Education Nation

In his 1983 book Nations and Nationalism, British-Czech intellectual Ernest Gellner put forward a theory of nationalism, explaining that the concept of nation is not in fact an ancient notion, as we might first imagine. Rather, it is a modern idea born out of the seismic social and cultural shifts that industrialization brought to the Western world.

Drawing on his twenty years as a teacher, hundreds of interviews and his experience on the UK Government's Social Mobility Commission, Sammy Wright shows that schools are - and should be - so much more than this. Filled with funny, tender encounters and an unflinching focus on the profound challenges of daily life for both teachers and pupils, his book argues that we need urgently to think of school differently: as something more like a home than a factory, a community hub rather than a boot-camp or testing ground.

Over the past several years, Jonathan Kozol has visited nearly 60 public schools. Virtually everywhere, he finds that conditions have grown worse for inner-city children in the 15 years since federal courts began dismantling the landmark ruling in Brown v. Board of Education. First, a state of nearly absolute apartheid now prevails in thousands of our schools. The segregation of Black children has reverted to a level that the nation has not seen since 1968.

Over the past several years, Jonathan Kozol has visited nearly 60 public schools. Virtually everywhere, he finds that conditions have grown worse for inner-city children in the 15 years since federal courts began dismantling the landmark ruling in Brown v. Board of Education. First, a state of nearly absolute apartheid now prevails in thousands of our schools. The segregation of Black children has reverted to a level that the nation has not seen since 1968. Few of the students in these schools know White children any longer.

Drawing on nearly three decades in education - from his mother’s after-school program on Chicago’s South Side to his tenure as Secretary of Education in DC - How Schools Work follows Arne as he takes on challenges at every turn: gangbangers in Chicago housing projects, parents who call him racist, teachers who insist they can’t help poor kids, unions that refuse to modernize, Tea Partiers who call him an autocrat, affluent white progressive moms who hate yearly tests, and even the NRA, which once labeled Arne the “most extreme anti-gun member of President Obama's Cabinet.”

Many of us have never really considered how subtly and profoundly our sense of national spirit has colored our view of the world and of ourselves. The Psychology of Nations by GE Partridge shines a light on the philosophy of nationalism and uses this to delve deeply into its shaping of both psychology and sociology.

Why do some drivers get so annoyed by the mere presence of cyclists on their roads? Why do cyclists react to drivers the way they do? In Letters to a Driving Nation, the author - a cyclist - explores this ongoing conflict by deconstructing real-life situations he’s experienced in his decades of cycling. These stories - some amusing, some downright scary - are intermixed with illuminating and well-researched op-eds on topics of interest to both drivers and cyclists.

America has been steadily sliding in global education rankings for decades. In particular, our students are increasingly unable to compete globally in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields. According to the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP), in 2010 only 26 percent of high school seniors in the U.S. scored at or above proficient level in math. Another 36 percent were failing.

Get the main key insights from this summary of Daniel H. Pink’s Free Agent Nation in just a short listen.

In the years after A Nation at Risk, conservatives' ideas to reform America's lagging education system gained much traction. Key items like school choice and rigorous academic standards drew bipartisan support and were put into practice across the country. Today, these gains are in retreat, ceding ground to progressive nostrums that do little to boost the skills and knowledge of young people. Far from being discouraged, however, conservatives should seize the moment to refresh their vision of quality K-12 education for today's America.

Kindle publishing doesn't have to mean $50 royalty checks and hours spent updating countless Facebook pages all so that a couple hundred people may or may not grab a free copy of your book. Kindle publishing can actually be the most magical thing of all to writers: the chance to have a lucrative self publishing career doing the thing they love most: writing words down. We couldn't have said any of this 10 years ago.

More than 200 years after Adam Smith published The Wealth of Nations, governments around the world continue to address many of the issues discussed in the book. The most powerful states in the world are still committed to international trade, but questions are repeatedly asked about the role of governments in the economy and the effectiveness of the free market.

If you have been on top of the news as of late you would have heard of the various scandals and exposes of the rich and powerful sheltering their money in offshore tax havens. Tax havens are a very popular way for those who have the means to hide their assets from taxation as well as other legal proceedings. In this review of The Hidden Wealth of Nations by Gabriel Zucman, we will analyze, discuss, and summarize the book's key points.

Set your child up for success! When you teach a child to save and be self reliant, you teach values and responsibility for a lifetime! Children investigate the penny and its symbolism in the first half of the audiobook focusing kids on character building, Abraham Lincoln, the vision of the Founding Fathers, Liberty, Faith, Making A Difference and Kindness.

SuperSummary, a modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, offers high-quality instructional study guides for challenging works of literature. This audio study guide for The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith includes detailed summary and analysis of each chapter and an in-depth exploration of the book’s multiple symbols, motifs, and themes such as the division of labor and the invisible hand of the market. Featured content also includes commentary on major characters, 25 important quotes, essay questions, and discussion topics.

World Order draws together Henry Kissinger's thinking on how we make sense of the world politically. Kissinger identifies four principal competing methods by which order has been and is still sought. Those four conceptions are European, Chinese, Islamic, and American. None of these has been accepted as dominant. Kissinger asks whether a new, universal world order can be developed today.

How to Control Co-Dependent People takes a satirical approach to shedding light upon a very dark subject: narcissistic abuse. This audiobook is intended to demonstrate to those struggling with codependency just how narcissists actually view them. By hearing their “play book”, codependents should be able to recognize covert abuse and avoid its pernicious effects.

This year has seen unprecedented scrutiny of Rupert Murdoch’s empire in Britain. But what about in Australia, where he owns 70 per cent of the press? In Bad News, Robert Manne investigates Murdoch’s lead political voice here, the Australian newspaper, and how it shapes debate. Since 2002, under the editorship of Chris Mitchell, the Australian has come to see itself as judge, jury and would-be executioner of leaders and policies. Is this a dangerous case of power without responsibility?

If you've ever experienced your life and the world out of control, understand why, and take control.

Hailed by Oprah as a "warrior woman for our times", reviled by teachers unions as the enemy, Michelle Rhee, outgoing chancellor of Washington DC, public schools, has become the controversial face of school reform. She has appeared on the cover of Time Magazine, and is currently featured as a hero in the documentary Waiting for Superman. This is the story of her journey from good-girl daughter of Korean immigrants to tough-minded political game-changer.