One Size Fits Few: The Folly of Educational Standards

by Susan Ohanian

One Size Fits Few is a sharp, pointed pin with which to deflate the overblown pro-Standards movement. In her hilarious, unsparing, and often touching narrative, Susan Ohanian-a teacher, author, and frequent contributor to the Atlantic, Education Week, and other publications-recounts her quest to make sense of the Standards movement. "Making sense" is no small feat, as we see when Ohanian muses on school districts withholding diplomas from students who fail to demonstrate "necessary knowledge" of topics such as covalent bonds, the Edict of Nantes, La Cucaracha, and the Slough of Despond. Balance is even more elusive in the media, as is evident when Ohanian drafts an op-ed piece on Goals 2000 for USA Today. When her editor repeatedly finds the real-life students she portrays "too unique," too urban, too nonstandard, she realizes that all he wants to know is "how the kids in Grosse Pointe measure up against the kids in Larchmont or Palo Alto, and how both compare to the Japanese." Ironically, even in Japan, Ohanian finds gross When she asks "What happens when a child fails to keep up with his peers?," she is reassured that this never happens. Yet no one can explain how the McDonald's clerk fits into the Japanese educational/social system. Underlying the irony is a call to action. "It is my moral duty to offer a counterargument to people who would try to streamline, sanitize, and standardize education" says Ohanian. "When we get down to the realities of the classroom . . . the antics of Standardistos are no longer funny . . . what we need to do is fight back." Visit www.susanohanian.org Visit Susan Ohanian online for a wealth of information on education issues and to learn more about her. You'll find commentary, cartoons, letters, resources, quotes and a word of the day offering children a provocative way to increase their vocabulary.

Genres: Education, Teaching, Nonfiction

154 pages, Paperback

First published March 30, 1999

Reviews

[Nicholas · Rating 3 out of 5]

A scathing critique of the standards movement. An attack on the "standardistos." Well written, with a good sense of humor. But it does get repetitive. She is basically reiterating the same points with more examples for the last two-thirds of the book. However, since it is relatively short to begin with that is not a major downside.

[Claudia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Boy, Ohanian is one angry woman. I know her huge beef is with the California Standards, and I don't know a lot about how they stack up against the Common Core, but...there were times I liked her fierceness, and other times I found it strident. And I had to wonder if that's the way I sound to people/ I understand her passion, her need to tell the stories of her students, and what she's learned from them. I wonder if she sees conspiracies where there's none to be found. I wonder if her anger takes away from her argument...I keep wondering if I'm turning into her. Her point, that Standards are being written by non-educators, to provide a cheap work force for corporations that do not care about teachers or students or workers is made strongly. She makes leaps that I can't follow: corporations want students who are 'trained' full of facts, then sent to college where they will eventually glut the job market, allowing corporations to lower wages for workers, driving up dividends for stockholders and their own bonuses...I'm breathless even saying it.

My favorite quote: "Altho most teachers avoid talking about it, the savviest among us are privy to a dirty secret...The fact is that kinds don't necessarily learn what teachers teach." LOL -- I've said that for years.

[Nan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh mercy. I give five star ratings only to books that profoundly touch me or rock my world. Susan Ohanian's One Size Fits Few has moved me from just raging against high stakes testing to questioning the entire standards movement. It not only resonated with my belief in affective education, especially in regard to reading, but also made me more questioning about the use of standards in my own teaching. It's dangerous stuff, but one that begs discussion and action.

[Ann El-moslimany · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am always pleased to read a book by someone who knows that children -just like the rest of us- are individuals who blossom and grow in their own way and in their own time.
I picked up the book knowing that I would agree with most of what she had to say, but not expecting such wit and humor. Someone called her angry,perhaps, but mainly she is funny!
With the new common standards we are getting close to a national curriculum. It's time for a new edition!

[Amy Coats · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book will forever stay in my memory. I had to read this in a class I was taking while working on my master's degree, in which our instructor compared President George Bush to Hitler. Unforgettable moment!

[Marines · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I agree I don't believe standards only hurt students she is a little biased herself. She disagrees with rewarding students to read and wants students to read because they want to, you still have to give children incentives to read.

[Jen Kilpatrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read for any educator. Poignant and true. Onanian says it better than I ever could, so I'll leave it a that. Just read it. :)