The Winning Ways of a Losing Strategy: Educationalizing Social Problems in the US

This post is a paper I published Educational Theory in 2008.  Here’s a link to the original.  In is included as a chapter in my new book, The Ironies of Schooling. In this essay, I examine the paradox of educationalization in the American context. I argue that, like most modern Western societies, the United States has displayed a … Continue reading The Winning Ways of a Losing Strategy: Educationalizing Social Problems in the US

When Is School the Answer to What Social Problems?

This post is a lecture I gave at University of Luxembourg in 2011, which was published in a book, edited by Daniel Tröhler and Ragnhild Barbu,  Education Systems in Historical, Cultural, and Sociological Perspectives.  It draws on material from my 2010 book, Someone Has to Fail. This essay is one of 21 pieces included in my … Continue reading When Is School the Answer to What Social Problems?

What Schools Can’t Do

This post is the text of a lecture I gave in 2009 at the University of Berne.  It was originally published in the Swiss journal Zeitschrift für Pädagogische Historiographie and then found its way into my 2010 book, Someone Has to Fail.  Here is the link to the first published version. It’s about a longstanding problem in American … Continue reading What Schools Can’t Do

What Schools Can’t Do

This post is the text of a lecture I gave in 2009 at the University of Berne.  It was originally published in the Swiss journal Zeitschrift für Pädagogische Historiographie and then found its way into my 2010 book, Someone Has to Fail.  Here is the link to the first published version. It’s about a longstanding problem in American … Continue reading What Schools Can’t Do

When Is School the Answer to Social Problems?

This post is a lecture I gave at University of Luxembourg in 2011, which was published in a book, edited by Daniel Tröhler and Ragnhild Barbu,  Education Systems in Historical, Cultural, and Sociological Perspectives.   To save you the trouble of buying the book on Amazon for $200, I'm reproducing it here.  This piece draws on … Continue reading When Is School the Answer to Social Problems?

The Winning Ways of a Losing Strategy: Educationalizing Social Problems in the US

This post is a paper I published Educational Theory in 2008.  Here's a link to the original. In this essay, I examine the paradox of educationalization in the American context. I argue that, like most modern Western societies, the United States has displayed a strong tendency over the years for educationalizing social problems, even though … Continue reading The Winning Ways of a Losing Strategy: Educationalizing Social Problems in the US