CURMUDGUCATION: So, I Have a Book

CURMUDGUCATION: So, I Have a Book:

So, I Have a Book

CURMUDGUCATION: What Fresh Hell

Authored by Peter Greene 
Peter Greene blogs about the current state of public education with plenty of sass and not much rigor. This book includes almost 100 favorites from his popular blogs Curmudgucation and View from the Cheap Seats, and makes the case that there is much to love at US public education and much not to take serious about many of the folks who want to tear down one of our most 

I am a fan of self-publishing. The new world of Print on Demand makes it possible to put just about anything in a book at little-to-no cost. I've used it to publish collections of pieces from my newspaper column, create book-like memorabilia for my tiny region, and to publish the history of the 159-year-old town band I play in. Every year I now collect the major project from my honors students and publish it in book form. For our first anniversary, I made my wife a book.

I'm old school. I think books are awesome. I think holding the object, turning the pages, feeling that sheet of paper move under my fingers as it shifts to reveal another field of words-- it's just awesome. Other things in the world, particularly the cyber-world, could vanish tomorrow without a trace, but a book is real, solid (yes, I know it will dry up and blow away eventually, but somehow, that's different).

So I've published a book for this blog, and I am pleased to say that it's available to the world.



The book is a collection of ninety-some pieces from this blog, and I feel it only fair to point out that there isn't anything in the book that you can't read right here for free. Some popular old favorites are in the book, like the Arne Duncan spleen piece and the Hard Part, a blog that blew up on Huff Post. If you would like your dosage of Curmudgucation in a handy read-on-the-porch-with-a-cup-of-coffee format, or if you've been trying to get people in your life to read about what's happening in education but they just hate that whole interwebs thing, this is one more available option.For me, this will be a handy Christmas gift for family members.

And if you prefer not to fund amazon, you can buy a copy directly from the publisher (which is owned by amazon, but Bezos will still get less of your money less directly).

At any rate, I'm pleased to offer rantings in a different format as one more way to get the word out. One thing I've learned over the years is that I'm very bad at doing the whole "Hey, buy my book," thing. But if you have enjoyed the blog and would like some copies of classic material in book form, hey, buy my book.CURMUDGUCATION: So, I Have a Book:

ICYMI: Great Eduposts This Week

I missed last Sunday because vacation. But here's some of what you could be reading today.

About those charter school waiting lists

Here's a nice clear first-person account of how those wait lists get to be so large, and how little wait lists tell us about demand for charter schools. 

Why schools need more teachers of color-- for white students

We already know that there's no question about the benefits of having students see teachers who look like them. But having teachers of color is also hugely beneficial for white students as well.  

Is NOLA Experiencing Slave Market Education Reform

Reformsters are bummed. The release of the ERA report was supposed to unleash a storm of excitement about how awesomely successful the New Orleans school privatization experiment has been. Instead, pieces like Jennifer Berkshire's Salon article have folks questioning the whole business all over again. Jullian Vasquez Heilig storified some of the critical conversations coming out of #NOLAEdWarning so we can see just why folks aren't dancing in the streets, and just how much isn't being included in the NOLA PR blitz.

Want to know how a student is doing?

Wendy Lecker reminds us that parents already know how to find out how well their children are doing in school-- and it isn't to march to the office and demand to see Junior's standardized test results. 

The Hefty ad campaign

Yes, the Hefty trash bag folks, of all people, have launched a campaign hitting the idea that schools and teachers are underfunded and undersupported.

The suicide of the liberal arts

John Agresto takes to the pages of the Wall Street Journal to make a case for the liberal arts, and to argue that the discipline needs to be a better friend to itself.

ICYMI: Great Eduposts This Week