DOOMED TO FAIL: The Built-In Defects of American Education

A teacher of high school Latin and a classics scholar, Zoch joins traditionalist critics like his mentor, Diane Ravitch, in blaming all of the ills of modern U.S. education on the "Progressive Paradigm" associated with John Dewey. There are some interesting chapters on educational history; unfortunately, their purpose is more to make ideological points than generate understanding. A good deal of the book is devoted to building the argument that the prime responsibility for learning rests with students, not teachers, and that the idea that learning is attributable to good teaching sets teachers up for failure. While Zoch presents legitimate criticisms of today's students, society's educational expectations and the excesses of the "learning styles" specialists, the narrow purpose of the text prevents a more nuanced discussion of the drawbacks and merits of innovative forms of pedagogy. One waits until the end of the book to discover Zoch's prescription for improving education: we should take note of the Japanese educational model. The fact that Japanese schools are highly centralized and rigidly structured is outweighed, from his perspective, by their academically rigorous curriculum. Zoch doesn't mention that the Japanese system suffers tremendous numbers of school dropouts and has begun emulating the U.S. schools that he so decries. (Aug. 6)