American Education with PowerWeb

Rating:
Summary: Great Intro Text to History/Thought of Amer. Education
Review: I needed to get this textbook for a graduate level course on Social Issues in American Education. I think it is a wonderful introductory text to the history of education, as well as many of the schools and philosophies of thought that debate continually in American Education today. Many topics are covered that you hear about in the news and other media. Reviewing the facts on these issues (as Spring presents them terrifically) - will help you make your own decisions regarding these important issues. The text is very much a history text, and many of my colleagues had a difficulty reading through it. Many of them read the book like a textbook, and not as something that they could enjoy and actually get valuable information. Spring does a terrific job of displaying the facts of history and development of issues, and then explaining them to the fullest potential. I was fuzzy on a few educational issues, but Spring's clarity helped me understand them more completely. This book might also serve as a reference for one to go back to when an educational issue arises. Spring is continually amending the book through newer editions, so it is possible that one could use this book as a reference until the newer edition comes along. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is a teacher or thinking about going into the education profession - or anyone who is more interested in the American Schools. As a teacher, I found it very informative, and the history and statistics, overall interesting. If you aren't into the summary and digestion of statistics, this book might not be for you. I enjoyed it thoroughly however.

Rating:
Summary: A worthy read and resource
Review: Spring crafts an quality work for the most part in this book, using facts and figures to deftly illustrate the complexities that lie behind modern education, and the historical events and movements that lead to its current state. The book is constructed in two parts. The first examines the place of the school in the social setting, both in how it helps influence and, to a degree, perpetuate the larger society, and how the society influences the school, both at the local and larger scales. The second is a more detailed examination of the politics of education control, and how it influences such choices as curriculum content and textbook choices.
Throughout the book, Spring uses more anecdotes and examples, both recent and historical than one can shake a stick at, but despite the potential weighing down of the book that this could cause, he keeps it interesting and informative. He also shows remarkable clarity of statistics, considering the approach he takes. Yet he never gets too enamored by them to think that they are inherently informative.
I also must commend Spring for his even-handedness in presenting both sides of issues. Though one gains a knowledge of his own beliefs, which are fairly progressive, he brings up authors on both sides and raises questions they do to stimulate thinking.
In the long run, however, there may be a few too many statistics, and the two parts of the book do duplicate each other at times. This is definitely not a book that one should try to read all in one sitting, as their mind would begin to overflow with numbers that aren't really meant to be memorized, just referred to when the occasion calls for it.
Despite the denseness, however, Spring does a remarkable job of presenting the various issues of the day in one relatively easy to read volume.