Rating: 
Summary: A great expose of the American 'One Size Fits All' system
Review:
Peter Brimelow notes that, since the National Education Association gave up its interest in K-12 education and became a teschers' union, rather than an association of educators, American education has hit the skids, and it has all been domwhill since then. The NEA, he says, has been taken over by the 'Michigan Mafia' (a group of bigshots from Michigan) who turned it into a labor union which, despite laws forbiding teacher strikes, manage to strike anyway, and is more interested in teacher pay and benefits and less interested in the instruction of their charges (our children).
Brimelow has carefully researched his subject, and lays out case after case demonstrating that teachers are often unqualified for their jobs. and that the ratio of teachers to students is better than it has ever been despite their constant cries of the opposite situation. The education establishment in the United States, which now boasts a federal department rather than the community owned and run schools which was the case for our entire history, until a single generation ago, has one of the highest costs per pupil of any developed nation, and one of the most abyssmal resulting records, when the results are compared to all other civilized Western nations.
But, until the middle of the twentieth century our country could honestly boast of the best educational systems on earth, judging by results.
Brimelow lays the blame squarely at the feet of the two largest teachers' unions: the NEA and the American Federation of Teachers. And, says they want to merge, in which case they would be a monopoly. Government schools setting the standards, and a monopoly of teachers dictating their own reward system--much like the Congress of the United States.
His cure? Two dozen recommendations (read the text for the details--they make sense.) First, bust the teachers' trust: the monopoly, which, like any monopoly, vuolates federal law. 2) Reform public sector public bargaining statutes. 3) Pass state and federal Right-to-Work laws, reducing unions' power. 4) Pass 'Paycheck Protection', protecting workers from being forced by the unions to finance political policies or candidates not of their choosing (yes, that is the case in many states). 5) Give teeth to the anti-strike laws. 6) Support independent teachers' associations and unions. 7) Apply private sector type restrictions to union encroachment on management. 8) End 'Unfunded Mandates'. 9) End bargained taxpayer subsidies to the teacher trust. 10) Provide alternative services, benefits, and discounts to teachers. 11) End teacher tenure. 12) Allow merit pay. 13)Two, three, many school choice initiatives. 14) Explore tax credits, tax deductibility of education costs. 15) Liberate the GED. 16) Hands off teacher training and accreditation. 17) Institute alternative teacher certification. 18) Liberate charter schools. 19) Break up the large school districts. 20)Privatize school services. 21) Promote union democracy. 22) Empower parents through choice. 23) Empower teachers through true professionalism, or, give teachers a stake. 24) Abolish the U.S. Department of Education.
I thought he would never get to that last item! Bring the schools back to the local control they enjoyed for a couple hundred years, during which time we had an education system that was the envy of the world. Our high school graduates could read their diplomas! Our 8th graders could spell! Our scholars could compete with the English, French, Germans, Swedes--unlike today! Stop throwing money at the problem.
Case in point: my grand-daughter submitted a high school English paper, in which she used the phrase 'could have,' Her high-school English teacher corrected the paper to read, 'could of.'
Our children, instead of using 'I said' in speech, use phrases like, 'I go,' 'I went,' I'm like' -- and so do their teachers. What can we expect? The schools buy tests prepared by large corporations like McGraw-Hill, the teachers hand them out, they are answered on multiple choice answer sheets, which are then returned for machine scoring. Lectures are purchased and given by video. Classroom materials are delivered, taken and scored by computers. Who needs $60,000 a year teachers, with such technology;especially unqualified teachers who do not know their subject?
Joseph (Joe) Pierre
author of Handguns and Freedom...their care and mainrenance
and other books
Rating:
Summary: WHEW!
Review: Brimelow begins his candid exposé on the National Education Association with a little history. The NEA, created in 1857, "was" a professional association concerned with "standards, ethics, and educational techniques" [preface]. Its original goal was improving America's education. So where did they get lost? The author tells us it was during the 1960s. The NEA morphed into a labor union, after removing school administrators from its membership and becoming competitively obsessed with the American Federation of Teachers. This was also when Kennedy issued an executive order allowing collective bargaining for federal employees, mind you, "in exchange for labor union support" [preface]. Because of these changes, Brimelow concludes that our educational system has been failing our children ever since. Brimelow begins with NEA's 1999 annual meeting. It reads like a political train wreck, and is the perfect start in proving his point. Throughout the book, Brimelow shows the NEA's move from reading, writing, and arithmetic to such things as self-preservation, politics, and political correctness books and class atmosphere. Brimelow names names, places blame, dishes numbers, and exposes past and present union leaders. His eye-opening facts are riveting as he relays various accounts in trying to prove the absurdity of the union's control. For example, a Connecticut Teachers Association filed a grievance demanding pay for the additional two minutes a week the union claimed teachers worked that year; a Pennsylvania association filed a grievance against the school district because coffee and doughnuts were not provided during a training day; a New York "Deaf" school being forced to keep teachers who couldn't sign; and a Washington local union shot down a superintendent's need to alter school starting time for special education students because some teachers would have daycare problems. It goes on and on.... Brimelow doesn't dish the dirt only to leave readers wound up. The last chapter, "A Twenty-four Point Wish List," is well thought out and well written. Recommendations are aimed at improving education, protecting teachers, and parents' rights -- all minus an expensive, dominating union. _The Worm in the Apple_ is the kind of book that demands reaction and hopefully causes change. Readers can expect to have a mental list of whom to share this book with before they're half way through it.
Rating:
Summary: WHEW!
Review: Brimelow begins his candid exposé on the National Education Association with a little history. The NEA, created in 1857, "was" a professional association concerned with "standards, ethics, and educational techniques" [preface]. Its original goal was improving America's education. So where did they get lost? The author tells us it was during the 1960s. The NEA morphed into a labor union, after removing school administrators from its membership and becoming competitively obsessed with the American Federation of Teachers. This was also when Kennedy issued an executive order allowing collective bargaining for federal employees, mind you, "in exchange for labor union support" [preface]. Because of these changes, Brimelow concludes that our educational system has been failing our children ever since. Brimelow begins with NEA's 1999 annual meeting. It reads like a political train wreck, and is the perfect start in proving his point. Throughout the book, Brimelow shows the NEA's move from reading, writing, and arithmetic to such things as self-preservation, politics, and political correctness books and class atmosphere. Brimelow names names, places blame, dishes numbers, and exposes past and present union leaders. His eye-opening facts are riveting as he relays various accounts in trying to prove the absurdity of the union's control. For example, a Connecticut Teachers Association filed a grievance demanding pay for the additional two minutes a week the union claimed teachers worked that year; a Pennsylvania association filed a grievance against the school district because coffee and doughnuts were not provided during a training day; a New York "Deaf" school being forced to keep teachers who couldn't sign; and a Washington local union shot down a superintendent's need to alter school starting time for special education students because some teachers would have daycare problems. It goes on and on.... Brimelow doesn't dish the dirt only to leave readers wound up. The last chapter, "A Twenty-four Point Wish List," is well thought out and well written. Recommendations are aimed at improving education, protecting teachers, and parents' rights -- all minus an expensive, dominating union. _The Worm in the Apple_ is the kind of book that demands reaction and hopefully causes change. Readers can expect to have a mental list of whom to share this book with before they're half way through it.
Rating: 
Summary: NEA controlled public schools are doomed
Review: I used to have hope for public schools. Back in the mid-80s it looked like the solution for public schools would be throw money at the problem. This logic was like on the Space Shuttle. If you put enough time, money, and energy into fixing the Space Shuttle then it would work. Well, it's been 23 years since the 1981 launch and the Shuttle is as broke today as when it entered service. The American education system is just like the Shuttle. The actual reports of America's crisis in Education were made in 1982. The reports got main steam press in 1983. What has changed? We put trillions of dollars in education. Now it's 22 years later and the education system is actually worse off now than in 1982. The book gives lots of examples on why the NEA is merely a corrupt labor union. The only real shock I got out of the book is the real reason why the NEA opposes school vouchers isn't because of the students (the NEA could care less about students and parents; the book had no new news on that) but the book voiced a concern that vouchers could destroy the supply of good teachers in the NEA. Yes, private schools funded by vouchers would attract many of the finest young math and science teachers from public schools. The NEA merely didn't want to loose $500 per teacher's union fees. Like the Space Shuttle, which under went a massive upgrade program in the post 1986 era, American schools under went a massive upgrade era in the 1983 - 1990s era. There were some initial good results. However, in the early 1990s there was a massive "slight" fall off in test scores, about 5%. The American Press had ignored these test scores. Then the shock hits the reader: no amount of money will ever fix the problem. I am depressed after reading this book. I do not agree with the author multi-point solution for getting rid of the NEA. There is no way to fix American schools save for an armed revolution by American parents. Yes, the only way American schools will be fixed is with an armed revolution. But, that is merely wishful thinking. It will never happen and NEA presidents will continue to enjoy plus $200,000 pay for their jobs and fantastic benefits. America has a horrid public school system and a fair public school system. (A side note, Catholic and Lutheran schools crush public schools in performance. The cost is only about $3000 per child. It's a wonder why African-American Baptist churchs do not form some sort of alliance with the old, German Lutherans. The old Lutherans would be flattered somebody actually gave attention to their excellent school systems. African-Americans would actually receive a quality education.) I have worked as a substitute teacher in the inter-city schools of Columbus, Ohio. Presently, I am getting my certification in Education, major in Math and minor in History. It's my wish to be teaching in a Lutheran school system. I'll actually be making a difference in life than merely giving $500 per year to some friends of Michael Moore in Flint, Michigan. Yes, Flint, Michigan is the home of Michael Moore. Also, Flint is the home town of the NEA. It's quite appropriate when you think of it.
Rating: 
Summary: Good message, mediocre presentation
Review: Neither paralyzed by fear nor duped by union doubletalk, Peter Brimelow delivers an exceptionally crafted account of the public education crisis in America. Though "Worm In The Apple" does occasionally drift into topical sidelines, the overall flow of the book is quite good. Its easy to appreciate Brimelow's scientific approach to the issue. He starts with a problem known to almost all: high cost, low performance public schools. Brimelow then identifies the root cause, the teacher unions, using abundant factual information and leaving little room for doubt. Having made the connection, Brimelow shows that only mitigation of the teachers' unions power can end the education crisis. He then lists 24 changes, such as tenure elimination, that could turn the system around. Throughout the book, Brimelow's points are consistently backed by iron-clad proof that only a union robot could ignore. "The Worm In The Apple" is an excellent piece of investigative reporting, and a "how-to" guide for addressing one of America's greatest challenges. Most of Brimelow's detractors are those who don't want to hear his message, or more often, don't want anybody else to hear his message. Such orchestrated detractions only serve to strengthen Brimelow's credibility.
Rating:
Summary: A Timely Analysis Of A Growing Crisis
Review: Neither paralyzed by fear nor duped by union doubletalk, Peter Brimelow delivers an exceptionally crafted account of the public education crisis in America. Though "Worm In The Apple" does occasionally drift into topical sidelines, the overall flow of the book is quite good. Its easy to appreciate Brimelow's scientific approach to the issue. He starts with a problem known to almost all: high cost, low performance public schools. Brimelow then identifies the root cause, the teacher unions, using abundant factual information and leaving little room for doubt. Having made the connection, Brimelow shows that only mitigation of the teachers' unions power can end the education crisis. He then lists 24 changes, such as tenure elimination, that could turn the system around. Throughout the book, Brimelow's points are consistently backed by iron-clad proof that only a union robot could ignore. "The Worm In The Apple" is an excellent piece of investigative reporting, and a "how-to" guide for addressing one of America's greatest challenges. Most of Brimelow's detractors are those who don't want to hear his message, or more often, don't want anybody else to hear his message. Such orchestrated detractions only serve to strengthen Brimelow's credibility.
Rating:
Summary: Brimelow Gets A B+
Review: Peter Brimelow makes a valuable contribution to the education reform debate with his latest book 'The Worm In The Apple'. However, the subtitle of the book is somewhat misleading, because Brimelow focuses almost exclusively on the NEA, with scant attention given to the AFT, though he explains why in his preface. Also, as a libertarian, I wish Brimelow had challenged the justification for education being a government monopoly, though doing so might have diluted the central point of 'Worm'. Since Brimelow admits that his own two children attend public schools, he is clearly not opposed to having public schools, so some of the comments in the 1 star reviews posted on Amazon are either dishonest or come from people who have not actually read the book. Brimelow's central argument is that the NEA, like all unions, tries to monopolize the supply of labor in its particular industry, namely, education. But he adds that the teacher unions represent a monopoly on top of a monopoly because compulsory taxation and attendance laws pretty much guarantee that nearly 9 out of 10 children will attend public schools. For all of the noise it makes about children, Brimelow argues that the NEA's primary concern is to maintain its hold over the public school system via agency shop and collective bargaining rules. This gives it access to an endless cashflow that it uses to curry political influence to stave off legislative reforms that could weaken its monopoly hold. This is seen in the NEA's opposition to merit pay, vouchers, tuition tax credits, charter schools, and even homeschooling, and in its support for such initiatives as smaller class sizes and bilingual ed, which results in the hiring of more teachers who then must pay union dues as well. Thus, whenever the NEA or any other teacher union comes out for or against a bill or initiative, their position is not based on what is best for children, but what is best for the union, regardless of how they try to cloak it. Brimelow also explains how much of this is not known to the public at large because most education reporters fail to realize that education is an industry that should be looked at as any other industry such as auto manufacturing or agriculture (which Brimelow attributes to their lack of knowledge in economics), or that some journalists who cover education, as Brimelow puts it, "go native". At the end of 'Worm', Brimelow offers his wish list for education reforms. While Brimelow clearly supports vouchers and other measures that would enable parents to send their children to private schools, and includes them in his list, many of his proposals are aimed at public schools themselves. He favors abolishing collective bargaining and union shop laws, and allowing teachers the right to negotiate directly with their schools for wages and benefits, and conditions. After all, if a Jaime Escalante can teach 50 children calculus in a classroom, and demand more pay to do so, why shouldn't such a teacher have that right? As with his previous book on immigration, 'Alien Nation', Brimelow employs his trademark witty and conversational writing style, filling 'Worm' with humorous descriptions and anecdotes, which makes it a good read regardless of whether you agree with him or not. Since I do agree with him for the most part, here's to hoping that 'Worm' helps to kickstart a much needed debate in this country.
Rating: 
Summary: A Shoddy Stab at the Guts of our American System
Review: Peter Brimelow wants to tear up the foundations of American, the building blocks of America, the PUBLIC SCHOOLS. This right wing drivel lacks clarity and is horribly biased against our children and public schools. Public schools are the great equalizer of our society, allowing ALL children the right to an education.
Peter comes across as unfair. He leaves out facts that make our schools look great.
Everyone in the world wants an American education. Why is that if our schools are so poor? Our schools are overrun with applications from other countries, people paying to send their kids to our public schools instead of attending their private schools.
The teacher's "unions" are the first to support teacher testing and support strong qualifications for teachers. Brimelow uses half truths to constantly support his message.
Rating:
Summary: Teacher Unions more concerned with power then education
Review: Peter Brimelow's book does an excellent job of exposing the shady underside of America's Teacher Unions. Through his research, Mr. Brimelow shows that a pattern of decreasing educational success has been directly in line with the rise in power of teacher unions like the NEA. If you're at all interested in the reasons why America is constantly falling behind the rest of the world in educational standards, read this book. The author shows that we spent unprecedented amounts of money on public education without proportional success to follow. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in public education, union activity, or people that simply want to know why they pay so much money in taxes to support their local school system.
Rating:
Summary: Good message, mediocre presentation
Review: This book presents an important message: the unions that represent teachers are not professional organizations (like the American Medical Association) that are arguably interested first and foremost in excellent service and in monitoring their members; rather, they are labor unions dedicated to the advancement of their own power, and to protecting the interests of their members. In short, they care about teachers, not about students. Brimelow makes this contrast stark, as it should be, and presents fairly compelling evidence to make his case. Unfortunately, there is a real problem in the presentation of the case. The author does not come across as remotely impartial, or even fair. He seems to be out to do a hatchet job. Moderately informed readers will note that he omits facts that do not fit his thesis. For example, he writes as if the National Education Assocation and the American Federation of Teachers are undifferentiable, when there are clear differences between these two unions on exactly the dimensions Brimelow says he cares about; the AFT has been much more a champion of students than the NEA has, e.g., they have been much more open to testing teachers to ensure that they are qualified. Brimelow is also willing to report on union knavery at a very local levels in order to paint the entire organization as evil; the fact that some local union official in some district in Delaware said something stupid is hardly relevant to national education issues. After a while, a reader who does not already believe Brimelow's position cannot help but perceive that they might not be getting the whole truth, and that undercuts Brimelow's very worthy message. Still, the book is worth buying and reading. Brimelow has dug up some important facts on a topic that is too often neglected in education debates.
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