We're 34th in Education

We Are 34th in Education - It's the Culture concerns the disappointing state of America's public education. The book's title reflects the 2014 report by PISA, the premier international assessment organism of scholastic performance, that places the US 34th in the world. Who and what is it fault in our standing 34th? As the author parses our educational deficiencies, all too often he finds a mass culture of indifference toward education. He analyzes the harmful consequences of parental and community univolvement that results in low scholastic achievement, appalling rates of dropouts and general lack of interest in self-improvement. A crucial aspect of our mass culture is the deplorable way in which we treat our teachers. In noting all our educational shortcomings, the author also observes their cultural obverse. He describes actions of energetic Americans who produce excellent schools, outstanding teachers and model school leaders. Of these positives, we have, however, as yet all too little. Both the negatives and the positives stem from cultural ways we have inherited. This book records disdain for education by too many and vigorous problem-solving by a relative few. Both traits reside in the American character. The narrative takes into account only secondary education, because of its abundance of reliable data. In doing this, it covers all aspects of our public high schools: the bad, the middling and the excellent. It examines both effective and failing traditional schools and investigates why they are so in either case. While the book devotes extended attention to critical problems, it also goes into considerable detail describing steps that we can take to correct our deficiencies and how we can do it. Thus, in its second half, this inquiry highlights what works well - successful reforms and initiatives, such as charter and magnet schools, and community and work-based learning schools, the use of the computer for instruction, and other instructional innovations. It devotes special attention to the central problem of improved teacher training and to how we must change our treatment of teachers. It delves into the relationship between indispensable money for education and the politics it involves. The fundamental role of ever-present philanthropy, both large and small, receives constant attention. This is ultimately an optimistic account, because it shows resilient American culture beginning to assert its positive side, as it begins to build steps that allow us to turn the corner.