The conservative journal Ednext has a poll that may be of interest to readers of the blog.
The last time the editors had a poll, it was for best education book of the decade (2000-2010), my book won the contest, much to the consternation of the editors.
This time, almost every book on the list promotes corporate reform, except for two: Diana Senechal’s “Republic of Noise,” which is a plea to restore quiet time for reflection and repose. And Paul Tough’s “How Children Succeed,” which makes the case that character matters more than test scores. Please note that my half-sentence descriptions are vast oversimplifications of thoughtful books.
I will vote for those two.
I hope you have the time to cast a ballot if you are familiar with the books.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Deborah Kenny’s book is currently winning by a wide margin. Ugh.
I just voted for Diana’s book. I haven’t gotten around to reading it yet, but it’s got to be better than any of the others. I’d vote for Paul Tough’s book if I had to, but even he’s sort of on the “reform” fence, and I disagree with what he has to say about teaching character skills. But I did like his first chapter that explores the connections among poverty, trauma and poor school performance. The other books I wouldn’t vote for if there were a gun in my face.
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Deborah Kenny’s Amazon rank as of now: #78,000
Beats Michelle Rhee’s memoir, which is # 94,000
If Kenny wins the vote, I will repost Gary Rubinstein’s review of her high attrition rates and teacher turnover.
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By the way, when a book gets that many votes—you can bet there is an organized effort behind it. This is not a scientific poll. The winner is the one who gets enough friends or allies or employees to cast a ballot.
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What is with the “popularity” of the Deborah Kenny book? What groups/individuals stand to gain if her book “wins.”
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The vote is like the Literary Digest poll of 1936 that predicted FDR would lose.
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Exactly. And since it does not matter, even Tough’s book oversimplifies the problems with education. What about your last two books? What about “Multiplication is for Other People’s Children?”
What about any book that does not boil our educational deficits down to the fault of teachers or children?
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Dianne,
Your book was the best education book I have ever read in 44 years of teaching.
It should be required reading in every college education course.
A MUST READ FOR EVERY EDUCATOR
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Dear Dianne,
I would like to nominate Lindsey Smith, NPR reporter for Michigan Radio, for her four-part series about Muskegon Heights Academy, the first all-charter district in the state, possibly the nation.
It took a lot of guts for Lindsey to write the truth. The local paper has so badly distorted this story that the truth is well-hidden, and Lindsey took the time to dig for the truth and then report on it.
I have been posting the series on my blog, politicsforabetteramerica.blogspot.com. You can also find them at michiganradio.org.
Lindsey has demonstrated the kind of courage that needs rewarding.
Sincerely,
Mary Valentine
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I’ve got to give kudos to Tough’s book. Our principal, who is always looking for new material to offer staff as part of our professional development hours, bought 80 copies of the book. Many, maybe even most, of the staff have now read it. We’re participating in discussion groups, interacting in small group planning using the concepts from the book, and reading articles related to the ideas in the book. I had my classes read NYT and Forbes articles related to the character and leadership skills mentioned by Tough and now my juniors want to read the book themselves. We’re starting it next week. I teach in a low-income urban schools so much of the book is particularly relevant. I also teach ESL so the fact that my students are asking to tackle such a long piece of non-fiction (oh wait, informational text) tells you how pervasively this books has infiltrated our campus. I look forward to hear their perspective.
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I have an idea! Let’s do our own poll for 2012. We need to have a long run time on it, because my nominee isn’t out in paperback yet and is priced at $36.77. It’s The Ordeal of Equality, by David K. Cohen, Susan L. Moffitt. Maybe your library has it, if you still have a library, or you have access to a real academic library that updates its offerings.
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Ordeal-of-Equality/David-K-Cohen/e/9780674035461
On a side note, I’ve linked to Barnes and Noble instead of Amazon because I prefer their business model, but that might not last. Pearson has joined Microsoft in purchasing shares of the Barnes and Noble Nook unit, and they are up to 16.8%.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-12-28/barnes-noble-says-pearson-bought-5-of-nook-unit.html
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Well, this is a tough one. The Death and Life of the Great American School System was published in November of 2011. Can I still choose that one as the best education book of 2012? : )
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That’s funny.
I looked at Amazon rankings. “Death and Life” was #829, Rhee’s bio was #78,422. Not bad for a book published in 2010.
Just goes to show how few “reformers” there are.
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A book that needs to be on the list is Gregory Michie’s WE DON’T NEED ANOTHER HERO.
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Paul Tough definitely has my vote. I wish every educator, politician, activist, counselor, mentor would read it!
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For 2012, I would definitely vote for Lisa Delpit’s Multiplication is for White People. A fresh take on race, poverty and curriculum. She advances and refines the arguments in Other People’s Children… a great and powerful read.
How Children Succeed was also good, though I recognize the hints of Reform mindset and I understand the concerns of “Character Education”. Michie’s We don’t Need Another Hero is still in my queue, but I’m looking forward to it.
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