Books

BACK TO BASICS, by Francis Schrag. (Jossey-Bass, $16.95.) In this book, Schrag, chair of the department of educational policy studies at the University of Wisconsin, asks questions so astute and yet suddenly obvious that we wonder why we never thought of them ourselves. How, for instance, can we expect schools to build moral character when the typical middle or high school is almost designed to foster anonymity, with teachers meeting only briefly with a horde of students each day? And why do we insist on making success in life ever more commensurate with continued schooling when this will only hurt those with inadequate financial resources and a disinclination for academic work? On this point Schrag is particularly adamant. He questions the now-common assertion that American workers of the future will need ever-higher skills. If this were in fact the case, he asks, then why are American companies continuing to move operations to third-world countries? And even if it were the case, he adds, there is no reason to believe such skills are best acquired in school. In fact, he writes that the bored and alienated student's "capacity to learn might be enhanced if he were to spend less time in schools.'' Schrag suggests that something like an apprenticeship program may be more appropriate. Still, he is wary of all pat solutions. While he believes that a reasonably well-educated person should be capable of weighing evidence and have the disposition to continue learning subsequent to formal schooling, he insists that there "is no magic bullet'' that will enable us to achieve this or anything else. The point Schrag seems to be making is that our quest for "the one best system'' has saddled us with schools that want to be everything to everyone but in truth please no one for very long. He points out, for example, that we cannot ask for comprehensive schools with a plethora of course offerings and at the same time expect smaller, more humane school environments. The most basic question that Back to Basics, raises, then, is one Schrag never directly poses but everywhere implies: Why do we seek an unattainable perfection in schools that few would seek in other aspects of their lives, such as in their careers or marriage? By holding on to this unrealistic expectation, we set ourselves...