Thanks wayne_shrugged. Those intentions? They weren’t good either.
I wrote this book to show that good intentions of all kinds, including reforms meant to "fix" public education, will end the same way--badly. The whole idea of public schools is fundamentally wrong. It does not matter who is doing the reforming either (which I think happens to be a common mistake of conservatives).
This book addresses why public education hasn't worked in the past and why it won't work now. More importantly, the book tells how and why the common practices of public education (cooperative learning, mixed-ability classes, and social justice, etc.) promote social, not academic aims. Consequently, very few children are getting the type of education promised. There are other options out there. We need to concentrate on promoting those options instead of continuing to try to work within the system we have now.
I taught in both California and Texas in both low-income and middle-class schools. I hope some of you look into my book.