Reviewer: Phil H. Gropp from Omaha, NE
Dr. Seymour Sarason's book is divided into two main sections/parts. In the first section, he reproduces and elaborates on the second edition of his 1971 book, "The Culture of The School and The Problem of Change." The main thesis of the section was that of defining the organization and culture of a school and the attachments the school personnel have to their ways of working in that environment. His main argument was that both of these complex realities must be changed if real improvement is to take place. In the chapters of section one, Sarason expounds on three major themes/concepts: that school cultures are complicated, that principals and teachers are isolated in their position, and that teachers responsible for student achievement often have little time to learn new educational ideas. In concluding section one, Dr. Sarason stresses that changing a school culture is difficult work and must be done in a comprehensive way if it is to be effective and of lasting significance.

In the second section, Sarason "REVISITS" his original thoughts and philosophy of changing school culture. He elevates his concerns of trying to maintain and improve public education as we have known it. Sarason states that "what happens in our cities and our schools will determine the fate of our society."
The first of the two main points he "revisits" is that for the process of change to take place today, you must completely understand a school's culture especially its people, values, and practices. Secondly, for increased achievement to be envisioned, teachers must relinquish their total control over students and allow them to take more responsibility for (at least most of) their own learning.

This book is a fascinating look at 20th century United States educational history. From the philosophy of pre-World War II educators, to the major Supreme Court decision dealing with desegregation, Sarason spins his challenging philosophy in a way that makes the reader establish attitudes about his/her educational convictions. With his knowledge of history, Sarason provides his opinions on what it will take for public education to flourish (or fail) in the 21st century. His visions of changing educational paradigms gives his work food for thought and interesting educational debate.

When Sarson first published his work 25 years ago, he was, without a doubt, far ahead of his time in his thinking about schools, teachers, principals, and the ability of the students to learn. He questioned the problems associated with the whole educational environment, and suggested such "outlandish" ideas such as de-emphasizing the teaching of reading and arithmetic in the early grades and eliminating the role of the school principal and the boards of education as they were then known (13). He judged the new math as being pretty dull and ineffectual. He relished giving teachers more control over their classroom environments. To emphasize his points, he referred to his man from outer space who frequently observed schools from a purely non-partisan role. For example, this spaceman would puzzlingly see schools filled five days a week, observe virtual bustling communities of activity, only to close down two days a week. He would then ponder better school scheduling and community involvement. Sarason took on the great educators of the time-names like Conant and Dewey, Koerner and Rickover, and offered sound proposals for the changing world that was profoundly influencing the school culture.

But in his REVISITING section of the book, he offers his opinions on a gammed of subjects, including school organizations, teachers, students, vouchers, and social change, to name a few. One of his most fascinating points is that of reiterating the idea that schools need to create and maintain environments that are continually providing productive learning for students that allows "knowing" to become internalized. This book is a fascinating look at the past, as well as a glimpse at the present and future of education in the United States. Sarason provides the reader with an opportunity to examine the ideas he first propounded a quarter century ago, and to see how well they fit into the 21st century. His work is tremendously written, carefully crafted, and lovingly offered to the educator of today.

Seymour Sarason's thoughts on educational reform are shown in both a positive and negative light. He believes that change in educational practices must be radical if they are going to work. He states, "To us, the biggest risk in education is not taking one." He maintains that it is certain disaster to continue fine tuning an already broken system. As an educator, I find that Sarason establishes grounds for his concerns even though his critism is gloomy at best. He continues to go back to the bottom line and question whether schools are really doing what is best for children. On a positive note, Sarason raises valid points that challenge educators to look at their own practices and beliefs in a way that will make learning and student achievement foremost in every classroom. It would be difficult to read his book and not feel the need for change. How radical the change needs to be is uncertain, unless one agrees with Sarason.

Sarason writes for those who are members of the community of learners and members of the political community whose role and power affect the direction of educational reform. His ideas are not unique, but are distinctive in that there is an emphasis of ideas that have in the past have been kept separate. His belief is that as long as we keep them separate, failure will occur.

Chapter One discusses the inability of past reform efforts to be effective in making changes occur, and why this dilemma condemn to failure current and future attempts. Chapter Two will review the obstacles when those initiating reform encounter when they don't truly understand the dynamics of the educational system. Chapter Three takes an in depth look at the power relationships within the system, and failure to do so will prevent desired changes from occurring. Chapter Four asks the difficult question as to whom should be involved in the decision-making. The educational system and private sector are compared. The Scanlon Plan is also discussed. Chapter Five will delve into the power structure within the educational system as related to the power relationships within the classroom. There are five examples provided in Chapter Six as to why efforts in educational reform have not been successful. Sarason will compare the educational systems with the medical profession, and the relationship to changes in both areas. Implementation, imitation, and replications of reform efforts are rarely successful. This failure will be discussed in Chapter Seven. Chapter Eight seeks to give you further food for thought in answering that age old question, "For whom do schools exist?". The author will take the position that schools equally exist for the development of both staff and students. Chapter Nine attempts to answer a multitude of questions which focus on the overarching goals for students.

The text is written in a manner that is easy to understand, and provides a multitude of topics which would be a starting point for professional discussions. The course I am involved in at UNO (Omaha) challenges doctoral students in educational administration to step out of the box, challenge to question tradition, and ask difficult questions. This book provides for the foundation for those discussions and a point of reference from which to start when we ask ourselves why have reform efforts failed to achieve the goals we have established. (This review has been written in the format established by the author in the preface.)

This book is dull. For a potentially interesting topic, it was like chewing grits without salt, little substance and no flavor. It was a waste of time and money. I threw it into the recycle sack where it could be put to better use.

This remarkable book explains that teachers need to be just as accomplished performers as are successful artists - actors, orchestra conductors, dancers, or singers. It discusses how this need could be dealt with in teacher preparation programs. It will be heartwarming for teachers who already know this; it will be an eyeopener for anyone who believes that teachers require only knowledge of the subject to be taught. I believe that the problems of teacher quality will not be resolved until the observations in this book are widely understood and acted upon. Moreover, this book is very timely. The issue of teacher preparation and teacher quality has now become central to education reform nationally, thanks to pressures from teachers themselves, from their unions, from the existence of the National Board on Professional Teaching Standards, and from a growing political focus on teacher quality. Another eyeopener is "The Teaching Gap" by James Stigler and Jmaes Hiebert, which explains how and why teaching is different in Japan from what it is here. (The differences are partly due to a visit to Japan by John Dewey early in this century.)