Summary on the first few chapters from the book The Death and Life of the Great American School System

The first few chapters cover the beginning of the restructuring of the public school system. Diane makes the argument on how public schools must have a strong curriculum that is grounded in the liberal arts and sciences with plenty of opportunities for children of all ages. After carefully viewing the school system during the late 1960s, Diane wondered why the education system had been decentralized in the first place. After numerous massive researches and studying the history of the school system, she discovered that system had been decentralized in the nineteenth century.

In the 1980s the Department of Education had to meet Republican standards which often met no federal meddling. In other words, it was where "Big Government" that was not allowing future students the proper tools to compete in the global market. The public school began to be run like a business type corporation and was shut down if it was not performed well. During the Bush and Clinton Administration, public schools had to be reformed including deregulation and privatization.

"Months after his inauguration, President Clinton tasked Vice President Al Gore to devise ways to "reinvent" the federal bureaucracy. With the help of David Osborne, Gore created the National Partnership for Reinventing Government, whose purpose was to adopt private-sector management techniques to the public sector. Many of its recommendations involved privatizing, cutting jobs, and implementing performance agreements in which agencies would receive autonomy from regulations in exchange for meeting targets." ¹¹

Diane Ravitch’s conservative view on using the business model to build school curriculum turns “No Child Left Behind” policy that required students to take standardized testing that ultimately scored the school’s performance as well as the students learning capability. However, the when NCLB (No Child Left Behind) was implemented, Diane became increasingly disillusioned and realized that the law bypassed curriculum and standards, and it ignored the social economic status of the children's lives. These standardized tests consist mostly mathematics and reading. The federal government demanded that school generates higher test scores in basic skills. This was a problem, as it ignored such important studies as literature, science, civics, arts, and geography. However, Dian realized that these testing procedures had nothing to do with education. Many teachers believed that the students need a good foundation of knowledge and skills that help them develop a well-furnished mind.
out
to be a huge mistake, as bad policies, and economic reform made schools worst. As mentioned in the book the following is that "A well-educated person has a well-furnished mind, shaped by reading and thinking about history, science, literature, the arts, and politics."

What really struck me the most was Chapter 3: The Transformation of District 2 which certain school districts improved, however, the population of Hispanics and African-Americans shrunk while the number of Asian and Caucasians students grew. In other words, in a 1995 data report, forty-three schools within the district Asian and whites outperformed Blacks and Latino students.

"The lowest-performing schools were highly segregated, even though a majority of the district's students were white and Asian, nine schools were more than 75 percent African American and Hispanic." ²¹