Mercedes Schneider’s hard-hitting new book–A Chronicle of Echoes: Who’s Who in the Implosion of American Public Educations–which explores the persons and organizations behind the attacks on public education– was officially published on April 22 by Information Age Publishing. She has no public relations campaign, no marketing budget, no press release, no press conferences, no webinars, no flyers, just word of mouth. As of this minute, it is ranked about #5,100 on amazon.com

 

Paul Peterson and his co-authors published a book about the same time called Teachers Versus the Public: What Americans Think About Schools and How To Fix Them, in which they argue that teachers (not the unions, but teachers–those dangerous people who pretend to be your second cousins and your friends) are the enemies of school reform. By that, they mean that teachers are blocking such wonderful reforms as vouchers, charters, merit pay, abolishing tenure, high-stakes testing, and other things they like but teachers don’t. The book was published by the Brookings Institution Press and was heavily promoted. It has the endorsements of such heavy hitters as Joel Klein, Michelle Rhee, Jeb Bush, and Eric Hanushek. At a webinar last week, Peterson and his co-authors introduced their book to the public. Lily Eskelsen of the NEA bravely joined the panel and asked Peterson whether he planned to abandon his tenure at Harvard. I don’t think he answered her question, and I doubt he will abandon his tenure to set a good example for the nation’s teachers. As of this minute, the Peterson book is ranked on amazon.com at about #128,000.

 

Mercedes’ book is so under-promoted that it doesn’t even have a jacket cover on the amazon website. Yet her book, with no promotion, no marketing, no press release, is outselling Peterson’s. Maybe the public likes teachers and doesn’t think they are public enemy number 1.

 

Read  Mercedes’ thoughts on the matter.