From The New Yorker, Man with a Plan: An article on Herbert Spencer’s theory of everything (and more on Herbert Spencer and the Invention of Modern Life by Mark Francis). A review of The Human Touch: Our Part in the Creation of a Universe by Michael Frayn. A review of Simplexity: The Simple Rules of a Complex World by Jeffery Kluger. The downside of diversity: Harvard political scientist Robert Putnam finds that diversity hurts civic life. What happens when a liberal scholar unearths an inconvenient truth? A review of The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements by Eric Hoffer. A psychoanalyst for his age (but not ours): A review of Erik Erikson and the American Psyche: Ego, Ethics, and Evolution by Daniel Burston. A review of Pleasurable Kingdom: Animals and the Nature of Feeling Good by Jonathan Balcombe.
The Washington Post Magazine looks at issues in learning, including gap years, elementary school homework, the military and education, and a lesson in low-tech. James Surowiecki on how the huge profits that lenders make from student loans are being earned on the government’s dime. A review of The Protection of the Right to Education by International Law by Klaus Dieter. Form Policy Review, Frederick Hess and Chester E. Finn Jr. on how No Child Left Behind needs some work. A review of Tested: One American School Struggles to Make the Grade by Linda Perlstein. A review of Punishing Schools: Fear and Citizenship in American Public Schools by William Lyons and Julie Drew.
According to a survey by the Higher Education Research Institute, students entering college are staying away from religion in record numbers. The introduction to Faith in Schools? Autonomy, Citizenship, and Religious Education in the Liberal State by Ian MacMullen. Does the Bible have a place in public schools? New legal mandates and the rise of two national curricula are driving a surge in the number of classes — and the debate over how they're taught. An illusion gains credibility: For most, curriculum isn’t narrowing, despite focus on math, reading; or key subjects get short shrift? Mandates prevent students from getting a well-rounded education. In a new book, Studio Thinking: The Real Benefits of Visual Arts Education, Ellen Winner and Lois Hetland of Project Zero argue forcefully for the benefits of art education, while still defending their 2000 thesis.
