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A review by nothingforpomegranted
How the Other Half Learns: Equality, Excellence, and the Battle Over School Choice by Robert Pondiscio
5.0
One of the best books on educational policy that I have ever read...and that's saying something.
I have aspired to be a teacher my entire life and just finished my first year teaching first grade at a school in New York. I am passionate about pursuing education equity and a strong advocate of the public education system. I studied education at one of the most liberal universities in the country. I have read countless books and articles about the American education system, and I did not expect to be so surprised by a book about Success Academy.
I interviewed for Success Academy last year and absolutely botched my interview by being honest about my reservations about charter schools. As mentioned, I am a traditional public school advocate, and my education has certainly discouraged me from thinking highly of charter schools. I read more articles denigrating Eva Moskowitz than elucidating her motives, and I have spent weeks criticizing the disciplinary practices at charter schools without fully exploring their effects.
It was a wonderful reality check to read this book, authored by someone who seemed to share many of my initial impressions of charter schools, and realize how much I agree with so many of the people who have founded Success Academy and made it into the network that it is today. Success Academy teachers are my people--passionate about making sure as many children as possible are given the resources to achieve their academic and personal potential. In many ways, my teaching philosophy differs from that of educators at Success Academy, but I was impressed by the moments of softness and celebration that Pondiscio revealed throughout his reporting. Success Academy is not a perfect solution, but something beautiful is happening there.
Pondiscio is clearly a brilliant and passionate educator. His honesty about what surprised him--both good at bad--at Success Academy was enlightening, and he reported on a year at Success Academy with such fantastic nuance, leading readers to draw their own conclusions. Especially in education research and reform, where everyone sees a problem and everyone proposes a different solution, confirmation bias is significant. It is so easy to focus only on the authors and researchers who agree with you, which honestly does more to impede progress than anything else. This book is something different. I came into it with my negative impression of Success Academy and charter schools and came out far more willing to acknowledge the positives of the program and to engage in a more productive conversation. I suspect that I was the target audience of the book, but I daresay an apologetic advocate of Success Academy might also finish this book singing a different tune.
We need more books like this about education policy and education reform. It takes strength to be open and honest, but if educators are not expected to be this strong, we have a much greater problem in our field than how Success Academy is serving children.
I have aspired to be a teacher my entire life and just finished my first year teaching first grade at a school in New York. I am passionate about pursuing education equity and a strong advocate of the public education system. I studied education at one of the most liberal universities in the country. I have read countless books and articles about the American education system, and I did not expect to be so surprised by a book about Success Academy.
I interviewed for Success Academy last year and absolutely botched my interview by being honest about my reservations about charter schools. As mentioned, I am a traditional public school advocate, and my education has certainly discouraged me from thinking highly of charter schools. I read more articles denigrating Eva Moskowitz than elucidating her motives, and I have spent weeks criticizing the disciplinary practices at charter schools without fully exploring their effects.
It was a wonderful reality check to read this book, authored by someone who seemed to share many of my initial impressions of charter schools, and realize how much I agree with so many of the people who have founded Success Academy and made it into the network that it is today. Success Academy teachers are my people--passionate about making sure as many children as possible are given the resources to achieve their academic and personal potential. In many ways, my teaching philosophy differs from that of educators at Success Academy, but I was impressed by the moments of softness and celebration that Pondiscio revealed throughout his reporting. Success Academy is not a perfect solution, but something beautiful is happening there.
Pondiscio is clearly a brilliant and passionate educator. His honesty about what surprised him--both good at bad--at Success Academy was enlightening, and he reported on a year at Success Academy with such fantastic nuance, leading readers to draw their own conclusions. Especially in education research and reform, where everyone sees a problem and everyone proposes a different solution, confirmation bias is significant. It is so easy to focus only on the authors and researchers who agree with you, which honestly does more to impede progress than anything else. This book is something different. I came into it with my negative impression of Success Academy and charter schools and came out far more willing to acknowledge the positives of the program and to engage in a more productive conversation. I suspect that I was the target audience of the book, but I daresay an apologetic advocate of Success Academy might also finish this book singing a different tune.
We need more books like this about education policy and education reform. It takes strength to be open and honest, but if educators are not expected to be this strong, we have a much greater problem in our field than how Success Academy is serving children.