Horace's Hope Pa, Vol. 3 »

Theordore R. Sizer, University Professor Emeritus at Brown Universtiy, is the chairman of the coalition of Essential Schools. He lives in Harvard, Massachusetts.

A survey of the nation's classrooms with an eye to what does and doesn't help students learn.

Publishers Weekly

Sizer (Horace's Compromise and Horace's School), director of the Annenberg Institute for School Reform, in this third volume of his trilogy takes an informed look at the state of secondary education and offers his dreams for the future. "Horace," who represents a composite of the dedicated but frustrated teachers Sizer encountered in his visits to high schools across the country, still has a commitment to education, although he is being forced to make compromises at the expense of the students he teaches. To change high schools into viable learning institutions for all, the author advocates an end to administrative bureaucracy and real empowerment for teachers, a choice of specialized schools for families from all income levels, state rather than local school financing and the adaptation of emerging technology to reinforce learning at home, in the neighborhood or in a cultural or workplace environment. This is a heartfelt plea for high-school reform by an educator who cares deeply about young people. (Sept.)