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Rating: 
Summary: Excellent!
Review: I have read the most excellent first edition and this 2nd, too. These books pose interesting questions for the next generation of "Teachers" and the Educators that we spend money to support. The first edition has a preface or introduction that should be re-printed so that the Modern Reader can compare the two. This should be Required Reading in High School!!!
Rating:
Summary: Broad intro to problems in education
Review: Plumbers are just as important as our philosophers--that's the message of this book. If we don't respect both--neither our theories nor our pipes will hold any water. Gardner does not oversimplify education and say that every student should go to college: he only demands that you choose your own path and go at it full tilt. Excellence is the only thing that Gardner demands. This book is a call for Americans to be great: Americans love to be great, Gardner argues. They just need the leadership to inspire them.
Rating:
Summary: Broad intro to problems in education
Review: Plumbers are just as important as our philosophers--that's the message of this book. If we don't respect both--neither our theories nor our pipes will hold any water. Gardner does not oversimplify education and say that every student should go to college: he only demands that you choose your own path and go at it full tilt. Excellence is the only thing that Gardner demands. This book is a call for Americans to be great: Americans love to be great, Gardner argues. They just need the leadership to inspire them.
Rating: 
Summary: Wisdom on America, Education, Excellence and Leadership
Review: This book packs alot of punch for it's conciseness (155 pages of text). Gardner starts off with observations of some important tensions in the American value system, namely between a society in which one's rewards are strictly related to one's performance versus a society where equality of results is more valued; the conflict between freedom and equality. Next, there is a discussion of education. "Education as a Sorting Out Process" is the title of one of the chapters. There is a discussion of how standardized tests and various degrees are used as markers of talent and merit. Gardner puts forth the controversial opinion, which I agree with, that too many people in our country go to college because they feel like it is the only path that is truly respected and valued in our culture (he wrote this in 1984 so I think this applies even more so to today). The idea is that college is only one kind of education, an academic one. But some people are more suited to technical or vocational education or simply to learn by working, rather than manipulating abstract symbols, composing essays, etc... Life and society require all kinds of different skills and math, science, literature, and other intellectual skills are just one dimension. Third, there is a discussion of the many forms of excellence (related to the many kinds of education discussed previously). In our society, we value scientists and Phds and CEOs but there are excellent plumbers, excellent gardeners, excellent teachers, excellent volunteers, excellent parents, others who are excellent and contribute in big ways but are not given the same prestige in our society. He talks about continueing to learn through one's life; and not just academic, book learning, but learning about oneself, about relationships, about managing one's life, taking care of the ordinary business of life, developing character. Lastly, there is a discussion of excellence and leadership in the context of the big organizations (government, large corporations, small companies) that most of us find ourselves working in day to day. He talks about expecting alot from people, holding them up to high standards and making them feel like they can make a difference. Overall, this is a book about HIGH STANDARDS. It is about maintaining high standards in the activities we choose to pursue and thus contacting what is deepest and best in human beings: our desire to grow, develop, and be the best we can possibly be, as individuals and together as a society. As Socrates said to Bill and Ted, "Be Excellent to Each Other".
Rating:
Summary: Wisdom on America, Education, Excellence and Leadership
Review: This book packs alot of punch for it's conciseness (155 pages of text). Gardner starts off with observations of some important tensions in the American value system, namely between a society in which one's rewards are strictly related to one's performance versus a society where equality of results is more valued; the conflict between freedom and equality. Next, there is a discussion of education. "Education as a Sorting Out Process" is the title of one of the chapters. There is a discussion of how standardized tests and various degrees are used as markers of talent and merit. Gardner puts forth the controversial opinion, which I agree with, that too many people in our country go to college because they feel like it is the only path that is truly respected and valued in our culture (he wrote this in 1984 so I think this applies even more so to today). The idea is that college is only one kind of education, an academic one. But some people are more suited to technical or vocational education or simply to learn by working, rather than manipulating abstract symbols, composing essays, etc... Life and society require all kinds of different skills and math, science, literature, and other intellectual skills are just one dimension. Third, there is a discussion of the many forms of excellence (related to the many kinds of education discussed previously). In our society, we value scientists and Phds and CEOs but there are excellent plumbers, excellent gardeners, excellent teachers, excellent volunteers, excellent parents, others who are excellent and contribute in big ways but are not given the same prestige in our society. He talks about continueing to learn through one's life; and not just academic, book learning, but learning about oneself, about relationships, about managing one's life, taking care of the ordinary business of life, developing character. Lastly, there is a discussion of excellence and leadership in the context of the big organizations (government, large corporations, small companies) that most of us find ourselves working in day to day. He talks about expecting alot from people, holding them up to high standards and making them feel like they can make a difference. Overall, this is a book about HIGH STANDARDS. It is about maintaining high standards in the activities we choose to pursue and thus contacting what is deepest and best in human beings: our desire to grow, develop, and be the best we can possibly be, as individuals and together as a society. As Socrates said to Bill and Ted, "Be Excellent to Each Other".
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