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Schools That Do Too Much

Name: Schools That Do Too Much
Author: Etta Kralovec
ISBN: 9780807031506

by Etta Kralovec

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Overview

A sharp critique of radically misplaced priorities in schools

Etta Kralovec, whose acclaimed and controversial book The End of Homework showed the damage done by a culture of excessive homework, widens her lens and shows us vividly the fragmented, almost irrational shape of a typical school day, carefully, accessibly opening up the complex set of issues that lie behind it.

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, schools over and over try to do too much and end up delivering too little by way of real teaching and learning.

Kralovec argues that budgets and schedules are the crucial pivot points of school reform. All the new curricula in the world will be ineffective, she argues, if coupled with traditional school schedules and spending patterns. She argues for radical rethinking of the flow of time in a school day and for "zero-based” budgeting —an approach that starts with basic priorities first. Examples from schools and communities around the country illustrate the power of reorganizing these basic categories of school life.

At a time when the desire for change is opening up the possibility of experiments in public education, The Overburdened School is a guide to how best to take advantage of that opportunity. Etta Kralovec was a teacher and professor of education for more than twenty years and is the author of The End of Homework (Beacon / 4219-6 / $11.00 pb). She is currently vice president for learning with Training and Development Corporation, in Maine. She lives in Orland, Maine.

"The two dearest assets a school has are money and faculty time. Etta Kralovec shows how academic performance is sacrificed again and again as money and time are used for things that have little to do with how much or how well our children learn. She has done us all a great service."

--Marc Tucker, President, National Center on Education and the Economy

"If we want innovative, successful schools that break the dominant mold, we need exactly the kind of flexibility in changing traditional schedules and budgets that Etta Kralovec argues so well for here. Time and money are at the heart of what schools need to rethink, because thinking about them gets at the most important questions: 'To what end are we sending our children to school? What is it for?'"

--Deborah Meier, founder of the Central Park East Schools, and author of In Schools We Trust

About the Author, Etta Kralovec

Etta Kralovec was a teacher and professor of education for more than twenty years and is the author of The End of Homework (Beacon /4219-6 / $11.00 pb). She is currently vice president for learning with Training and Development Corporation, in Maine. She lives in Orland, Maine.

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Editorials

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. (Feb. 17) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

Without bashing administrators and teachers, Kralovec, a professor of education for more than 20 years and now vice president for Learning with Training & Development Corporation, demonstrates that American schools end up doing too little of what matters. Instead of advocating bigger budgets or more time in school, she argues for radically rethinking the way we use the time and money we have. Drawing on national research, she calls for ending homework, moving sports out of the domain of public schools, and placing real responsibility for school reform beyond the schoolhouse walls. Kralovec's view of education is realistic and pragmatic, and she offers strong recommendations on how to improve educational outcomes. A good addition to collections on school reform in small and medium-sized public libraries and especially appropriate for larger public and academic libraries, where it will garner more attention than many longer works.-Leroy Hommerding, Fort Myers Beach P.L. Dist., FL Copyright 2003 Cahners Business Information.