Reviews for Left Back: A Century of Battles over School Reform

The average rating for Left Back: A Century of Battles over School Reform based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2012-09-29 00:00:00 Martin Jungverdorben Everyone involved in education should read this book and it should be mandatory reading for all first year teachers in training. Ravitch traces the real roots of all of the fads and labels we hear today and puts the entire history of school reform in historical perspective. What this book does is reveal how little those who peddle reform ideas today really know about the people and ideas they celebrate. This book will have you thinking about how we ought to reform the schools of education.

Review # 2 was written on 2014-11-04 00:00:00 Kenneth Tucker I can never say too much about Ravitch. What I can say is this: She needs to read Larry Cuban's publication "How Teachers Taught" which was written BEFORE this, yet addresses so much of what Ravitch is missing. She only looks at how ideas were spread and the links between progressive education and how certain ideas were implemented. She fails to acknowledge racism altogether, and she also neglects addressing all the other factors that may have impacted implementation of progressive education. Ravitch wants to go back to the 1890s? Is that seriously her solution? We're trying to move forward here, not backwards. Sure, some movements and new ideas have flaws. But at least people are trying, and acknowledging that the system in the past was FAILING. Ravitch is a persuasive writer, and does raise some valid points. The evidence towards her arguments just isn't there though. And she knocks my man, John Dewey.