Customer Reviews

Turning Learning Right Side Up: Putting Education Back on Track

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In modern America, everyone and his brother believes that the educational system is broken. But most people suggest responding with more of the same, rather than rethinking what learning is actually about.
When the economy does well, people claim that it must be because of the education system and propose spending more money. When it does poorly, people say that it must be because we don't spend enough on education and propose spending more.

Ackoff and Greenberg go back to first principals, and to daily experiences, to consider how people learn, and how education might be restructured.
What they propose really does turn the modern vision of school on its head. Why do schools in the US -- the land of the free and the home of the brave -- condition children to be passive and to wait on authority?

There is only one suggestion or conclusion that I question. There is an argument posited by one of the authors (Ackoff, I think) for an elaborate voucher system. However, the history of governments' tendency to want to manage how government money is spent would likely crush the innovation that is needed -- pushing and encouraging private schools to recoil further from innovation and the cutting edge, and thereby eliminating the laboratories for reform of education.
That said, the appeal for a voucher system is a very secondary aspect of the book, and does not distract from the arguments, message, and information.

This is the best book I've read in years. If our candidates for elected office would articulate their ideals so thoroughly and concisely, we might actually have something to consider.

Dr. Ackoff and Mr. Greenberg helped me to understand why I have yet to obtain a bachelor's degree; and more importantly, why my children rebelled so mightily against the educational system in which they were corralled.

I'm envious of those fortunate enough to have a Sudbury model school in their vicinity and hope for expansion of this model as we move toward the future.

Outstanding and revolutionary insights that must be considered by policy makers around the world. The emphasis is on the learner and not on the teacher, as it should be. Although not explicit, these concepts are in the back of our mind as we search for explanations to our own most rewarding learning experiences.

Excellent ideas! The concepts and theories affirmed my beliefs and practices in the classroom.

If you have wondered about our educational system and why we do things, this is the book for you to read. It provides you with ideas as well as examples of their philosophy in action. This book will give rise to questions of your own you will be impassioned to research. Their arguments are well researched and supported. They also make a great deal of sense especially in reguards to how our world operates now and how it is rapidly changing. Enjoy!

Hi! Service was excellent and book was in fabulous condition!
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I have been a fan of Ackhoff's work for years and years. He is an expert analyst and exceptional writer. I love Ackhoff's best but consider this to be Ackhoff's worst. Perhaps his co-author had too much to do with this book.