The Game of School: Why We All Play It, How It Hurts Kids,and What It Will Take to Change It

The author gives the impression that the old teaching methods are outmoded. This is not true in my experience. The standard lecturing and case study methods are employed because their use facilitates covering extensive bodies of material in a short period of time. The work is correct in supplementing existing methods with innovative approaches to learning. Several examples are cited. i.e. - students visit a nursing home and paint pictures for the residents - a final exam may contain a mock trial for critique by the students The author divides students into classic groups . i.e. - learners - true believers - pluggers - rebels The pluggers struggle with the material and rarely learn it comprehensively. Rebels resent classic teaching methods and act out their feelings accordingly. This work has value to teachers/administrators willing to admit weaknesses in the current system in favor of some new and innovative approaches. The book also supplements existing methods with fresh approaches to teaching by the formal lecture method. The author did not emphasize the role of technology sufficiently . A future version of this book should integrate computer teaching and teacher technological assessments into the overall presentation.