From Education Next, a review of The Path to Purpose: Helping Our Children Find Their Calling in Life by William Damon; and more on Charles Murray's Real Education. A review of The Dangerous Rise of Therapeutic Education by Kathryn Ecclestone. A review of Hope and Despair in the American City: Why There Are No Bad Schools in Raleigh by Gerald Grant. Arrogant or dynamic, harsh or honest? Inside the mind of Michelle Rhee, D.C.'s controversial schools chief (and more on Rhee). E.D. Hirsch Jr. on how schools fail democracy. An interview with Ruben Gaztambide-Fernandez, author of The Best of the Best: Becoming Elite at an American Boarding School. An article on looking for solutions to the Catholic-school crisis. An excerpt from Write These Laws On Your Children: Inside the World of Conservative Christian Homeschooling by Robert Kunzman. Kitchen-classroom conservatives: An article on the growth of home-schooling. From Harper's, dehumanized: When math and science rule the school. Cooking the books: Why we need home economics (back) in schools. The unimportance of gym class: Still the most worthless of high school requirements. The grim reader: Should classroom books reflect the tough realities of life, or is there still a place for escapism? Why not take a look at what school would be like if books, teachers and administrators were honest? Teacher Cooperatives: What happens when teachers run the school? The Rubber Room: Steven Brill on the battle over New York City’s worst teachers. Teach for America gets a timeout: A union wins a victory against TFA, but can it be replicated nationwide?
