Jefferson's Children

Rating:
Summary: Bracing mind but hopelessly idealistic
Review: As a university professor at a prestigious and highly "diverse" institution, I find it extremely unclear just how we are to transform today's American population into the spontaneously reflective, bibliophiliac, broad-horizoned culture-vultures that Botstein proposes we refashion our schools to create. I LOVE the ideal, but that's as a person of literate, upper-middle-class background who grew up stepped in those very ideals. I am not sure Botstein has been exposed to the true depths of anti-intellectualism in America, or perhaps among humans in general -- most people WORLDWIDE simply do not LIKE to "think" for its own sake, and today's universities are much more deeply permeated by unthinking radicalism than Botstein's experience has apparently shown him, which will make it almost inconceivable that the typical college student will be taught with the truly broad horizons Botstein sings of.

As much as I applaud Botstein's general vision, I cannot help thinking that it would much more practical if we were dealing with a student body composed entirely of white kids from Scarsdale, a demographic type which dominates the Bard students he has the most experience with.

His proposal that high school be eliminated, however, is thoroughly sound, as are his calls for what should be taught before students either go to college or elsewhere. It is curious, however, that he does not mention Simon's Rock, a school exemplifying this very principle, which he even heads. I am an alumnus of it and can attest that describing the place would have made his argument even more compelling.

Rating:
Summary: Bracing mind but hopelessly idealistic
Review: As a university professor at a prestigious and highly "diverse" institution, I find it extremely unclear just how we are to transform today's American population into the spontaneously reflective, bibliophiliac, broad-horizoned culture-vultures that Botstein proposes we refashion our schools to create. I LOVE the ideal, but that's as a person of literate, upper-middle-class background who grew up stepped in those very ideals. I am not sure Botstein has been exposed to the true depths of anti-intellectualism in America, or perhaps among humans in general -- most people WORLDWIDE simply do not LIKE to "think" for its own sake, and today's universities are much more deeply permeated by unthinking radicalism than Botstein's experience has apparently shown him, which will make it almost inconceivable that the typical college student will be taught with the truly broad horizons Botstein sings of.

As much as I applaud Botstein's general vision, I cannot help thinking that it would much more practical if we were dealing with a student body composed entirely of white kids from Scarsdale, a demographic type which dominates the Bard students he has the most experience with.

His proposal that high school be eliminated, however, is thoroughly sound, as are his calls for what should be taught before students either go to college or elsewhere. It is curious, however, that he does not mention Simon's Rock, a school exemplifying this very principle, which he even heads. I am an alumnus of it and can attest that describing the place would have made his argument even more compelling.

Rating:
Summary: Botstein isn't as smart as he appears
Review: Having heard Botstein speak and having had the opportunity to question some of his beliefs it became clear to me that his proposal is more a random thought than a well thought out idea. Sure, Botstein manages to write a book filled with great words, most of which are unknown the majority of the population in this country, but he fails to aknowledge one, huge problem in his idea. His idea is based more off of physical maturity than mental maturity. I think it's absurd to assume that students are maturing mentally at a faster pace, or even an equal pace to those 30 years ago. The fact of the matter, students generally don't have to mature that fast because of their lives at home, and those who do often turn to drugs or violence. That's just the way I feel.

Rating:
Summary: The best education reform
Review: I first heard Len Bostein give a talk on education and then bought his book. He offers a fresh way to look at our schools and offers some new ideas. It will have some difficulty gaining any kind of acceptance since it is a challenge the the current "educational structure." He like Jacques Barzun question the need for Education Departments ay universities and colleges. They both are quite articulate on this subject and point out that teachers teach and that teachers are not "educators" nor are "educators" teachers. Read Jacques Barzun's book entitled Teacher IN America. It was first published in 1941 and remains current today. Both these books offer sensible ideas which have great difficulty becoming accepted since they differ from thos ideas of the establised interests.

Rating:
Summary: A must read for anyone who has an interests in schools and w
Review: I first heard Len Bostein give a talk on education and then bought his book. He offers a fresh way to look at our schools and offers some new ideas. It will have some difficulty gaining any kind of acceptance since it is a challenge the the current "educational structure." He like Jacques Barzun question the need for Education Departments ay universities and colleges. They both are quite articulate on this subject and point out that teachers teach and that teachers are not "educators" nor are "educators" teachers. Read Jacques Barzun's book entitled Teacher IN America. It was first published in 1941 and remains current today. Both these books offer sensible ideas which have great difficulty becoming accepted since they differ from thos ideas of the establised interests.

Rating:
Summary: Every voter, teacher, parent should read this bk
Review: I got the feeling from this book that Leon Botstein is very very good at paying attention. His entire adult life has been devoted to education and several other passions (music and art) and he hasn't missed anything. This book combines fiery and opinionated scholarship, a humane and humanistic approach, and years of practical experience in education. Botstein: "Going to school should be like taking swimming and driving lessons: preparation for something adults continue to wish to do." It's so on-the-mark that as I said above, I believe it should be required reading for anyone interested in education and/or the future of American culture. Botstein is a 'visionary' and fortunately also President of Bard College, so one would hope that he gets to put some of his ideas into practice. One point he makes is that students would be well served if teachers expended the same amouht of energy and enthusiasm on each child that, for example, coaches do on their student athletes. He wants schools to change, but he's utterly down to earth at the same time. He recognizes that "school is not life, and life is not school." He has sensible and intelligent prescriptions for 'fixing' American education. He seems trustworthy and wise. Definitely worth reading and discussing.

Rating:
Summary: The truth finally comes out about education
Review: I have known that there are many problems in our high schools, but no one has ever talked about them till now. This book tells how high school is just wasting valuable time for kids and giving them innumerable worries and stresses by having to have to learn things that will never again be used in life. I think that high school should be geared toward an individual's plan for a future occupation. This book is a must read for anyone who has ever thought about this subject before!

Rating:
Summary: The best education reform
Review: In reading Jefferson's Children, as well as the many new articles that have been visible recently, it has come to my knowledge that the federal government should pass Botstein's plan. It, as an education policy, would significantly increase academic achievement in secondary schools in the united states. The advantages are less dropouts, less anti-intellectualism, and a better structure for higher education. Still, there are inexplicapble loopholes that exist. First, what happens to the high school buildings once they are no longer needed. Second, what happens to the teachers and administrators currently teaching. And third,what happens to the students already in high school. also, there are disadvantages: administrators and teachers will backlash b/c they prefer older students, and parents will backlash as well. Also, plan allows the not-so intelligent students go on to the streets faster. Even, normal students will have earlier times of marriage among teens, which will increase chances of abuse.

Rating:
Summary: Not just Bard
Review: Mr. Botstein's proposals for educational reform are as thought provoking and on-target as the reviews imply. Several of us, though, who are graduates of Simon's Rock College of Bard in western Massachusetts, wonder why he has omitted all mention of our school. He is ALSO the president of Simon's Rock, a college of the liberal arts and sciences that accepts younger students, generally after their tenth or eleventh-grade year of high school. In short, a college that has for nearly three decades exemplified the type of education he "proposes." And done it well, in our opinion. The omission is both perplexing and offensive.

Rating:
Summary: Revolutionary and much-needed educational reform...
Review: There is something freightening about Leon Botstein's astute critique about American culture in our time. He has an overreaching and encompasing view of American culture and the current state of education that is alarmingly accruate. His percetions of what is weak, and what is needed, should be heeded by every perosn interested in culture and cultural history. His theories tend to be paradoxically radical, liberal, and conservative at the same time, and are, in the end, in the very best interests, not only of individual students at large, but for the country in general. As I read, I kept thinking, if only this man were given free reign over educational reform at the highest governmental level, then we would really see revolutionary change. The most radical proposal is that high school as we know it, and have known it for the past century, be abolished. This comes from a study, not only of the weaknesses and failures of the kind of education our students now receive, but also from the biological and medical standpoint that students mature physically and sexually at much earlier ages now than in decades past, and that the educational system has not kept up. It is this linking between biology and education that is most strikingly innovative in his study. Instead of high school, a variety of options will become available to 15-16 year olds, including 2 year community college, 4 year college, vocational school, or work. Here, it is the 2 year college and vocational school that take on a much greater importance than they currently do. With more importance placed on better education at all levels, the current importance and snobism of "elite" education will be lessened. The educational model he espouses is similiar at times to the European model, where students are tracked at earlier ages, and instead of a liberal arts education, gives them technical training, as well as a well-roundedness, that makes them a learned, and technically trained, workforce. In America, he seems to argue, what is missing is both the well-roundedness, and the technical training. We get only a little of both, and not enough of either. With high school abolished, the kind of teaching that takes place at the lower level is strenghtened and intensified. Botstein's model, highly structured, favors both those gifted students who work well independently as well as those who need stronger supervision, and calls for new ways of parental involvement, and teacher training. If his reforms are even put into effect, they will not only change the kind of education our children receive, but American cutlure, for the better.