1) The Manufactured Crisis: Myths, Frauds and the Attack on America’s Public Schools by David Berliner and Bruce Biddle (Addison Wesley, 1995)

Suggesting that the grim images of public schools painted by the prominent voices of the 80's -- from Bennett to Bloom -- might not be completely accurate, Berliner and Biddle’s now modern classic presents a case that the crisis might be more manufactured than real. While not exclusively focused on reading issues, Berliner and Biddle debunk a number of unfavorable beliefs about public schools -- test scores are dropping, illiteracy is rising, money spent on schools is wasted, private entities do education better, etc. etc. Using the statistical evidence often cited by critics, Berliner and Biddle suggest that the conclusions created by some can be view much differently when the same data are analyzed by others. What was most helpful to me from their work was the suggestion to “disaggregrate” aggregate data. Critics often cast a wide net in discussing educational problems lumping the good with the bad so that everyone looks mediocre. The problems of few become generalized to all and conversations about specific concerns get turned into general debates with no concern. In the field of reading, Berliner and Biddle remind advocates to never let some critic manufacture a crisis in your state, district, school or classroom by generalizing data of the masses to the individuals who happen to be your responsibility this year.

2) In Defense of Good Teaching: What Teachers Need to Know about the “Reading Wars” edited by Ken Goodman (Stenhouse, 1998)

Goodman gathers the voices of many reading advocates to discuss a wide variety of issues related to the reading wars. Particularly helpful is to see insiders David and Yvonne Freeman take on the California crisis and Linda Ellis take on the Texas solutions. Various authors show the connections between the religious right and political conservatives in advancing their agenda which is more personal and political than pedagogical. Richard Allington and Halley Woodside-Jiron critically examine the widely disseminated “Thirty Years of Research in Reading” document which always seems to surface in policy discussions. Connie Weaver and Ellen Brinkley provide a final chapter on organizing for political action. When I used this text in a graduate class, I must admit that some teachers found the tone of the book a bit strident and conspiratorial; but it does provide insider perspectives on recent events that are not always a part of discussions occurring away from those events.

3) The Literacy Crisis: False Claims, Real Solutions by Jeff McQuillan (Heinemann, 1998)

From his unique vantage point as a university education professor in California, McQuillan looks closely at the current literacy crisis. He begins by exploding seven myths about reading including the suggested decline in achievement, reported high levels of reading failure and dyslexia, inability to compete with other countries and blame placed on whole language. For example, McQuillan challenges the myth about the alleged forty percent of all students unable to read at proficient levels as critics tout NAEP results suggest. Using theory and research, he builds a case for alternative views of reading acquisition including contrary evidence on the alphabetic principle and phonemic awareness. Like Stephen Krashen’s text, McQuillan also critiques studies and policies over relying on eye movement research, down playing the role of context in reading and privileging narrow views of reading instruction. McQuillan concludes by building a strong case for print access which is often ignored and marginalized in the phonics first agenda of groups like NICHD.

4) One Size Fits Few: The Folly of Educational Standards by Susan Ohanian (Heinemann, 1999)

Those of you familiar with Ohanian’s writing might say that to use the word “biting” to describe her style might be a bit too gentle. She sinks her teeth into what she calls the “Standardistos” and rips big chunks out of them in this collection of essays. Often grounded in her personal experiences as an educator and journalist, Susan widely critiques the standards movement. She shows the fallacy of sports and medical metaphors often used by critics. She focuses one chapter specifically on what she calls “Californication” -- how events in California impacted unfairly on all of us. She examines the foolishness of economic arguments and rationalizations for the movement. Suggesting that the system really only benefits those who have a vested interest in keeping the gap between the haves and the have-nots fairly wide, Ohanian builds a strong case against the time, energy and resources being diverted to the standards movement.

5) Three Arguments Against Whole Language and Why They Are Wrong by Stephen Krashen (Heinemann, 1999)

Krashen’s small volume focuses on three arguments and provides clear, concise responses to issues which often surface in critics’ recitations of the NICHD litany of claims: 1) eye movement research suggests that readers “read” all print, 2) readers do not rely on the use of context in identifying words as they read, and 3) studies suggest skilled-based programs are superior to whole language programs. He concludes this book by looking at the impact of print deprivation -- often ignored or unmentioned by critics -- on the development of literacy.

6) Misreading Reading: The Bad Science that Hurts Reading by Gerald Coles (Heinemann, 2000)

One critic suggested that teachers do not read scientific journals. Teachers would rather “fall asleep at night while reading a book of opinion by someone like Gerald Coles . . . who has been discredited in the scientific reading community, but who confirms the beliefs of teachers by selling a new book every year.” As we’ve noted before, it’s easier to attack the person making opposing arguments than responding to contradictory data and interpretations from scientific studies presented by that person. Actually in this volume, Coles does just the opposite. Believing in the value of good science, Coles examines the research influencing policy in the reading field by offering critical and alternative interpretations of results and conclusions of the body of work often use to support restrictive views on reading policy. At the start of each chapter, he cites a key claim of the scientific research and then proceeds to show how the existing data and ignored studies often show more evidence to support a contrary position and policy. His dismantling of the Foorman Open Court study using the data supplied to him from the original researchers calls into question most claims made by advocates of these materials. With his focus on the NICHD research studies, Coles offers more than his opinion on why this “bad science” may be actually causing more harm than good.

7) Beginning to Read and the Spin Doctors of Science by Denny Taylor (NCTE, 1998)

After her recent visit to the Wisconsin State Reading Association Convention, educators who heard Denny Taylor speak can probably sense why she is so committed to providing a contrary voice in the recent debates about reading instruction. Framed by her work with those children and families often most disenfranchised by school literacy programs and policies, Taylor’s attempt to develop a short paper on phonemic awareness research evolved into a quest to capture in extensive detail how this recent shift in controlling reading instruction occurred. Her book does provide a critical analysis of the phonemic awareness research including alternative views from a socio-cultural perspective; however she also literally drops in on key hearings in Texas, North Carolina and California and captures the discussions that led to policy changes. Her text was most helpful in providing information and insights into the marketing of Direct Instruction programs. Like Coles, she also uncovers and dissects the Foorman Open Court research. I can’t wait until her next manuscript Lost in Space is published critically responding to the conservative document Teaching Reading is Rocket Science disseminated by AFT. And by the way, three cheers to NCTE who had the guts to publish her work. I wonder, would IRA have done the same?

8) Setting the Record Straight: Responses to the Misconceptions About Public Education in the United States by Gerald Bracey (ASCD, 1997) and The Truth about America’s Schools: The Bracey Reports, 1991-97 by Gerald Bracey (Phi Delta Kappa, 1997)

There is no contrary voice that is more prolific than Gerald Bracey’s. With his monthly research column in Phi Delta Kappan, Bracey barely lets any public announcement on public education go unexamined. In The Truth about America’s Schools, Bracey has compiled eight of his recent annual reports on the state of public education in the United States. While not exclusively focused on reading issues, Bracey discusses a wide variety of issues with related implications for reading programs. In Setting the Record Straight, he organizes his thoughts according to topics. If you need to argue declining SAT scores, international comparisons, quality of teachers, drop out rates or thirteen other current issues, this book provides you with interesting insights and information for preparing your case.

9) You Can Make a Difference: A Teacher’s Guide to Political Action by Barbara Keresty, Susan O’Leary and Dale Wortley (Heinemann, 1998)

You don’t think that you can get politically active? Three Wisconsin educators might convince you otherwise. Faced with the threat of losing their Reading Recovery program in the Madison Area School District, local teachers decided that perhaps this was a fight worth fighting. The authors provide an account of how their efforts brought Reading Recovery to Madison and then provide an account of how they fought to keep the program in their schools. They even include samples of letters and memos they wrote as well as outlines of meetings they held. The final chapter more broadly addresses how to think and act politically providing suggestions for full-time educators who often can’t find the time and energy to fight the good fight. The nice thing is that Barbara, Susan and Dale are in our neighborhood and would probably be willing to share additional insights and ideas with others who find themselves in similar situations.

10) Shell Game: Corporate America’s Agenda for Schools by Clinton Boutwell (Phi Delta Kappa, 1997)

Are you growing just a little tired of corporate types “summiting” and emerging with a list of how education could be improved to better meet their needs? My favorite was hearing the CEO from State Farm Insurance announce the edicts of the summit he chaired just about the same time the press was reporting a price-fixing scandal in the auto insurance business of his own company. I always find it a little disconcerting when someone else tells me how to do my business when they can’t even handle their own. Boutwell’s book describes what economists are calling “The New Economy,” the needs it creates and how schools can best respond to those needs. What he describes, however, offers an alternative view to what is suggested in most corporate education conferences. Boutwell’s analysis demonstrates that schools are more than meeting the needs of the new economy; the “jobs dilemma” is primarily caused by the corporations and corporations have been slow to implement potential solutions. Boutwell primarily looks at the implications for secondary education programs. He identifies constructivist pedagogy, performance assessment and technological infrastructure as three key areas of need to better prepare students for the future -- offering a sharp contrast to the skill & drill curricula and standardized assessments often offered as solutions from the corporate school reform agenda. Even though Boutwell doesn’t deal directly with reading issues, Shell Game is a must read if you constantly find yourself facing the economically-based arguments of public education critics.

And most importantly any book from the New York Times Best Seller list (trash or award- winning, new or classic, paperback or hardback, nonfiction or fiction) -- Engaging in real reading might be the best reminder of why you are doing what it is you do and why it is important to continue to advocate for those practices that ensure the students with whom you work will come to value this thing called reading as much as you do. It will also help you escape momentarily from those who continually know better than you how to do best what it is you do every day!