Reading Freakonomics (by Steven Leavitt and Stephen Dubner) was supposed to be a lark for me. You know, perusing fun ideas. There are certainly some of those. Who would believe, however, that the book was full of information about educational reform! Now the title of the book really makes me smile.
Some interesting data about Chicago schools may explain U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan’s thinking. For some students, there really is a problem that no one can solve alone, and it is the culture of some schools that inhibits learning. Is it better to help a few to leave a bad situation than to do nothing? Or, do you take on the whole problem knowing you do not have the resources and capability to solve it? People will be hurt; children will be lost either way. What would you do? Leavitt’s data makes you think out of the box.