This is the beginning of a series of posts I wrote in response to an article written by Jay Green a few years ago. It’s been off the internet for some time, but when I decided to start Education in Practice, I thought reposting the critique here would be appropriate as it is still very relevant to the kinds of criticism public education is receiving today. I’ve edited the articles slightly to update them.

Jay Green, Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute and endowed chair and head of the Department of Education Reform at the University of Arkansas, strikes out at what he believes to be the myths that are keeping public schools from positive change in ”Education Myths,” an article he posted on http://www.taemag.com.[1] I believe Greene has an antipublic-school agenda, and distorts or misrepresents facts to make his points, and this will become apparent to you as you read this series. Greene’s original URL for this article is no longer available, but in the spirit of full disclosure the full text is provided as I explore his missteps in logic or misrepresentation.

The purpose of this series of articles is to bring Greene’s deceptions to light point by point; paragraph by paragraph in full context of his article. I leave it to you to decide whose arguments hold the most weight.

Jay Greene’s “Education Myths,” paragraph 1
Introduction

Myths aren’t lies. They are beliefs that people adopt because they have an air of plausibility. But myths aren’t true, and they often get in the way during serious problem-solving. This essay identifies seven common myths that dominate established views of education these days. Dispelling these misconceptions could open the door to long-awaited improvement in our nation’s schools.

As I point out in my post ”The sky is falling! The sky is falling!” most public school critics begin their arguments with the assumption that our schools are failing and that any improvement over the years has been inadequate. Although more subtle than most, Greene’s article starts with the assumption that our school system is not working and people have been waiting for improvement that has not materialized

I will disprove this assumption as I examine Greene’s arguments.

Notes & references:

1. This URL was not in service the last few times I tried it (last attempt: 1 July 2010), which is why I did not make it a hot link.