Full Description
In Getting Education Right, Rick Hess and Mike McShane argue that America has too long suffered from the absence of a robust, coherent, and principled conservative vision for educational improvement. The book both diagnoses a problem and offers a solution. The problem? The right has too narrowly focused on school choice, campus speech, and shrinking Washington's footprint, while the left has sought to subsidise and supersise the status quo. The solution? An education system imbued with shared values, respectful of family ties, and equipped for the challenges of the 21st century. Rooted in fundamental conservative principles, the book explains both how we got here and where we need to go when it comes to early childhood, K-12, and higher education. Eschewing performative polemics, this book offers a field guide to bringing education back to its formative mission. Readers from across the ideological spectrum will benefit from engaging with the provocative analysis Hess and McShane offer, whether or not they agree with the policies they propose. Education is the foundation on which America's future will be constructed, and Getting Education Right provides a timely blueprint for that project.Book Features:
A conservative vision for the direction of American education in early childhood, K-12, and higher education.
A stimulating and informative presentation for audiences across the ideological spectrum.
An explanation of what it means to be a conservative in education today applied to a series of crucial questions about American schooling.
A readable and accessible text with plenty of anecdotes, provocative data points, and real-world solutions.
Authors who are especially well-suited to this task given their prominence as influential conservative scholars and pundits.
Contents
Contents (Tentative)Preface
Acknowledgements
1. Core Values
What Makes a Conservative in Education?
The Beliefs That Anchor Our Approach to Education
The Book Ahead2. A Bit of History
The Origins of Our Education System
Post-War Conservatism and the Nation's Schools
The 1980s and 1990s: A Nation at Risk
The 2000s: No Child Left Behind
The 2010s and the Pandemic: Backlash Against Bureaucracy
Lessons Learned3. Pro-Family Policies
Enmeshing Families in Webs of Support
Building Family-Friendly Communities
Direct Financial Support for Families
Navigating an Online Childhood
Overhauling Adoption and Foster Care4. Early Childhood Education
The Elephant in the Room
The Other Elephant in the Room
Little Platoons for Little People
ESAs for Every 3- and 4-Year-Old
Workplace-Based Child Care
Resisting the Nanny State5. K-12 Education
he World After School
The Handshake Between Student and Teacher
What Do We Want From Schools?
A Conservative K-12 Agenda
Custodial School Reform6. Higher Education
Wisdom vs. Wokeness
Groupthink and Orthodoxy
Embrace the Logic of Unbundling
Control College Costs
Make Sure College Enrollment Is a Choice
Protect Free Inquiry
Stop Subsidizing Payoff-Based College Admissions
Don't Just Fix Colleges, Build Them
Getting Higher Ed on the Right Track7. Questions & Answers
8. What Now?
The Recess Rorschach Test
Plenty More Where That Came From
A Forward-Looking, Healthy Conservatism
Education That Values Our Little Platoons
Free to Reimagine
Putting a Vibrant Conservatism to WorkEndnotes
Index
About the Authors
