Declaring War Against Schooling: Personalizing Learning Now

Declaring War Against Schooling documents 100 years of educational wars between Visionary learning leaders and Traditional school people. Ironically, to win the existing war, both opposing groups must unify to overthrow the control of education by politicians. The script cites the eras when education was in the hands of flexible educators with support, not opposition, from many politicians. President Lyndon Johnson called for “Tomorrow’s Schools”—a vision not yet achieved. The Reagan, Clinton, Bush, and Obama administrations transformed education into politics. Traditionalists submitted to one-size-fits-all mandates. Visionaries failed to unify to prevent unjust political requirements. Research is presented which validates the flaws in current school and college rituals. Outlined are venues to overcome political control, offer educational alternatives, and create voluntary personalized choices for all learners. Declaring War Against Schooling calls for ACTION NOW by visionary critics, educators, parents, and students. The goal is optional learning paths, not mandated schooling systems.

Table of Contents:
Prologue: Atlantic City Dedication: Lloyd Trump Chapter One: Visionary Leadership Chapter Two: Educational War Chapter Three: Communicating Freedom Chapter Four:Startling Research Chapter Five: Looking Forward Chapter Six: Insightful Perceptions Chapter Seven: Disturbing Priorities Chapter Eight: Choice Alternatives Chapter Nine: Exemplary Possibilities Chapter Ten: Preferable Futures Chapter Eleven: Political Challenges Chapter Twelve:Successful Action Epilogue:Personal Commitment

About the Author :
Don Glines has been cited by National Observer as most innovative educator, Kappan as vice-president for heresy, Minnesota Alternatives Association as exemplary contributor, and Personalised Education Now as trailblazer in creating personal learning options for everyone.

Review :
Don Glines has distilled 50 years of his forward thinking and practice into this profoundly important book. He finds that research supports radically different schools. In fact, the word “school” carries the baggage of obsolete beliefs and automatically sets us on the wrong path of trying to fix it. Start with learning, a natural human trait, to design optimal conditions rather than just repairing what we have. Glines sears that point extraordinarily. Start the war! Don Glines has been around long enough to know from personal experience that there will be no significant improvement in the nation’s schools as long as policy is being shaped by leaders of business and industry, politicians, syndicated columnists, school boards, and other amateurs. They’re products of “the system,” so bring to the issues the conventional wisdom—the same conventional wisdom that has brought the institution to crisis. At the core of that crisis is failure to recognize the obvious, that no two learners are alike. Glines maintains that on this fact all working educators agree, an agreement sufficient to justify direct, forceful confrontation—including acceptance of the probable necessity for acts of civil disobedience—to counter the simplistic, destructive thrust of current education policies. The Industrial-Age paradigm that controls teaching and learning in America’s schools and school systems has outlived its usefulness. Systems designed to comply with the paradigmatic rules do and always leave children behind. The systems are perfectly designed to get the results they are getting. Applying principles of continuous improvement to maintain the old paradigm will never create the kinds of breakthrough performance that is required to provide our children and grandchildren with the quality education they need and deserve. A new paradigm to guide teaching and learning is required—one built on principles of personalized, learner-centered education. Don Glines’ book offers a powerful and compelling argument to transform the education system and its component school systems to comply with principles of personalized learning. Declaring War Against Schooling brilliantly and boldly demands that control of education be directed by the will of the learner. Dr. Glines challenges the naïve arrogance of today’s decision-makers. He affirms what we have known from the beginning: no matter the mandates, the policies, the high-stakes, or the power grabs, the individual always holds the key to personal development. As educators, parents, leaders, and citizens, we have the choice to create multiple pathways to learning. The most important question asked in these timely pages is whether our children will have the option of one door, or one hundred.