What Is Wrong With Our Schools? The ideology impoverishing education in America and how we can do better for our students

by Daniel Buck

"What is wrong with our schools?" is the question everyone seems to be asking, or more like screaming nowadays. Standard answers point to everything from school funding to unions to bureaucracies and more. In this book, Daniel Buck provides a different flawed ideas - ideas about instruction, curriculum, even human nature itself - are the root cause of American schooling's dysfunction.

Touching on philosophy, contemporary educational studies, cognitive science, and his own experience in the classroom, Buck argues that so long as we build our system on incorrect first principles, all other reforms are for naught. In place of the progressive education that pervades our schools, Buck argues for a traditionalist approach - classic literature, direct instruction, sequenced curricula, clear rules and consequences - as the education we need for the future.

Genres: Education

230 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 9, 2022

Reviews

[Caeona Murdoch · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book, especially if you are a teacher

I am not a teacher, so some of it was a little hard to grasp. However the concepts were well explained and I feel like I learned a lot! The very last part was very valuable, giving a list of more books to read on the subject!

[David Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

In preparation for teaching a section of Educational Psychology during the past fall semester, I decided to acquire Daniel Buck’s book to gain deeper insights into the subject. I first discovered Buck through several of his articles published by The James G. Martin Center and The Thomas Fordham Institute. His perspectives on the current state of education resonated with my own views, prompting me to explore his book further.

Buck’s book did not disappoint. I particularly valued his thorough critique of prevailing educational philosophies, especially those of Paulo Friere and John Dewey. He provided an extended discussion on the pitfalls and dangers inherent in both Friere’s and Dewey’s approaches to education, which aligned closely with my concerns about these philosophies.

Overall, I found Buck’s work to be highly informative. I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in tackling the real issues facing K-12 and post-secondary education today.

[Cov · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can't emphasize enough how much unnamed "original sin" permeates every aspect of this text. For all of his references to saints, apostles, & theologians, the author is truly auditioning for the role of preacher rather than schoolteacher. Boring, unnecessary, and flawed from start to finish.