Review of The War Against Hope

Here's Checker Finn's review of Paige's book:

The War Against Hope: How Teachers' Unions Hurt Children, Hinder Teachers, And Endanger Public Education
Rod Paige
Thomas Nelson Publishers

Former education secretary (and Fordham trustee) Rod Paige has written a real stem-winder about teacher unions and their mostly malign influence (he cites some happy exceptions) on American public education. After an extended explanation cum apology for his celebrated "NEA is a terrorist organization" remark in early 2004, he offers plenty of evidence that unions are doing a lot to sabotage promising education reforms. (He also shows how critics of NCLB and defenders of the education status quo used his ill-constructed words to advance their own ends.) This book manages to be thoughtful, provocative, and constructive--Paige offers much advice and many recommendations for how to do things differently--at the same time as it's pointed, vivid, and compelling. The author draws not just on his experience in Washington but also on his many years in public education in Houston and elsewhere. Anybody with a serious interest in education reform and what gets in the way of it will want to spend at least a couple of fruitful hours in these pages. Find the book here.

by Chester E. Finn, Jr.