The Assault on American Excellence 
by Anthony Kronman, Free Press, New York, N.Y., 2020, 288 pp. with index, $17 softcover

The Assault on American Excellence captures the essence of what is currently transpiring with the tearing down of statues, renaming of buildings and places, the rebranding of pancake syrup or steamed rice, etc. Author Anthony Kronman, former dean of the Yale Law School, approaches these issues as a humanistic scholar who asserts that the role of the university is to promote serious deep thinking, while maintaining traditional standards of excellence.

Kronman references and often quotes Plato, Socrates, Tocqueville, Oliver Wendell Holmes, along with other strong intellectuals. The logic of his arguments demonstrates a legal mind passionate about excellence. He believes the curriculum and standards in this country’s schools are becoming watered down. His examples are almost exclusively limited to higher education, although his presentation pertains to PreK-12 as well. 

He projects that our education systems have gone overboard in leveling outcomes to demean doing well for the sake of everyone feeling good about themselves. In his opinion, college administrators have acquiesced to the rule of the mob or even individuals who cry foul over something or someone they do not like.

In a controversial viewpoint, the author maintains that the universities now value diversity — racial, not ideological — over intellectual scholarship, knowledge, and thinking itself. In his view students should learn the art of debate and study the history before expecting their rants will be taken seriously. Of course, he acknowledges that in many cases extremely liberal students and faculty members are taking over the colleges and pointing them in new unstable directions. He rejects Marxist views that to create a better society, the current culture and history must be destroyed.

In discussing some renaming efforts on his own Yale campus, Kronman proposes studying the history of why a name was originally selected for a building or other artifact and including that full history on a plague or description in proximity to the item itself. If the individual is or was controversial, explain that along with why they were nevertheless recognized.

People are imperfect, which is why he advocates for the focus to be on an individual’s “principal legacy” rather than something which in our time might be viewed as a flaw. Like many of his compatriots in that era, Eli Yale owned slaves, for example, and yet his name remains on the masthead of the university. He goes further by suggesting that statues or other memorials not be moved out of sight, as that would deprive students and the public of a piece of their education.

This book is challenging due to the content and the writing style. Any superintendent tasked with naming or renaming anything as a memorial would be well advised to read The Assault on American Excellence. It might also be useful in conversing with folks who consider themselves “woke.” They may not be as enlightened as they imagine.

Reviewed by Art Stellar, educational consultant, Hingham, Mass.
Natural Allies: Hope and Possibility in Teacher-Family Partnerships
by Soo Hong, Harvard Education Press, Cambridge, Mass., 2019, 256 pp. with index, $33 softcover

Natural Allies: Hope and Possibility in Teacher-Family Partnerships is an ethnographic study of the effectiveness of five teachers in establishing productive relationships with parents that led to successful classroom experiences for their children. Written by Soo Hong, an associate professor and chair of education at Wellesley College, the premise of the book is schools are traditionally structured to cast teachers as adversaries of parents. 

Schools know what must be done to effectively educate students; parents and families can best help in that effort by supporting the strategies of teachers. This approach is often at odds with what families know about their children and frequently in conflict with the culture of the student’s family situation.

The body of the text is a narrative of the interactions of five teachers with student families that result in effective teacher-family partnerships as allies rather than as opponents. Each story is compelling. It is obvious the approaches these selected teachers have developed are to be commended and can serve as models to be emulated.

The book itself reads like an academic paper. The author outlines a perceived problem, then offers examples of how to overcome the problem. The book concludes with related topics that teachers, schools and school districts can address. While not intended to be a handbook, this text can serve as a catalyst for addressing an issue that should be of primary importance to student success: meaningful family involvement in the education process.

Reviewed by John C. Fagan, retired superintendent, Elmhurst, Ill. 
Black Appetite. White Food: Issues of Race, Voice, and Justice Within and Beyond the Classroom
by Jamila Lyiscott, Routledge, New York, N.Y., 2019, 90 pp., $35.95 softcover

How will your classroom be remembered on the other side of the history we are scribing at this very moment? This is one of the bombshell questions, certainly ringing true today, that Jamila Lyiscott poses in Black Appetite. White Food: Issues of Race, Voice, and Justice Within and Beyond the Classroom. 

Lyiscott, a social justice education scholar, describes white privilege as “one of our nation’s deepest festering walls” and discusses how it “inevitably impacts the everyday lives of students of color.” Committed to equity, hope and justice in the context of race and education, Lyiscott encourages individuals to have conversations regarding their navigation of the struggles within themselves.

This book is a handful of history mixed with a heap of knowledge folded together with compassion. Readers, particularly those who are classroom teachers, should use this book as a resource if for no other reason than to remind themselves of the ramifications of forcing all students to adopt traditional classroom standards, such as standard American English. This can lead to dissolving the cultural practices of the students’ homes. Instead, students should be allowed to bring their cultures and lived experiences into the classroom.

Lysicott’s Black Appetite. White Food will encourage us all to begin the journey toward a better world for our students and their families.

Reviewed by Priscilla A. Boerger, chair, Department of Education, Regis College, Weston, Mass.


Why I Wrote this Book...

“After I left the superintendency in Nashville, many people in the community asked how I was able to survive what they perceived to be harsh and unfair treatment. That question made me deeply reflect upon the multitude of challenges I faced in my life, personally and professionally, on the path to the superintendency. I wrote this book to inspire future administrators and leaders in all fields to keep their faith while dealing with hardships. If you focus on your mission, you will always have a job. If you focus on your job, you may miss your mission.”

Shawn Joseph, assistant professor of educational leadership, Howard University, Washington, D.C., and AASA member since 2012, on why he wrote Finding the Joseph Within: Lessons Learned Through a Life of Struggle (BookBaby, 2019)