Matthew Lynch Boeken

The book explores the paradox of the United States being a global superpower yet lagging in education compared to other developed nations. Despite significant financial investment per student, American students consistently underperform in reading and math on international assessments. The text highlights the increasing stratification within the U.S. educational system, where socioeconomic disparities in academic achievement are widening, even with initiatives like the No Child Left Behind Act aimed at addressing these issues.

Focusing on the misconception of the racial achievement gap, the book argues that it stems from social and educational failures rather than genetics. It addresses various issues contributing to this gap and provides rational solutions. The analysis culminates in a comprehensive plan aimed at effectively closing the perceived racial achievement gap, promoting a more equitable educational landscape.

This accessible book offers research-based insights into six key educational trends and issues that are impacting the K-12 learning today: year-round schooling, assessments, educating minorities, anti-intellectualism, issues of social promotion and retention, and school design.

This work examines four key ways that writers of the Hebrew Bible conceptualize and critique acts of violence: violence as an ecological problem; violence as a moral problem; violence as a judicial problem; violence as a purity problem.