How to Educate an American: The Conservative Vision for Tomorrow's Schools
Michael J. Petrilli
(Author)
Chester E. Finn
(Author)
Description
In the years after A Nation at Risk, conservatives' ideas to reform America's lagging education system gained much traction. Key items like school choice and rigorous academic standards drew bipartisan support and were put into practice across the country.Today, these gains are in retreat, ceding ground to progressive nostrums that do little to boost the skills and knowledge of young people. Far from being discouraged, however, conservatives should seize the moment to refresh their vision of quality K-12 education for today's America. These essays by 20 leading conservative thinkers do just that.
Students, according to this vision, should complete high school with a thorough understanding of the country's history, including gratitude for its sacrifices, respect for its achievements, and awareness of its shortcomings. They should also learn to be trustworthy stewards of a democratic republic, capable of exercising virtue and civic responsibility.
Beyond helping to form their character, schools ought to ready their pupils for careers that are productive, rewarding, and dignified. Excellent technical-training opportunities will await those not headed to a traditional college. Regardless of the paths and schools that they select, all students must come to understand that they can succeed in America if they are industrious, creative, and responsible.
Anchored in tradition yet looking towards tomorrow, How to Educate an American should be read by anyone concerned with teaching future generations to preserve the country's heritage, embody its universal ethic, and pursue its founding ideals.
Product Details
Price
$24.95
Publisher
Templeton Press
Publish Date
February 24, 2020
Pages
304
Dimensions
6.2 X 9.1 X 1.3 inches | 1.35 pounds
Language
English
Type
Hardcover
EAN/UPC
9781599475691
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About the Author
Michael J. Petrilli is president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, research fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution, executive editor of Education Next, and a Distinguished Senior Fellow for the Education Commission of the States.
Chester E. Finn, Jr. is Distinguished Senior Fellow and President Emeritus of the Fordham Institute and a Senior Fellow at Stanford's Hoover Institution.
Reviews
"How successful we are in educating the next generation of Americans will determine our nation's future. This collection of essays from leading conservative minds is the conversation-starter we need. How to Educate an American is a welcome contribution to our understanding of what ails our schools and how to fix them."
--Jeb Bush, 43rd Governor of Florida
"It is a commonplace to observe that our national success depends in large part on the effectiveness of our K-12 education system. There the agreement ends, and we have sharp differences about how to reshape and improve that system. Regardless of point of view, those who want to enter this debate owe it to themselves to absorb the facts and reflect on the insights of this remarkable collection of thought leaders."
--Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr., president of Purdue University and Indiana's 49th Governor
"A thorough, thoughtful, and critical attempt to bring conservative thought into a central and productive relationship with American schools. It begs for an equally deep response."
--Richard Elmore, research professor, Harvard Graduate School of Education
"For many years, conservatives have struggled to explain just what we're 'for' when it comes to education. In this invaluable volume, Petrilli and Finn have assembled a dazzling array of conservative thought leaders to answer that question. Whether a reader is seeking conservative counsel or simply trying to understand how conservatives think about schooling, this collection of lucid, challenging, and immensely readable essays is just the ticket."
--Frederick M. Hess, director of Education Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute
"These essays seek to grapple with a set of important topics, and they do so in a variety of interesting and challenging ways. The contributors don't seek to peddle a new orthodoxy; they challenge us to think about a fundamental civic challenge."
--William Kristol, director, Defending Democracy Together
"This volume presents an opportunity to access in one source a plethora of views on a conservative vision and its rationale for American education. Some permit a provocative contrast with politically liberal views; some would leave education to the school and economic marketplace and others to the needs of particular groups of students with educational needs. This provides considerable diversity of perspectives for a single volume on How to Educate an American."
--Henry M. Levin, David Jacks Professor, Emeritus, of Higher Education and Economics, Stanford University and William H. Kilpatrick Professor, Emeritus, of Economics and Education, Teachers College, Columbia University
"Many of the most important policy debates for the future of America are getting no oxygen right now. In How to Educate an American we get access to a dozen and a half big arguments, and you should hear every one of them."
--Ben Sasse, United States Senator from Nebraska
--Jeb Bush, 43rd Governor of Florida
"It is a commonplace to observe that our national success depends in large part on the effectiveness of our K-12 education system. There the agreement ends, and we have sharp differences about how to reshape and improve that system. Regardless of point of view, those who want to enter this debate owe it to themselves to absorb the facts and reflect on the insights of this remarkable collection of thought leaders."
--Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr., president of Purdue University and Indiana's 49th Governor
"A thorough, thoughtful, and critical attempt to bring conservative thought into a central and productive relationship with American schools. It begs for an equally deep response."
--Richard Elmore, research professor, Harvard Graduate School of Education
"For many years, conservatives have struggled to explain just what we're 'for' when it comes to education. In this invaluable volume, Petrilli and Finn have assembled a dazzling array of conservative thought leaders to answer that question. Whether a reader is seeking conservative counsel or simply trying to understand how conservatives think about schooling, this collection of lucid, challenging, and immensely readable essays is just the ticket."
--Frederick M. Hess, director of Education Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute
"These essays seek to grapple with a set of important topics, and they do so in a variety of interesting and challenging ways. The contributors don't seek to peddle a new orthodoxy; they challenge us to think about a fundamental civic challenge."
--William Kristol, director, Defending Democracy Together
"This volume presents an opportunity to access in one source a plethora of views on a conservative vision and its rationale for American education. Some permit a provocative contrast with politically liberal views; some would leave education to the school and economic marketplace and others to the needs of particular groups of students with educational needs. This provides considerable diversity of perspectives for a single volume on How to Educate an American."
--Henry M. Levin, David Jacks Professor, Emeritus, of Higher Education and Economics, Stanford University and William H. Kilpatrick Professor, Emeritus, of Economics and Education, Teachers College, Columbia University
"Many of the most important policy debates for the future of America are getting no oxygen right now. In How to Educate an American we get access to a dozen and a half big arguments, and you should hear every one of them."
--Ben Sasse, United States Senator from Nebraska
