Education Deform Bright People Sometimes Say Stupid Things About Education

by Kauffman, James M.

• ISBN13: 9780810843165
• ISBN10: 0810843161
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-05-21
• Publisher: R&L Education

Summary

According to James M. Kauffman, too much of what is said today about educational reform is nonsense that shortchanges students, parents, and taxpayers. This deforms education rather than reforming it. The primary objective of this book is to help teachers, teacher educators, policy makers, and parents think more critically about current rhetoric about education. Reason and science in the enlightenment tradition are more helpful in reforming and improving education than political agendas. Reform should focus on instruction. Education must address the full range of learners, from those who are mentally retarded to those who are intellectually gifted. Special education, multicultural education, and standardized testing are among the controversial issues explored. Extremes of both left and right ideologies are rejected in favor of careful thinking and sound judgment.

Table of Contents

Foreword	v
Preface	vii
Prologue	xiii
The Deforming Effects of Nonsense	1	(42)
The Art of the Stupid	43	(34)
Slogans and Other Trivialities	77	(28)
Self-Contradictions, Nonsequiturs, and Denials	105	(46)
Misleading Statements	151	(50)
The Unintelligible	201	(26)
Making Sense about Education	227	(54)
Epilogue	281	(6)
References	287	(20)
About the Author	307