An ed reform book not really about education
For those who don’t remember the Bobby Ewing letdown in the Dallastelevision series, let me summarize: Back in the 1980s, the actor who played Bobby left the show and his character was killed, presenting a problem a year later when he decided to return. The writers dealt with the dilemma by declaring the entire 1985-86 season of storylines a dream sequence. In other words: Never mind.
That’s what came to mind when I got to the last chapter of Steven Brill’sbook “Class Warfare: Inside the Fight to Fix America’s Schools, ” which has received a lot of attention in school reform circles because Brill — an author, entrepreneur and founder of the Yale (University) Journalism Initiative — is a significant presence in that world and because his