AEI director of education policy studies Frederick Hess explains in his new book that we need to completely rethink today's teaching and schooling.

Education leaders often act lazily, blaming union contracts and federal regulation rather than confronting the problems they have the capacity to solve.

Join us for a conversation on what Los Angeles mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa has learned from his efforts in Los Angeles, what it takes for mayors to impact public education, and how policymakers and reformers can help drive urban school improvement.

Sponsored by AEI's Program on American Citizenship, Frederick M. Hess, AEI's director of education policy studies; Meira Levinson, associate professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education; and David E. Campbell, associate professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame, have commissioned leading researchers and scholars to explore the issues of citizenship and schooling by looking at domestic and international data, teacher training, and schools and classrooms.

Normally, we expect to get thanked when giving a few bucks to a good cause. When it comes to K-12 schooling, though, folks giving away millions have been slammed for their trouble.

Steven Brill’s Class Warfare is an immensely readable take on a slice of the “school reform” movement and an intriguing look at some key individuals in that effort. But, as is shown by its treatment of philanthropy, the book is perhaps more revealing for what its author omits—and how its blinkered view can mislead readers on big questions.

In this genial and challenging overview of endless debates over school reform, Frederick M. Hess shows that even bitter opponents in debates about how to improve schools agree on much more than they realize--and that much of it must change radically.