Letters to a Young Education Reformer

by Frederick M. Hess

Overview

In Letters to a Young Education Reformer, Frederick M. Hess distills knowledge from twenty-five years of working in and around school reform. Inspired by his conversations with young, would-be reformers who are passionate about transforming education, the book offers a window into Hess’s thinking about what education reform is and should be.
 
Hess writes that “reform is more a matter of how one thinks about school improvement than a recital of programs and policy proposals.” Through his essays, he explores a range of topics, including:
 
-Talkers and Doers
-The Temptations of Bureaucracy
-The Value in Talking with Those Who Disagree
-Why You Shouldn’t Put Too Much Faith in Experts
-Philanthropy and Its Discontents
-The Problem with Passion
 
Hess offers personal impressions as well as lessons from notable mistakes he’s observed with the hope that readers will benefit from his frustrations and realizations.
 
As the policy landscape continues to shift, Letters to a Young Education Reformer offers valuable, timely insights to any young person passionate about transforming education—and to not-so-young reformers who are inclined to reflect on their successes and failures.
 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781682530245
Publisher:	Harvard Education Press
Publication date:	04/25/2017
Series:	Educational Innovations Series
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	184
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

An educator, political scientist, and author, Frederick M. Hess studies K–12 and higher education issues as director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute. His books include The Cage Busting Teacher, Cage-Busting Leadership, Education Unbound, The Same Thing Over and Over, Common Sense School Reform, Revolution at the Margins, and Spinning Wheels. He authors the popular Education Week blog Rick Hess Straight Up and is a regular contributor to The Hill. His work has appeared in scholarly and popular outlets such as Teachers College Record, Harvard Education Review, Social Science Quarterly, Urban Affairs Review, American Politics Quarterly, Chronicle of Higher Education, Phi Delta Kappan, Educational Leadership, U.S. News & World Report, The Atlantic, National Affairs, National Review, USA Today, Washington Post, New York Times, and Wall Street Journal. He has edited influential volumes on topics including the Common Core, education philanthropy, the impact of education research, school spending, and No Child Left Behind.

He serves as executive editor of Education Next, as senior fellow for the Leadership Institute of Nevada, and on the review board for the Broad Prize for Public Charter Schools. He also serves on the boards of directors of the National Association of Charter School Authorizers and 4.0 SCHOOLS. has taught at the University of Virginia, the University of Pennsylvania, Georgetown University, Rice University and Harvard University. He holds an MA and PhD in government, as well as an MEd in teaching and curriculum, from Harvard University.

He lives in Arlington, Virginia, with his wife, Joleen, and their two sons.

Table of Contents

Preface xiii

1 Of "Big-R" and "Little-r" School Reform 1

2 Talkers and Doers 13

3 The Value in Talking with Those Who Disagree 19

4 The Limits of Policy 25

5 Why You Shouldn't Put Too Much Faith in Experts 31

6 A Letter to a Younger Me 37

7 The Handshake Between Families and Schools 43

8 The Thing About Data 49

9 The Temptations of Bureaucracy 57

10 What Research Can Really Tell Us 63

11 The Common Core's Uncommon Travails 71

12 The False Promise of Court-Driven Reform 79

13 The Real Promise of School Choice 85

14 Getting Technology Right 93

15 Philanthropy and Its Discontents 99

16 Beware the Media Glare 107

17 School Reform Left and Right 115

18 What Parenthood Taught Me About School Reform 121

19 Why History Matters 127

20 Finding Your Way 135

21 The Perils of Passion 141

A Few Final Thoughts 149

Notes 153

Acknowledgments 161

About the Author 163

Index 165