What School Could Be by Ted Dintersmith

WHAT SCHOOL COULD BE is a brand new non-fiction book by Ted Dintersmith which he opens with a quote from John Dewey: “If we teach today’s students as we taught yesterday’s, we rob them of tomorrow.”  

Although I did not really care for Most Likely to Succeed which Dintersmith co-wrote with Tony Wagner, his newer title (subtitled “Insights and Inspiration from Teachers across America”) seems a little more grounded in how to prepare students for this innovation era.  That’s because Dintersmith spent the entire 2015-2016 school year traveling to and observing schools in all 50 states.  [As an aside, he provides a map in his prologue and it appears that he visited mainly major metropolitan areas. Not many small towns or rural areas are identified, even though he notes the national proportion of public high school students is roughly 4.5 million urban, 8 million suburban and 3.5 million rural.] He argues that students thrive in environments where they develop the PEAK principles: Purpose – attacking important challenges; Essentials – acquiring innovative skills; Agency – self-directing learning; Knowledge – retaining so as to make, create and teach others. His final section says Americans long for a speech that notes, “We need to understand how our world is being shaped by innovation, automation, and machine intelligence. Low-skilled jobs aren’t going to Mexico, China or immigrants – they’re just plain going away.” Dintersmith asks readers to “consider the possibility that our innovative teachers, not data-driven policies, can best lead the way.”  He also notes that superintendents stress the importance of “the right school board.” 

One section of WHAT SCHOOL COULD BE deals with the Ivory Tower where he opines that the college model is broken and another discusses Social Equity where he bemoans the dire consequences of unequal education. Once again he makes many claims in this text, but offers limited research and evidence to support them (the notes consist of 15 URLs). In addition, I was a little surprised that his final reflections section – meant to include “pragmatic advice about steps a school community can take to transform learning” – highlights “remarkable innovation” in Kentucky and Oklahoma, two states where teacher strikes are currently much in the news.

You can judge for yourself about Dintersmith, his observations, and his conclusion because he will be speaking at New Trier’s Cornog Auditorium on the Northfield Campus (7 Happ Road) on Thursday evening, April 12 at 7:00pm.  More information is available through the FAN (FamilyAction Network) web site.

The Excellence Dividend by Tom Peters

In THE EXCELLENCE DIVIDEND author Tom Peters says; “Excellence is a moment-to-moment way of life.  Or it is nothing at all.  There’s no tomorrow in excellence; there is only right now.”  Peters has crafted this book in fifteen sections, dealing with the broad categories like people, innovation, adding value, and leadership.   As I read, I vividly remember being a graduate student and referring to In Search of Excellence which Peters co-wrote with Bob Waterman.  Both of these books are based on similar themes and filled with examples of successful companies like Commerce/Metro banks and their strong customer orientation which is profiled in THE EXCELLENCE DIVIDEND.  As Peters himself notes, both books also appeared when “America’s mood was dire.” In 1982, recession was in full swing, unemployment was at 10.8 percent and concerns about Japanese inroads into markets like automobiles, electronics and steel were widespread. In 2018, we once again are focused on negative economic news associated with income inequality, a poorly prepared workforce (see NBC News’ recent report on equipping students with better skills), and concerns about foreign trade and competition. 

Even if you are not a business person, this new paperback, filled with bolded quips and lists, is an inspirational read. For example, he writes (and has spoken) often about MBWA … Management By Walking Around.  Hopefully, THE EXCELLENCE DIVIDEND will encourage readers to look at their work environments differently and to explore the guidelines and activities which Peters describes.  THE EXCELLENCE DIVIDEND received a starred review from Publishers Weekly.

Eunice by Eileen McNamara

EUNICE by Eileen McNamara, subtitled “The Kennedy Who Changed the World,” was an eye-opening read which I think our students, particularly those who need to write about someone who made a difference, will appreciate.  As the publisher notes, Eunice Kennedy Shriver was “a woman both ahead of her time and out of step with it: the visionary founder of the Special Olympics, a devout Catholic in a secular age, and a formidable woman whose impact on American society was longer lasting than that of any of the Kennedy men.”  It was interesting to read the many details about her childhood and adolescence, the influence that her sister Rosemary’s disability likely had on Shriver’s future actions, and the global magnitude of the changes she made as a determined activist.  One estimate was that the Special Olympics, after 50 years of operation, had served more than 4.9 million athletes from 172 countries with more than a million coaches and volunteers. McNamara, an award-winning journalist from The Boston Globe, describes Shriver’s “compassion as the engine that propelled her to fight for the forgotten.” 

To learn more about an extremely influential woman, read EUNICE, a compelling biography which received starred reviews from Kirkus and Library Journal.  Added NOTE: Author Eileen McNamara will be speaking Thursday, April 26th (7:00pm to 8:15pm) at the Glencoe Public Library, 320 Park Avenue for a program in partnership with The Bookstall. 

Immigration stories ...

Immigration has been a hot topic lately, both in the news and with new literature. Here are several related titles:

THE HOUSE OF BROKEN ANGELS by Luis Alberto Urrea (Pulitzer Prize nominated author) is a work of fiction based loosely on events experienced by Urrea’s own family. The novel is set in San Diego and starts slowly, but has some fabulous reviews and could probably work for Junior Theme with a determined student. The main character, Big Angel, is dying and his family throws a huge birthday party on the same weekend that they bury his mother. There is quite a bit of introspection on what it means to be an immigrant – “we are Mexi-cans, not Mexi-can’ts” – and on intergenerational relationships. Wife Perla as well as children Minnie, Lalo, and Yndio feature in this family story filled with complex expectations and connections. One day, speaking as a Mexican father, Big Angel says, "All we do, mija, is love. Love is the answer. Nothing stops it. Not borders. Not death." 

THE HOUSE OF BROKEN ANGELS received a starred review from Kirkus and Publishers Weekly. Our copy will soon be available.

STRANGER by Jorge Ramos, non-fiction and subtitled “The Challenge of a Latino Immigrant in the Trump Era,” makes it readily obvious where the author stands despite having lived in the United States for more than 35 years. An Emmy-award winning journalist, Ramos points out, “Almost all of us here are either immigrants or the descendants of foreigners, and that has always helped us to cross borders and exceed the limits of what we thought was possible.” This work draws on statistics and points out inconsistencies in policy (asking how the deportation of 11 million people would actually work and noting that building an expensive wall does not begin to address the 40 percent of undocumented people who either come by plane or overstay their visas). Ramos also provides firsthand accounts of his encounters with Trump during press conferences and describes his own profession, saying “a journalist’s primary social function is to question those in power.” Ramos explains that he views himself as a public servant and that he agrees with the principle of objectivity in journalism, but argues that does not mean that a journalist should always remain neutral since neutrality sometimes runs counter to the truth itself, quoting Elie Wiesel, “Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim.” STRANGER is also available en Espanol: Stranger: el desafio de un inmigrante latino an la era de Trump and was recommended for teens by Booklist due to “Ramos’ direct and personal style, clear approach to urgent issues, and reflections on his youth.”

 

Turning again to new fiction, AMERICA IS NOT THE HEART by Elaine Castillo is a debut novel that received starred reviews from Kirkus and Publishers Weekly. However, I found a sadness mired here, too, and I am honestly not sure that it will hold our students’ interest due in part to the several languages and unusual tenses employed. Castillo begins the story in the Philippines and describes life for a young girl and eventual nurse trainee named Pacita/Paz, writing in second tense (e.g., “You think about ignoring him, … You should ignore him, … You don’t know yet ….”). . Next, the American Dream is explored as Castillo shifts the story to California when former political prisoner Hero arrives to stay with her uncle Pol, his now wife Paz and their young daughter, Roni.   

Perhaps try this challenging, new title with adult book groups; it offers potential for discussion and interpretation, plus perceptive observations: “Baggage means no matter how far you go, no matter how many times you immigrate, there are countries in you you’ll never leave.”