Up at the front desk of Lemuria sits an ever-growing pile of newspaper articles on various book related subjects that John has so thoughtfully placed at our disposal (just in case we should feel the need to expand upon our already vast bookselling knowledge, right John?) As I was thumbing through this pile one afternoon, I came upon an article from the Wall Street Journal that caught my eye. The article reviewed two different books that have recently been published on the state of America’s public education system and the ongoing “reformer vs. traditionalist” debate. The first book is Steven Brill’s Class Warfare, which is the book I am currently reading. The second is Terry Moe’s Special Interest, which I have not read yet, but am interested in after reading the WSJ article.
So far, I am enjoying the easy, journalistic style that Brill employs to discuss both the reformist and traditionalist agendas. Although, I have to admit that Brill favors the reformers and their ideals over the traditionalists and the teachers unions. Let’s just say that he does not shine a favorable light upon the teachers unions and the political sway they hold over the very people who can make legislative changes to the currently broken system.
Using the stories of unknown grass roots educators and also some more well known names such as Wendy Kopp (the founder of Teach for America) and Randi Weingarten (the teachers-union leader,) Brill manages to keep the reader (me) captivated, which is sometimes not that easy with non-fiction. So, if you’re in the mood for an interesting work of non-fiction with a valid argument, go ahead and check out Class Warfare. Keep the articles coming John!
Class Warfare by Steven Brill (Simon & Schuster, August 2011)
by Anna
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