A review by anteus7
Excellent Sheep: The Miseducation of the American Elite and the Way to a Meaningful Life by William Deresiewicz

4.0

I think that Deresiewicz makes some excellent points about how we have come to see modern education. I feel like upper-division high school students should read (most of) this book. The end turns into a bit of a rant (warranted, there are things that are deeply wrong with our educational and political systems), which might turn some of those same high schoolers off to the book. Deresiweicz has a fairly even hand when it comes to dishing out criticism to politicians about the state of things, though, which I found refreshing. On the other hand, there is a bit of the 'in the good old days' that seems to come through here and there, with pre-Nixon presidents (some of them at least) having pride of place in a list of people who did right by American education.

Overall, I think this is an important book to use as a jumping-off point for further reading, discussion, and above all, thinking about the present and future of American education.