Choosing Excellence: Good Enough Schools Are Not Good Enough

by John Merrow

How do you evaluate a school? Today parents and teachers lean on standardized test scores - along with image, rumor, and reputation - to make vital decisions. However, a single number is inevitably... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1578860148
• ISBN13: 9781578860142
• Release Date: January 2001
• Publisher: R & L Education
• Length: 207 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.9" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

A must read for anyone who cares about our future

This book is entertaining and remarkably thoughtful. It is filled with the wisdom and insights we have come to expect from John Merrow, whose work many of us have followed on NPR and PBS. If you care about our future, read this book. He is critical where criticism is warranted but every chapter contains many useful suggestions for improvement. Every chapter includes the questions we need to ask of our educators and of ourselves.

Funny, practical and wise

This is an immensely useful, irreverent look at public schools. The author is a former teacher and an award-winning journalist who has worked for National Public Radio and PBS. He is creative and extremely insightful. He says, don't use just one way to judge schools. Do most teachers leave right after the students? What do schools do if there is a bully? Is the school orderly without being rigid? Is excellent student work displayed? Is it creative, or does it all look alike? These are only a few of the excellent, unusual questions Merrow asks. He also urges families not to make assumptions about a school - whether it's a charter, magnet or neighborhood school - it's location and classification just don't tell you enough. This is a great book for families to read, even if they are not actively selecting a new school. Merrow describes wonderful - and awful things he's seen in schools all over the world. He is funny, creative,and immensely useful. Joe N - St. Paul, Minnesota

every parent should own this book

This is a book that every parent will want to read. It's full of useful information, it's easy to understand, and it's positive in nature. The pathway to better schooling, and to a better experience for children, leads through this brilliant book. Buy it, or borrow it from your library, TODAY!

An "excellent" choice for anyone who cares about schools

John Merrow's book is a thoughtful and well-informed guide to finding excellence in public education. It is both an insightful look at what constitutes excellence and a great "how to" book for parents who are trying to choose schools for their kids (I especially like "questions to ask" at the end of each chapter). Best of all, while critical throughout, Merrow remains hopeful that public education can be excellent and offers real solutions for some of the most pressing problems in education today.

Choosing Excellence

I found this book thoughtful and engaging. I can't imagine any family concerned with the education of their child not buying this book. It is a must. Besides being a useful tool in evaluating a school, this book is a valuable collection of Mr. Merrow's experiences in his extensive career of covering the field of education.