finn's memoir, Troublemaker, takes us through the last 50 years of American schooling and is a fascinating coming together of his life's work. Its commentary addresses the numerous school reform initiatives Checker has been involved in (and often led), and many of us -- like me -- will recognize our own history in his wonderful and witty prose.

It is both a droll and dead serious book, an easy read that makes powerful points. When are we going to wake up to the fact that our way of life is just one generation away from extinction and dependent on the quality of education the youngest of our citizenry receive? Our public schools are getting worse, not better.

Checker is talking about some pretty scary stuff here, and our nation owes him a debt of gratitude for drawing our attention to it (if only more of us were paying attention).

The Worst Call Ever!: The Most Infamous Calls Ever Blown by Referees, Umpires, and Other Blind Officials

Troublemaker, by Chester E. Finn

Checker Finn made trouble using his fine prose, as well as other ways; the the book is a delight to read. You get the history of education policy initiatives, and failures, since Sputnik was launched, as well as an account of his efforts to affect things in the key positions he has held. Of course, you are not going to agree with troublemakers all the time.

Paul E. Barton