One Size Fits Few: The Folly of Educational Standards - Softcover

OHANIAN

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0325001588 ISBN 13: 9780325001586

Publisher: Heinemann Educational Books,U.S., 1999

Synopsis

One Size Fits Few is a sharp, pointed pin with which to deflate the overblown pro-Standards movement. In her hilarious, unsparing, and often touching narrative, Susan Ohanian-a teacher, author, and frequent contributor to the Atlantic, Education Week, and other publications-recounts her quest to make sense of the Standards movement.

"Making sense" is no small feat, as we see when Ohanian muses on school districts withholding diplomas from students who fail to demonstrate "necessary knowledge" of topics such as covalent bonds, the Edict of Nantes, La Cucaracha, and the Slough of Despond.

Balance is even more elusive in the media, as is evident when Ohanian drafts an op-ed piece on Goals 2000 for USA Today. When her editor repeatedly finds the real-life students she portrays "too unique," too urban, too nonstandard, she realizes that all he wants to know is "how the kids in Grosse Pointe measure up against the kids in Larchmont or Palo Alto, and how both compare to the Japanese."

Ironically, even in Japan, Ohanian finds gross denial: When she asks "What happens when a child fails to keep up with his peers?," she is reassured that this never happens. Yet no one can explain how the McDonald's clerk fits into the Japanese educational/social system.

Underlying the irony is a call to action. "It is my moral duty to offer a counterargument to people who would try to streamline, sanitize, and standardize education" says Ohanian. "When we get down to the realities of the classroom . . . the antics of Standardistos are no longer funny . . . what we need to do is fight back."

Visit www.susanohanian.org

Visit Susan Ohanian online for a wealth of information on education issues and to learn more about her. You'll find commentary, cartoons, letters, resources, quotes and a word of the day offering children a provocative way to increase their vocabulary.

About this title

Review:

"We're lucky to have someone like Susan Ohanian who is willing to take on all the pious nonsense about Standards."-Alfie Kohn, Author of Punished by Rewards and No Contest

"Ohanian's work is a refreshing call to action. . . . This will hit a responsive note with many school leaders."-The School Administrator

About the Author:

Susan Ohanian is a longtime teacher and free-lance writer whose articles have appeared in periodicals ranging from the Atlantic and Washington Monthly to Phi Delta Kappan and Education Week. Visit www.susanohanian.org for a wealth of information on education issues and to learn more about Susan Ohanian. You'll find commentary, cartoons, letters, resources, quotes and a word of the day offering children a provocative way to increase their vocabulary. Her email address is: susano@gmavt.net.

About this edition

• Publisher: Heinemann Educational Books,U.S.
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0325001588
• ISBN 13: 9780325001586
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 154