How to Succeed in School Without Really Learning: The Credentials Race in American Education

Labaree, Mr. David F.

ISBN 10: 0300069936 / ISBN 13: 9780300069938

Published by Yale University Press, 1997

About this Item

In shrink wrap. Looks like an interesting title!

Seller Inventory # Q-0300069936

Bibliographic Details

• Title: How to Succeed in School Without Really Learning: The Credentials Race in American Education
• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Publication Date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0300069936
• ISBN 13: 9780300069938
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: New
• Weight: 24 ounces

About this title

Synopsis

Getting ahead and getting an education are inseparable in the minds of most Americans. David Labaree argues, however, that the connection between schooling and social mobility may be doing more harm than good, for the pursuit of educational credentials has come to take precedence over the acquisition of knowledge.

Review

David F. Labaree hits the issue right on the money: students today are more concerned about filling their resumes while in college than they are about filling their minds. It isn't entirely their fault, but it is the focus of a commodity-driven society that on the one hand calls for "employees who can express themselves well in their writing" and on the other hand hires the tall guy with the connections or the good-looking young woman who was student government vice-president. This paradox adds to the dilemma of a vanishing tradition in liberal arts, a lack of ability to think creatively, and a push to acquire technical skills not only over, but instead of, critical skills. This road may lead to a gradual extinction of culture as a living element and relegate it to commodified and cheaply reproduced "artifacts."