answered up till now by an outmoded, conservative, educational agenda. Rather than resting comfortably on a sentimental vision of education's history to provide their answers, the authors take a realistic look at our current educational system and provide sound answers to the most difficult questions. 1. What are the basics and are we teaching them? 2. Who decides the form schools have taken and who should decide? 3. Is it true that teachers are not as good as they used to be? 4. Do students misbehave more than they used to? 5. What is good teaching and how do we teach people to be good teachers? 6. Should the fact that we live in a democratic society make a difference in what our schools are like? 7. In what way does gender affect the educational process? 8. In what way does race affect the educational process? 9. In what ways does class affect the educational process? 10. What role should religion play in the public schools? 11. What have been the effects of the attempts to improve education over the last decade? 12. What's missing in the public conversation about education? 13. What are schools for and what should we be doing in the name of education?

Hide more