Enduring Schools : Problems And Possibilities

This work on school practice questions the reasons behind the pervasive focus on "facts" and suggests that exam-oriented learning trivializes the importance of the process of education in its entirety. The author puts forward suggestions for an agenda that combines old and new practice.

First Published in 2004. Enduring Schools: Problems and Possibilities provides a compelling argument for school reform of greater magnitude than the classroom itself. Based on twenty years of research and personal experiences, this macro-ethnography identifies the many influences on school practices which endure, despite their detrimental effects on students - and ultimately on society-at-large. In our highly bureaucratized schools, there is little time for significant learning or thinking. Visionary teachers become discouraged and leave. Students are mainly humiliated or ignored. Only a few are intellectually challenged or respected. Alienation, boredom, control and dependency are the real basics in most educational settings. Learning, which is implicitly at the heart of schooling, is explicitly discussed as a highly complex phenomenon. This perspective highlights how the enduring emphasis on control, dependency and expedience denies students the challenging experiences essential to nurture their critical thinking. But there are alternatives, some of which are explicitly described. Enduring Schools considers the perspectives of parents, students, teachers, administrators, architects, school board members, and school district officers. This provocative report from an insider demands our immediate attention.