by Steven Brill
First published 2011
Steven Brill examines America's education crisis by following the people fighting to fix it. His investigation spans from the Oval Office, where Obama launches an unprecedented reform contest that angers teachers' unions, to state capitals where politicians push previously unthinkable legislation. Brill tracks an unlikely coalition of parents, billionaires, civil rights activists, and politicians as they clash with unions over schools that serve adults but fail children. The book profiles remarkable individuals: a Princeton student whose senior thesis sparks a reform movement, an antitrust lawyer who partners with Bill Gates to transform New York schools, a Park Avenue kid once labeled learning disabled who creates successful charter schools, and a union leader trying to save her organization while serving members. Brill takes readers inside roller coaster battles across the country, from boisterous parent assemblies to secret billionaire meetings, showing how reformers attempt to rescue students who seemed destined to fail. He concludes with practical solutions for restoring the American dream to public education.
Genres: politics, education, non-fiction, activism, academic, american-history
Vibes: thought-provoking
Tropes: social-commentary
Setting: New York, Oval Office, Park Avenue
Period: 21st-century
496 pages · Hardcover · Simon & Schuster