Tough Liberal: Albert Shanker and the Battles Over Schools, Unions, Race, and Democracy (Columbia Studies in Contemporary American History)
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.69 (883 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0231134975 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 552 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2018-02-06 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
All rights reserved. Kahlenberg applauds all this, along with Shanker's fervent anticommunism and his many efforts—regardless of the black-Jewish antagonism the school strikes engendered—to reach out to people of color. Among Shanker's passions were lofty standards, teacher accountability and charter schools. (Sept.)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. In this perceptive biography, Kahlenberg shows that the firebrand union militant who led illegal strikes that closed New York City's public schools in 1967 and 1968 was at the same time a forward-looking educational reformer who, despite pronounced liberal credentials, pushed initiatives that are today associated mostly with conse
More Than a Bio In his film, Sleeper, Woody Allen immortalized Albert Shanker as the madman responsible for blowing up the world. That helped to get Shanker known outside of NY, but clearly it wasn't the real Shanker. In this highly readable and often exhilarating biography of Shanker, Richard Kahlenberg shows that while Shanker, the architect of the modern teacher union movement (and, it turns out, so much more) surely understood power and accumulated it, his only "madness" was t. Blaine Greenfield said Made me appreciate Shanker even more!. Albert Shanker had always been one of my heroes yet untilI read TOUGH LIBERAL by Richard D. Kahlenberg, I had not knowntoo much about him.That's no longer the case in fact, this excellent biography evenincreased my appreciation of Shanker who once told an interviewer:* "If I didn't have to make a living, I would have done this as a volunteer."What he did was head the American Federation of Teachers forwell over "Made me appreciate Shanker even more!" according to Blaine Greenfield. Albert Shanker had always been one of my heroes yet untilI read TOUGH LIBERAL by Richard D. Kahlenberg, I had not knowntoo much about him.That's no longer the case in fact, this excellent biography evenincreased my appreciation of Shanker who once told an interviewer:* "If I didn't have to make a living, I would have done this as a volunteer."What he did was head the American Federation of Teachers forwell over 20-25 years by doing so, he helped change theperceptio. 0-"Made me appreciate Shanker even more!" according to Blaine Greenfield. Albert Shanker had always been one of my heroes yet untilI read TOUGH LIBERAL by Richard D. Kahlenberg, I had not knowntoo much about him.That's no longer the case in fact, this excellent biography evenincreased my appreciation of Shanker who once told an interviewer:* "If I didn't have to make a living, I would have done this as a volunteer."What he did was head the American Federation of Teachers forwell over 20-25 years by doing so, he helped change theperceptio. 5 years by doing so, he helped change theperceptio. AmericanDreamer said Lively Biography About an Influential Public Figure of Enduring Relevance to Our Times. I'm guessing most readers of this review who are under Lively Biography About an Influential Public Figure of Enduring Relevance to Our Times AmericanDreamer I'm guessing most readers of this review who are under 40 years old or who live outside the greater New York city area have not heard of Albert Shanker, the subject of this lively biography by Richard Kahlenberg. That's unfortunate. Agree or disagree with his views, Shanker was an articulate, dynamic and controversial teachers' union founder and leader who was also an important and interesting opinion leader on issues such as national standards and charter schools . 0 years old or who live outside the greater New York city area have not heard of Albert Shanker, the subject of this lively biography by Richard Kahlenberg. That's unfortunate. Agree or disagree with his views, Shanker was an articulate, dynamic and controversial teachers' union founder and leader who was also an important and interesting opinion leader on issues such as national standards and charter schools
He was an intellectual and a populist; a gifted speaker who failed at small talk; a liberal whose biggest enemies were often on the left; a talented writer who had to pay to have his ideas published; and a gruff unionist who enjoyed shopping and detested sports. During the 1980s, as head of the American Federation of Teachers, he became the nation's leading education reformer. In Woody Allen's 1973 film, Sleeper, a character wakes up in the future to learn that civilization was destroyed when "a man by the name of Albert Shanker got hold of a nuclear warhead." Shanker was condemned by many when he shut down the New York City school system in the bitter strikes of 1967 and 1968, and he was denounced for stirring up animosity between black parents and Jewish teachers. Shanker supported initiatives for high education standards and accountability, teacher-led charter schools, and a system of "peer review" to weed out inadequate teachers. Although he had a coherent worldview, Shanker was a complex individual. Richard D. Shanker lived the lives of several men bound into one. Later, however, he built alliances with blacks, and at the time of his death in 1997, such figures as Bill Clinton celebrated Shanker for being an educational reformer, a champion of equality, and a promoter of democracy abroad. In his early years, he was the "George Washington of the teaching profession," helping to found modern teach