This post is a piece by Meira Levinson and Daniel Markovitz that was published recently in Atlantic. Here's a link to the original. It's an astute analysis of the harmful effects of the pandemic on American schooling. They argue that only part of the damage was done by school closures. A lot of the harm … Continue reading Levinson and Markovitz — The Biggest Disruption in the History of American Education
This post contains all of the material for the class on the History of School Reform in the US that I taught for at the Stanford Graduate School of Education for 15 years. In retirement I wanted to make the course available on the internet to anyone who is interested. If you are a college … Continue reading History of School Reform Class Syllabus with Links to Readings and Slides
This post is a piece from Harvard Magazine about a chronic state of mind that arises among undergrads at elite universities, the Imposter Syndrome. Here's a link to the original. The Imposter Syndrome is a chronic feature of student culture at elite universities. At core, it's the creeping sensation that you're out of your depth, … Continue reading The Truth about the Imposter Syndrome
This is a short piece about the problems that professionalism poses for the academic historian. History is a different kind of subject, and too often academic rigor gets in the way of telling the kinds of historical accounts that we need. An earlier version was published in 2017 in the International Journal of the Historiography of Education. Perils … Continue reading Perils of the Professionalized Historian
This post contains all of the material for the class on the History of Higher Education in the US that I taught for at the Stanford Graduate School of Education for the last 15 years. In retirement I wanted to make the course available on the internet to anyone who is interested. If you are … Continue reading Course Syllabus: History of Higher Education in the US
This is an op-ed I published in the Detroit News way back in 1998. It captures a key part of the argument about educational consumerism that I developed in my second book, How to Succeed in Schools Without Really Learning. Educational Consumerism: Bad for Schools by David F. Labaree We hear a lot these days … Continue reading Educational Consumerism: Bad for Schools
This classic piece is from The Onion in 2014. Here's a link to the original. Intrepid Middle-Class Parents Embark On Daring Search For Mythical Perfect School District 3/19/14 12:01PM The Lindens believe the school district of lore, which is said to prepare every pupil for college success and boast a state-of-the-art digital media lab, is … Continue reading Intrepid Middle-Class Parents Embark On Daring Search For Mythical Perfect School District
This post is a piece I published in Kappan in 2000. Here’s a link to the PDF. It’s an analysis of why Americans have long resisted setting educational standards. Of course my timing wasn’t great. Just one year later, the federal government passed the landmark No Child Left Behind law, which established just such a system of standard mandates. Oops. This … Continue reading Resisting Educational Standards
This is a class on academic writing for clarity and grace. It is designed as a 10-week class, with weekly readings, slides, and texts for editing. It’s aimed at doctoral students who are preparing to become researchers who seek to publish their scholarship. Ideally you can take the class with a group of peers, where you … Continue reading Writing Class Syllabus, Including Readings, Slides, and Texts
David Labaree on Schooling, History, and Writing 