What do we really want from schools? Only everything, in all its contradictions. Most of all, we want access and opportunity for all children-but all possible advantages for our own. So argues historian David Labaree in this provocative look at the way "this archetype of dysfunction works so well at what we want it to do even as it evades what we explicitly ask it to do." Ever since the common school movement of the nineteenth century, mass schooling has been seen as an essential solution to great social problems. Yet as ...
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What do we really want from schools? Only everything, in all its contradictions. Most of all, we want access and opportunity for all children-but all possible advantages for our own. So argues historian David Labaree in this provocative look at the way "this archetype of dysfunction works so well at what we want it to do even as it evades what we explicitly ask it to do." Ever since the common school movement of the nineteenth century, mass schooling has been seen as an essential solution to great social problems. Yet as wave after wave of reform movements have shown, schools are extremely difficult to change. Labaree shows how the very organization of the locally controlled, administratively limited school system makes reform difficult. At the same time, he argues, the choices of educational consumers have always overwhelmed top-down efforts at school reform. Individual families seek to use schools for their own purposes-to pursue social opportunity, if they need it, and to preserve social advantage, if they have it. In principle, we want the best for all children. In practice, we want the best for our own. Provocative, unflinching, wry, Someone Has to Fail looks at the way that unintended consequences of consumer choices have created an extraordinarily resilient educational system, perpetually expanding, perpetually unequal, constantly being reformed, and never changing much.
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Add this copy of Someone Has to Fail: the Zero-Sum Game of Public to cart. £8.75, good condition, Sold by Greenworld Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Arlington, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2012 by Harvard University Press.
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Good condition book with a firm cover and clean readable pages. Shows normal use including some light wear or limited notes highlighting yet remains a dependable copy overall. Supplemental items like CDs or access codes may not be included.
Add this copy of Someone Has to Fail: the Zero-Sum Game of Public to cart. £9.56, fair condition, Sold by Goodwill of Orange County rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Santa Ana, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2012 by Harvard University Press.
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Used book in good condition. May have some wear to binding spine cover and pages. Some light highlighting markings writing may be present. May have some stickers and or sticker residue present. May be Ex-lib. copy. May NOT include discs or access code or other supplemental material. We ship Monday-Saturday and respond to inquiries within 24 hours.
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Add this copy of Someone Has to Fail: the Zero-Sum Game of Public to cart. £12.20, good condition, Sold by bookseller909 rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from ANKENY, IA, UNITED STATES, published 2012 by Harvard University Press.
Add this copy of Someone Has to Fail: the Zero-Sum Game of Public to cart. £12.81, good condition, Sold by BayStateBooks rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from North Smithfield, RI, UNITED STATES, published 2012 by Harvard University Press.
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The book is in good condition with all pages and cover intact including the dust jacket if originally issued. The spine may show light wear. Pages may contain some notes or highlighting and there might be a From the library of label. Boxed set packaging shrink wrap or included media like CDs may be missing.
Add this copy of Someone Has to Fail: the Zero-Sum Game of Public to cart. £12.81, fair condition, Sold by BayStateBooks rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from North Smithfield, RI, UNITED STATES, published 2012 by Harvard University Press.
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Fair. The book is complete and readable with all pages and cover intact. Dust jacket shrink wrap or boxed set case may be missing. Pages may have light notes highlighting or minor water exposure but nothing that affects readability. May be an ex-library copy and could include library markings or stickers.
Add this copy of Someone Has to Fail: The Zero-Sum Game of Public to cart. £15.69, good condition, Sold by GreatBookPricesUK5 rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Castle Donington, DERBYSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2012 by Harvard University Press.
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Add this copy of Someone Has to Fail: the Zero-Sum Game of Public to cart. £18.67, good condition, Sold by SurplusTextSeller rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Columbia, MO, UNITED STATES, published 2012 by Harvard University Press.
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Good. Ships in a BOX from Central Missouri! May not include working access code. Will not include dust jacket. Has used sticker(s) and some writing or highlighting. UPS shipping for most packages, (Priority Mail for AK/HI/APO/PO Boxes).
