Reviews for Improving Standards-Based Learning: A Process Guide for Educational Leaders

The average rating for Improving Standards-Based Learning: A Process Guide for Educational Leaders based on 2 reviews is 2.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2010-07-01 00:00:00 Todd Burrow Frank furedi is a professor of sociology so I would have expected more evidence-based support for his very strong opinions. I found it off-putting that he frequently cited newspaper headlines to support his arguments and drew extensively on some sources whilst giving the impression of much wider evidence for his assertions. This is a polemic and written in a popular style - not appealing to an academic audience, but not sure who the lay audience would be. Lots of criticism of the rise of therapeutic education and mourning for the demise of adult authority, at first I thought I was reading a right ght wing commentary until I looked up his card-carrying Marxist credentials. I don't disagree with much of what he says, but his major thesis that adult authority is undermined and that is a bad thing for education is asserted not explained. I need a more scholarly, educational analysis and explanation to be convinced that this is the key to what is wrong with education today. Fully support his call for education to cease being subject to the whims of political parties, for teachers to be given a chance to educate rather than merely be required to implement policies and pedagogical experiments, but that's not going to happen any time soon. So we are left feeling thoroughly depressed about every aspect of our schools. There must be some good stuff going on somewhere!

Review # 2 was written on 2013-04-02 00:00:00 Shelby Wilking I found that this picked up in interest further into the book, with the sections on socialisation being more interesting. However, it's clear that Furedi is speaking from the armchair. He doesn't seem to have, or to access, much direct knowledge of what's going on in schools. The book as a whole is theoretical, repetitive, and pretty dry. He repeatedly criticises teachers for having difficulty handling violent young children or persistent low-level disruption. He believes that reflects teachers' weakness and inadequacy, because surely these are trivial and timeless problems that are easily resolved by any competent educator. I'd like him to give it a try: take some of the challenging classes I have, and see how easy you find it. If you're not willing to do that, take seriously the reports of people who do do it every day and know what they're talking about.