Product Description
The well-known president of Bard College and musical director of the American Symphony Orchestra challenges the current idea that higher education is in decline and shows how to inspire a love of learning in America’s youth. National ad/promo. Tour…. More >>
Jefferson’s Children: Education and The Promise of American Culture
Having heard Botstein speak and having had the opportunity to question some of his beliefs it became clear to me that his proposal is more a random thought than a well thought out idea. Sure, Botstein manages to write a book filled with great words, most of which are unknown the majority of the population in this country, but he fails to aknowledge one, huge problem in his idea. His idea is based more off of physical maturity than mental maturity. I think it’s absurd to assume that students are maturing mentally at a faster pace, or even an equal pace to those 30 years ago. The fact of the matter, students generally don’t have to mature that fast because of their lives at home, and those who do often turn to drugs or violence. That’s just the way I feel.
Rating: 1 / 5
In reading Jefferson’s Children, as well as the many new articles that have been visible recently, it has come to my knowledge that the federal government should pass Botstein’s plan. It, as an education policy, would significantly increase academic achievement in secondary schools in the united states. The advantages are less dropouts, less anti-intellectualism, and a better structure for higher education. Still, there are inexplicapble loopholes that exist. First, what happens to the high school buildings once they are no longer needed. Second, what happens to the teachers and administrators currently teaching. And third,what happens to the students already in high school. also, there are disadvantages: administrators and teachers will backlash b/c they prefer older students, and parents will backlash as well. Also, plan allows the not-so intelligent students go on to the streets faster. Even, normal students will have earlier times of marriage among teens, which will increase chances of abuse.
Rating: 5 / 5
Mr. Botstein’s proposals for educational reform are as thought provoking and on-target as the reviews imply. Several of us, though, who are graduates of Simon’s Rock College of Bard in western Massachusetts, wonder why he has omitted all mention of our school. He is ALSO the president of Simon’s Rock, a college of the liberal arts and sciences that accepts younger students, generally after their tenth or eleventh-grade year of high school. In short, a college that has for nearly three decades exemplified the type of education he “proposes.” And done it well, in our opinion. The omission is both perplexing and offensive.
Rating: 5 / 5
Now a classic but still full of valid & valuable ideas (particularly in this age of change) by one of this country’s brightest…& not a bad conductor, music historian, scholar and college president as well…
Rating: 4 / 5
I have known that there are many problems in our high schools, but no one has ever talked about them till now. This book tells how high school is just wasting valuable time for kids and giving them innumerable worries and stresses by having to have to learn things that will never again be used in life. I think that high school should be geared toward an individual’s plan for a future occupation. This book is a must read for anyone who has ever thought about this subject before!
Rating: 5 / 5