#education reading
Cleo Hereford ‘09
Soon after moving back to my hometown (Lynn, MA) in 2009, I became more involved with my city’s public education including everything from bloggingto organizing to moderating school committee debates. The catalyst was largely the realization, after having attended Wellesley, that there were major disparities between even public school districts in terms of funding but also access to various opportunities, focus within the classroom, and the physical environment (see Lynn’s crumbling 100 year old school buildings). I guess I kind of knew growing up in close proximity to wealthier towns but attending Wellesley really let me know that the Wellesley Public School District, for example, was on a completely different level than Lynn (a district that is currently about 66% Hispanic/Latinx and 58% economically disadvantaged). Part of my interest over the last 10 years has extended to include consuming anything and everything related to K-12 public education both in Massachusetts and nationally. If you’re like me and interested in public education or want to learn more (particularly in light of the inequities that COVID has made even more apparent), I’ve included some reading and listens for you to consider.
First, I would be remiss if I didn’t include some options from Diane Ravitch ‘60. A former Assistant Secretary of Education under President George H.W. Bush in the early 90s, Ravitch has since come out in opposition to both the increase in standardized testing and school privatization.
Her latest book published this year:
Other options by Ravitch include:
- The Great School Wars: A History of the New York City Public Schools(2000)
- Left Back: A Century of Battles over School Reform(2001)
- The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice are Undermining Education(2016)
Eve Ewing, a sociologist of education who currently teaches at the University of Chicago wrote this excellent book on the impetus for and impact of school closings in Chicago:
Interested in learning more about standardized testing?
https://bookshop.org/books/beyond-test-scores-a-better-way-to-measure-school-quality/9780674976399
Here are some other recommendations:
- The Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools(Monique Morris, 2018)
- A Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door: The Dismantling of Public Education and the Future of School (Jack Schneider and Jennifer Berkshire; November 2020)
- Choosing a School for my Daughter in a Segregated City (Nikole-Hannah Jones; The New York Times)
- What if America Didn’t Have Public Schools (Julie Halpert; The Atlantic)
And if you’re more into podcasts right now (because who has an attention span these days?):
Hosted by Jack Schneider andJennifer Berkshire,Have you Heard has covered everything from how politics has shaped textbooks to the LA teacher strike to billionaire philanthropists’ involvement in public education.
And:
