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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
Highly relevant in higher education in an uncertain climate!
Just fantastic! This book changed the way I think about school, work, and parenting.
Really cool and well thought out concepts, but didn't capture my attention in every chapter. Might just be because I'm a 15-year-old.
Interesting ideas. I like the thought of students choosing their own path. However, if you do that you might end up thinking that management was invented in USA in the 19th century. You might not read about the Roman army, the building of the Pyramides and other things that happened before that. And then you run the risk of writing a book with interesting ideas that is based on some narrow assumptions. You might even think that bureacracy was invented recently, which would be very wrong, at least according to stone tablets and inscriptions that were written thousands of years ago.
This book is interesting and very readable, but I find its arguments unconvincing. The main thrust is that the concept of the average does a poor job of describing variability and individuality, and that this has to stop. I find this disappointing because as an academic - in developmental psychology of all disciplines! - Rose must know that researchers are aware that the within/between distinction is not new, and statistics has good ways of dealing with variability (the normal distribution, mixed effects modelling, and so on). More time could have been spent on how the concept of an average is actually useful (e.g. in medical screening), and of course we only base hiring decisions and educational selection on the average because it's the most efficient way of dealing with an overwhelming number of applicants/students. The book is quite idealistic, and its examples are mostly restricted to the North American context.
I agree with him, and I loved his idea. However, I live in a state where education isn't valued as much as guns and taking freedoms from people who aren't white males (with all due respect). So, until that idea changes, we are always going to be standardizing education. All students from all races and all backgrounds should all be at the exact same level at all times, right? I'm all about the American dream and living life to your full potential, but we need better pathways to get there. As I always say, "you do you, and live your best life."
informative
medium-paced
A lot to think on in this. It does an excellent job of debunking the myths surrounding the average, and the limitations of statistics. This section is very good, he clearly demonstrates the sleight of hand performed by early social scientists, and provides a number of powerful examples. The three principles he outlines are very good as well.
The book tails off towards the end as the writer tries to offer solutions (as is so often the case in books like this). The suggestions about education are particularly backward, the writer suggests giving out credentials for education, but this fails to consider education holistically. He suggests for example a credential in WW1 history (I kid you not), failing to recognise that the benefits of studying history for a person entering the workplace is that they gain good writing skills and the ability to perform research and absorb information. What you learn is secondary until you enter a speciality.
This doesn't spoil the book, but I hope the writer doesn't become an education adviser, at least until he has spoken to somebody in the arts.
The book tails off towards the end as the writer tries to offer solutions (as is so often the case in books like this). The suggestions about education are particularly backward, the writer suggests giving out credentials for education, but this fails to consider education holistically. He suggests for example a credential in WW1 history (I kid you not), failing to recognise that the benefits of studying history for a person entering the workplace is that they gain good writing skills and the ability to perform research and absorb information. What you learn is secondary until you enter a speciality.
This doesn't spoil the book, but I hope the writer doesn't become an education adviser, at least until he has spoken to somebody in the arts.
A perspective that I had not considered before- this book will affect the way you compare things- your children's development, your own productivity, the "right" amount of time it should take to complete various activities, even the secondary educational system. This book is engaging and worth your time.
reflective
medium-paced
the sections on ergonomics and learning style were good, but the recommendation to replace universities with a credential style system rubbed me the wrong way. I guess I've listened to too many guys talking about it as the solution (many then moved on to a discussion of bitcoin), and so now I have a visceral reaction. Also, framing post secondary education to just be about getting skills for a job is also silly.