Monday, June 30, 2008
Relentless Ranting?
I finished the book yesterday, in exactly a week.
The initial review which brought me to it turned out to be misleading; by the time I reached the middle of the book, I wondered if the author had taken the time to read the whole thing.
I realize it contained a ton of information, but that review was written like a paper by a college freshman, as if the book had been skimmed, with a dash of notes from the beginning chapter, a couple from the middle, and voila, a lukewarm summarization. Surely, time and word count were most likely restrictions in that instance; it's still worth exploring, though.
I also read several reviews of the book on Amazon before I purchased it, noting Wendy Kopp herself wrote a book a few years ago, and I intend to read that as well. But in most cases, the conversation went toward a debate about education reform, rather than a discussion of the book itself, or proposed areas for further research on TFA's methods and scope for change.
I have my own criticisms, but they seem trifling compared to the message it expounds. When I began the book, it immediately took hold of me. I found it difficult to sleep.
However, minus the scary introduction to the neighborhood, the gangs, and the school itself, the story then leaned toward of focus of the experience on the teachers, TFA and non; then, the organization, testing, recruiting methods, as well as problem-solving and expansion plans, among other things under the guise of TFA; and then the larger school system, and how it tied in with individual experience of those who were involved.
This would be an exciting time to join the organization, as alums are finally entering into the larger society to continue the path toward education reform through systematic change as envisioned by Kopp in the program's founding in the first place: teaching is only the first part of the story; staying focused on the larger picture and maintaining commitment in all professions thereafter as part of this country and this social movement is the second.
I have to say, I found this review informative as well as infuriating. That the Slate writer was an alum from the very first corp was intriguing; in the article I think she did her best to defend the organization and explain some common problems in the education system, but the last line was just far from necessary:
Leftists always talk about "the power structure" when discussing the poor, but it took a blond-headed, pro-business Princeton grad from Dallas to put in place a movement that stands a chance of actually changing that structure.
Seriously? I don't know where she was going with that. It practically came out of nowhere, and it left a sour taste in my mouth. It's just disappointing because with that last what? -- 32 words? -- she managed to not make TFA look any better, not make the discussion about the Ivy Leaguers who join any better, and not to make any sort of rightful criticism of leftism, or support of women world leaders such as Kopp. She just made herself look bad, as a successful alum of the program, who got to write an article about a book obviously over something she believed in, at least, 20 years ago, only to indirectly crap on it in the last sentence.
Nice.
However, the discussion it precipitated on the Web site -- and I read all of it -- provided an even more informative picture of this ongoing, incredibly important, ready-fueled debate.
I finished the book yesterday, in exactly a week.
The initial review which brought me to it turned out to be misleading; by the time I reached the middle of the book, I wondered if the author had taken the time to read the whole thing.
I realize it contained a ton of information, but that review was written like a paper by a college freshman, as if the book had been skimmed, with a dash of notes from the beginning chapter, a couple from the middle, and voila, a lukewarm summarization. Surely, time and word count were most likely restrictions in that instance; it's still worth exploring, though.
I also read several reviews of the book on Amazon before I purchased it, noting Wendy Kopp herself wrote a book a few years ago, and I intend to read that as well. But in most cases, the conversation went toward a debate about education reform, rather than a discussion of the book itself, or proposed areas for further research on TFA's methods and scope for change.
I have my own criticisms, but they seem trifling compared to the message it expounds. When I began the book, it immediately took hold of me. I found it difficult to sleep.
However, minus the scary introduction to the neighborhood, the gangs, and the school itself, the story then leaned toward of focus of the experience on the teachers, TFA and non; then, the organization, testing, recruiting methods, as well as problem-solving and expansion plans, among other things under the guise of TFA; and then the larger school system, and how it tied in with individual experience of those who were involved.
This would be an exciting time to join the organization, as alums are finally entering into the larger society to continue the path toward education reform through systematic change as envisioned by Kopp in the program's founding in the first place: teaching is only the first part of the story; staying focused on the larger picture and maintaining commitment in all professions thereafter as part of this country and this social movement is the second.
I have to say, I found this review informative as well as infuriating. That the Slate writer was an alum from the very first corp was intriguing; in the article I think she did her best to defend the organization and explain some common problems in the education system, but the last line was just far from necessary:
Leftists always talk about "the power structure" when discussing the poor, but it took a blond-headed, pro-business Princeton grad from Dallas to put in place a movement that stands a chance of actually changing that structure.
Seriously? I don't know where she was going with that. It practically came out of nowhere, and it left a sour taste in my mouth. It's just disappointing because with that last what? -- 32 words? -- she managed to not make TFA look any better, not make the discussion about the Ivy Leaguers who join any better, and not to make any sort of rightful criticism of leftism, or support of women world leaders such as Kopp. She just made herself look bad, as a successful alum of the program, who got to write an article about a book obviously over something she believed in, at least, 20 years ago, only to indirectly crap on it in the last sentence.
Nice.
However, the discussion it precipitated on the Web site -- and I read all of it -- provided an even more informative picture of this ongoing, incredibly important, ready-fueled debate.
Labels: Books, Education, Social Problems, Teach for America
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