The Misdirection of Education Policy: Raising Questions about School Reform

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The Misdirection of Education Policy: Raising Questions about School Reform proposes critically important questions about the wisdom of American public education policy and reform initiatives. Laying out the particulars of three policy strandscreation of STEM curricula/schools, expansion of charter schools/privatizing, and teacher accountability/testing tied to job security The Misdirection of Education Policy exposes complications, contradictions, and deliberate deceptions in these supposed solutions to very real issues in education. Dafoe theorizes that obstacles facing American education are far more complicated than policy makers suggest or consider. The Misdirection of Education Policy poses the question of whether it is practical to offer an education that is not merely practical in its ends, opening doors far beyond career readiness and filling employers job slots. The approach suggested here is designed to offer an arterial that allows students and teachers to do more than simply prepare for STEM careers; it advocates for an education that helps people navigate life by becoming explorers who remain curious and analytical about their world.

Reviews

Nancy Dafoe has superbly articulated the problems and issues of our educational institutions. Drawing upon her expertise as an educator, Dafoe has nailed down what has to be done to save our public schools. I applaud her insistence that education need not be job training in technology and engineering alone or about predetermining futures of young people, fitting them into slots; instead, it must focus on interdisciplinary approaches that integrate the humanities and liberal arts with STEM teachings. Dafoe recommends flexible schedules, mentored staff, project-based learning, testing for measurement, not punishment for students or teachers, and exploring best teaching practices. Her common sense, effective solutions require time, determination, and careful planning in an environment in which quick fixes are demanded. Politicians and business opportunists, too, must read this book, as it expresses the ideas of highly skilled educators while, at the same time, providing credible strategies to save our public schools. -- Karen Hempson, Social Studies Education, retired; former Professional Development Coordinator (PDS); New York State University College at Cortland
In this book Dafoe convincingly argues that current efforts to privilege STEM subjects over the humanities, expand charter schools, and link teacher job security to student test scores are ill-conceived educational reforms. She clearly frames knotty issues and offers compelling solutions to unremitting problems. Dafoe accomplishes this task using poetry, personal interest stories, scenarios, and excerpts from teachers journals, as well as logical argument. The Misdirection of Education Policy: Raising Questions about School Reform is a must-read for anyone interested in fresh, insightful writing from a dedicated teacher with a deep knowledge of the research on education. -- Mary Lynch Kennedy, Distinguished teaching Professor Emeritus of English, State University of New York at Cortland
As an ecologist, systems-thinking has been ingrained in my formal training as a scientist and teacher. All too often, the tweaking of one resource is not fully understood until the unintended consequences on the system are made manifest. Nancy Avery Dafoe makes the case for informed, thoughtful, collaborative reforms to systemically address the holistic needs of our students as we collectively seek to develop universally needed skills, including critical thinking and problem solving, in our complex, interrelated world. -- Pamela Herrington, East Syracuse Minoa Science Department and NYS STEM Master Teacher, NOAA Climate Steward
Dafoe is a master educator with keen political sensibilities. She has privileged her audience by delivering an innovative and engaging account of current educational policies and practices. Readers come away equipped with informed insights that cannot help but provoke meaningful conversations about the redemptive possibilities of learning and good policy decisions. Dafoes work holds the promise of restoring confidence in the uniquely American tradition of education while respecting the full potential of each and every child and teacher who is a part of it. -- Karen Pastorello, History Professor, Women and Gender Studies Chair, Chancellors Award for Excellence, Tompkins Cortland Community College (TC3)

Author Bio

Nancy Avery Dafoe is a published author and English educator at the secondary and college levels. Her books include Breaking Open the Box and Writing Creatively: A Guided Journal, published by Rowman & Littlefield in 2013 and 2014, respectively, and a memoir, An Iceberg in Paradise: A Passage through Alzheimers, published by SUNY Press in 2015.