"Ford Motor Company would not have survived the competition had it
not been for an emphasis on results. We must view education the
same way," the U.S. Secretary of Education declared in 2003. But is
he right? In this provocative new book, Larry Cuban takes aim at
the alluring cliche that schools should be more businesslike, and
shows that in its long history in business-minded America, no one
has shown that a business model can be successfully applied to
education.
In this straight-talking book, one of the most distinguished
scholars in education charts the Gilded Age beginnings of the
influential view that American schools should be organized to meet
the needs of American businesses, and run according to principles
of cost-efficiency, bottom-line thinking, and customer
satisfaction.
Not only are schools by their nature not businesslike, Cuban
argues, but the attempt to run them along business lines leads to
dangerous over-standardization--of tests, and of goals for our
children. Why should we think that there is such a thing as one
best school? Is "college for all" achievable--or even desirable?
Even if it were possible, do we really want schools to operate as
bootcamps for a workforce? Cuban suggests that the best
business-inspired improvement for American education would be more
consistent and sustained on-the-job worker training, tailored for
the job to be done, and business leaders' encouragement--and
adoption--of an ethic of civic engagement and public service.
General
Imprint: |
Harvard University Press
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Release date: |
September 2007 |
First published: |
September 2007 |
Authors: |
Larry Cuban
|
Dimensions: |
210 x 140 x 20mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Paperback
|
Pages: |
272 |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-674-02538-7 |
Categories: |
Books >
Social sciences >
Education >
Teaching skills & techniques
|
LSN: |
0-674-02538-5 |
Barcode: |
9780674025387 |
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