bgg616's review against another edition
5.0
This book was everything I hoped it would be. Kumashiro tackles big questions of what's behind current educational reform initiatives. He is a tireless advocate for "a truly democratic society and a truly educative school system". As the title promises, he unravels the current trend of blaming teachers for everything, as well as the current trend of "less preparation makes better teachers" or quick routes to alternative teacher certification instead of traditional teacher education university-based programs. I recently bought 3 of his books and will soon be reading more.
claudiaswisher's review against another edition
5.0
Not a lot of new information, but connections...And the more connections I learn, the easier it is for me to see the big picture and the small one.
Kumashiro begins with questions; he thinks in questions, and he organizes this short book in questions. I like that.
Lani Guinier (some of us remember her)offers three questions people should be asking about power struggles: Who's winning and losing? Who made the rules? What is the story we tell losers to get them to want to keep playing. Powerful way to begin this discussion of the history of education reform, the difference between traditional philanthropists and today's venture philanthropists, who are definitely in the business for profit. They want influence, and they buy it.
He talks about standardized testing and the dangers of focusing ONLY on tests, and making scores the definition of good teaching. He talks about teacher preparation and why traditional education schools are under fire: "If schools should merely be following the offical script, then preparing independent-minded teachers is the problem, not the solution." We're dangerous.
Kumashiro says there's between $500 to $600 BILLION dollars to be skimmed by profiteers from public education, and we're just sitting here, letting it happen. He reckons venture philanthropists invest, perhaps, 1% of schools' budgets, but man, do they get a huge opportunity to influence policies.
More questions: Are current reforms making America's schools look more like the best schools in our nation, or are they widening the gap? Are current reforms building on sound research, or do they fall back on common sense ("RECEIVED WISDOM" -- a new term...we all know how schools work because we all attended them)Are current reforms guided by a vision in which all of America's children can flourish? We know the answers...but I appreciate the questions.
Then, Kumashiro discusses efforts in Chicago to build consensus...to do the work of really talking about what works, to build the research base, and to assemble the players. CHICAGO SCHOOL REFORM: MYTHS: REALITES< AND NEW VISIONS is their book. createchicago.blogspot.com is their website.
Their four visions: bold leadership that addresses real problems; develop and implement initiatives that are research-driven, not market-driven; improve teaching and learning; support the human and civil rights of every student...I can get behind that.
More questions: Why movement-building? Who are our allies? What are the problems? When will we see our goals met? Where should we act? Why do we need to reframe? How do we do all this?
Important book...now I need to do my own research on what's happening with them. We all know the schools in Chicago are really suffering...I have not heard of this movement at all...
I think we have a lot to learn from this book.
Kumashiro begins with questions; he thinks in questions, and he organizes this short book in questions. I like that.
Lani Guinier (some of us remember her)offers three questions people should be asking about power struggles: Who's winning and losing? Who made the rules? What is the story we tell losers to get them to want to keep playing. Powerful way to begin this discussion of the history of education reform, the difference between traditional philanthropists and today's venture philanthropists, who are definitely in the business for profit. They want influence, and they buy it.
He talks about standardized testing and the dangers of focusing ONLY on tests, and making scores the definition of good teaching. He talks about teacher preparation and why traditional education schools are under fire: "If schools should merely be following the offical script, then preparing independent-minded teachers is the problem, not the solution." We're dangerous.
Kumashiro says there's between $500 to $600 BILLION dollars to be skimmed by profiteers from public education, and we're just sitting here, letting it happen. He reckons venture philanthropists invest, perhaps, 1% of schools' budgets, but man, do they get a huge opportunity to influence policies.
More questions: Are current reforms making America's schools look more like the best schools in our nation, or are they widening the gap? Are current reforms building on sound research, or do they fall back on common sense ("RECEIVED WISDOM" -- a new term...we all know how schools work because we all attended them)Are current reforms guided by a vision in which all of America's children can flourish? We know the answers...but I appreciate the questions.
Then, Kumashiro discusses efforts in Chicago to build consensus...to do the work of really talking about what works, to build the research base, and to assemble the players. CHICAGO SCHOOL REFORM: MYTHS: REALITES< AND NEW VISIONS is their book. createchicago.blogspot.com is their website.
Their four visions: bold leadership that addresses real problems; develop and implement initiatives that are research-driven, not market-driven; improve teaching and learning; support the human and civil rights of every student...I can get behind that.
More questions: Why movement-building? Who are our allies? What are the problems? When will we see our goals met? Where should we act? Why do we need to reframe? How do we do all this?
Important book...now I need to do my own research on what's happening with them. We all know the schools in Chicago are really suffering...I have not heard of this movement at all...
I think we have a lot to learn from this book.
hagiasophia's review
*Not rating this because I read it for class & I have a hard time separating this book from the other supplemental materials and class discussions we had around the topics*
This book is very small (less than 100 pages) and while it is a bit old at this point, it provides a brief overview of issues in the attempts to reform US education.
This book is very small (less than 100 pages) and while it is a bit old at this point, it provides a brief overview of issues in the attempts to reform US education.
joymeetsworld's review
5.0
Kevin Kumashiro gifted this book to me a few years ago and I'm glad I finally got the chance to read it. Bad Teacher succinctly challenges American society's framing around public education and connects these cultural shifts to larger patterns of deregulation, privatization, nationalism, and patriarchy. The main premise is that blaming teachers and schools obfuscates the true drivers of education disparities - existing systems of oppression exacerbated by both conservative & liberal attempts to create better educational systems. I especially appreciated the thorough yet easy-to-understand explanation of neoliberalism in Chapter 2 and the condensed history of right wing philanthropy's role in pushing the agenda of education "reform" we've seen over the past three decades in Chapter 4. If you're looking for a short read that doesn't skimp on the research or analysis, I'd recommend this one.
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