5 out of 5 stars
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As a retired high school teacher, I was drawn to this book. As I read, I found I was able to relate to most of the scenarios described by T.L. Zempel. Although Zempel taught elementary school in Colorado, the frustration with bureaucracy was also prominent in my state. Sadly, the focus in education is no longer on the individual students and their needs. Zempel's inspiration for writing this book is described in the chapter "Jumping In Without A Plan."
Each chapter deals with a different "cure" implemented by the legislature and trickled down to the classroom. As you can imagine, during her 30-year teaching career, Zempel was subjected to many of these mandates. The author's solution to fixing modern education is found at the end of the book. Zempel encourages readers not to skip to the end of the book, but she realizes that many will. She compares this to a test-taking strategy taught to students where they are told to read the questions first before reading the passage, so they will know what information to look for.
Along with extensive research on the lack of effectiveness of these solutions, the author includes anecdotes of students, teachers, and administrators. These stories break up the statistics in an enjoyable way. Zempel also includes her experience with faulty teacher evaluations and the futility of dealing with the issue.
Standardized testing is addressed in several chapters. The author explains the problems with the current system. She explores the difficulty of motivating students to do their best on a test where there is no accountability for their performance. She also reveals ways that teachers fraudulently administer the tests to increase the overall score for their schools.
I like that I could easily understand and relate to the material presented. It is hard to imagine that this book would appeal to a broader audience beyond teachers and administrators. I recommend that legislators read it as a precursor before enacting any more reforms. The author issues a call to arms to encourage parents to become activists and question their district's policies.
My rating for Chaos in Our Schools is 5 out of 5. I found no errors in the 187 pages. There were no negatives. The table of contents is a good indicator of the contents because the chapter titles are self-explanatory. The foreword explains the author's purpose and concerns. She places blame on the lawmakers and describes the "pitfalls of addressing technique while ignoring setting." Her solution is thoughtful and feasible. I applaud the author for writing this book and hope its publication will bring about the change that she promotes. Zempel has included a link to her foundation's website [schoolmattersfoundation.org] where readers can learn about ways to encourage reform in their own districts.
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Chaos in Our Schools
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