Product Description

Schools That Do Too Much argues that American schools systematically misspend their two most precious resources: time and money. From class schedules that fragment students' time to budgets that sink money into dozens of activities-especially sports-that distract from learning, Kralovec shows us how schools over and over try to do too much and end up delivering too little by way of real teaching and learning.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1916812 in Books
• Published on: 2004-01-05
• Released on: 2004-01-05
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: 8.49" h x .40" w x 5.53" l, .38 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 152 pages

From Publishers Weekly
In this concise proposal for school reform, Kralovec asks a simple question, but one with complex and profound implications: "what would happen if we held all school programs to the same criterion: they must contribute to learning in core academic areas as defined by state learning standards?" Schools are trying to do so much, she says, that actual time for instruction has eroded, students suffer fragmented and chaotic school days, and they leave school unprepared for the challenges of the world. Kralovec-former schoolteacher, education professor and consultant-is no back-to-basics ideologue. Her acclaimed and controversial book The End of Homework argued against excessive homework and made a case for releasing children and parents from this burden. But she does care about learning, and to the extent that competitive athletics in particular, but other "extras" as well, detract from this essential mission, they should be reconsidered, she says. Kralovec calls for schools and communities to "recalibrate" their relationship, with communities becoming actively involved in providing educational opportunities for young people-e.g., sports, drama and community service-and to allow schools and teachers to do what they do best: focus on academic learning. This will involve a radical shifting of priorities and budgets, deep changes in school structures and a new commitment on the part of parents, teachers and others to participate in the lives of young people. Kralovec's succinct work should set the tone for conversations that administrators, school boards and politicians need to be having across the nation in order to improve education.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Designed to "start a national conversation" about misplaced school priorities, this book challenges the way that most American schools are structured. Kralovec, the author of the controversial The End of Homework, argues schools spend too much time and too much money on schedules and programs that actually undermine the learning process. She advocates rethinking how both time and money are spent and offers some radical solutions to the educational woes afflicting U.S. schools. Maintaining that zero-based budgeting is actually a tool for reform, she outlines an educational budget that starts from scratch and necessitates a complete articulation of community goals for education before any resources can be allocated. She also recommends the end of homework, the elimination of student fundraising, and the removal of athletic and drama programs from the public school domain. Though many will balk at some of her more drastic solutions, Kralovec presents well-reasoned arguments and provides plenty of food for thought about the contemporary educational crisis. Margaret Flanagan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
A thoroughgoing critique of how American schools operate: they start too early, they fragment the school day . . ., they focus too much time and energy on non-educational tasks like dental health and sports . . . The fundamental question about schools today, she writes, is not so much how to raise test scores but how to clarify, exactly, 'what we value most.' --New York Times

"Kralovec asks a simple question, but one with complex and profound implications . . . [She] is no back-to-basics ideologue . . . but she does care about learning . . . Kralovec's succinct work should set the tone for conversations that administrators, school boards and politicians need to be having across the nation." --Publishers Weekly

"Without bashing administrators and teachers, Kralovec . . . demonstrates that schools end up doing too little of what matters." --Library Journal

"Kralovec assumes the gadfly role again by insisting that schools scale back or even eliminate activities that aren't central to their educational mission." --Teacher Magazine