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johnadonaghy's review against another edition
3.0
An intriguing book which tells great stories about incredible efforts in India, China, and Africa that provide education for the poorest by small entrepreneurs.
However, I believe the book is marred by the last chapter which is a praise of an exclusively free-market approach to education and supports Milton Friedman's approach of "privatization of education," though the poor will be given vouchers.
I am not against private education, but Tooley goes too far in his proposals. I am also a bit perturbed by the way he used Gandhi to support small schools and even uses a phrase of Gandhi for the title of the book. I don't think Gandhi would approve his free-market approach.
I am writing a longer review which I will probably post on my blog http://hermanojuancito.blogspot.com
However, I believe the book is marred by the last chapter which is a praise of an exclusively free-market approach to education and supports Milton Friedman's approach of "privatization of education," though the poor will be given vouchers.
I am not against private education, but Tooley goes too far in his proposals. I am also a bit perturbed by the way he used Gandhi to support small schools and even uses a phrase of Gandhi for the title of the book. I don't think Gandhi would approve his free-market approach.
I am writing a longer review which I will probably post on my blog http://hermanojuancito.blogspot.com
publius's review against another edition
4.0
Perhaps we’re doing third world development all wrong.
That was the thought that stuck with me most after I finished reading James Tooley’s The Beautiful Tree: A Personal Journey into How the World’s Poorest are Educating Themselves, a surprisingly readable book about the role of private schools in education in some of the world's poorest neighborhood. In The Beautiful Tree, Tooley tells his story about discovering private schools in some of the world’s poorest neighborhoods and discovering that in case after case they are doing well, are educating the poor, and are often, if not always competitive with the much better funded government schools that are found nearby.
It’s a proposition that surprised me, and for good reason: the private schools in my neighborhood—which is already among the higher income brackets in the state—are prohibitively expensive. Fortunately, I have a high degree of confidence in the public schools available to my family, but what about in places where public schools are failing or are inadequate? What choices do those who live there have?
Tooley found himself in some of these places while researching private schools in India for the World Bank. One day, he wondered into one of the poorer neighborhoods Hyderabad’s Old City and found it overflowing with small, parent-funded schools. At first, such schools seemed to be the exception rather than the rule, but as Tooley began to look for schools in other countries where his World Bank research took him, he found similar schools and similar stories, often existing in spite of the protests of government officials that private schools could not and did not exist for the poor (Tooley finds them specifically in India, Nigeria, Ghana and China, though this latter case is unique from the others).
Ironically, the book is not a critique of what is going wrong in the world, but rather seems expository of something that is going right and without the interference or help of the state. Parents, dismayed at slovenly, under-motivated and underperforming schools, banded together to form schools that are accountable to them, and the results are astounding, providing education to student who would not otherwise have opportunity.
Did I mention that these private schools are not subsidized, let alone acknowledged, by the government? Rather, parents scrimp and save, putting a premium on the education of their children. No one is going to get rich teaching at private school, thought: Tooley quotes fees at $10 per year in some cases, and generally in the range 4-20% of the minimum wage of the country. Some schools even offer scholarships to help students who still cannot afford the fees.
How do private school students rate against their peers? Tooley tested 24,000 students in India, Nigeria, Ghana and China in math and language proficiency. In India and Africa, children in private schools almost always excelled over those in public schools; in China, private schools were more likely to be limited to remote locations where travel to public schools was not safe. The one place that the government did better than private schools was in providing playgrounds for schools.
Tooley seems to attribute the cause to a general lack of accountability among government teachers, whereas private school teachers were held directly accountable by parents. With no incentive to excel among government teachers, they often delivered high rates of absenteeism, failed to teach altogether, or allowed classes to collapse into chaos. Tooley also notes that government inspectors meant to assure teaching standards were easily paid off and kept away from government classrooms.
If there’s more I would have asked from Tooley, it would have been how to replicate the successes that he saw in India, Ghana, and Nigeria. If there’s a way to bring about serious and long-term change to the third world, it should be replicated.
Tooley tells the story in a series of anecdotes that is appealing and makes the reading easy. not to mention powerful. Even if third world development is not your cup of tea (it’s not mine), the story is fascinating.
That was the thought that stuck with me most after I finished reading James Tooley’s The Beautiful Tree: A Personal Journey into How the World’s Poorest are Educating Themselves, a surprisingly readable book about the role of private schools in education in some of the world's poorest neighborhood. In The Beautiful Tree, Tooley tells his story about discovering private schools in some of the world’s poorest neighborhoods and discovering that in case after case they are doing well, are educating the poor, and are often, if not always competitive with the much better funded government schools that are found nearby.
It’s a proposition that surprised me, and for good reason: the private schools in my neighborhood—which is already among the higher income brackets in the state—are prohibitively expensive. Fortunately, I have a high degree of confidence in the public schools available to my family, but what about in places where public schools are failing or are inadequate? What choices do those who live there have?
Tooley found himself in some of these places while researching private schools in India for the World Bank. One day, he wondered into one of the poorer neighborhoods Hyderabad’s Old City and found it overflowing with small, parent-funded schools. At first, such schools seemed to be the exception rather than the rule, but as Tooley began to look for schools in other countries where his World Bank research took him, he found similar schools and similar stories, often existing in spite of the protests of government officials that private schools could not and did not exist for the poor (Tooley finds them specifically in India, Nigeria, Ghana and China, though this latter case is unique from the others).
Ironically, the book is not a critique of what is going wrong in the world, but rather seems expository of something that is going right and without the interference or help of the state. Parents, dismayed at slovenly, under-motivated and underperforming schools, banded together to form schools that are accountable to them, and the results are astounding, providing education to student who would not otherwise have opportunity.
Did I mention that these private schools are not subsidized, let alone acknowledged, by the government? Rather, parents scrimp and save, putting a premium on the education of their children. No one is going to get rich teaching at private school, thought: Tooley quotes fees at $10 per year in some cases, and generally in the range 4-20% of the minimum wage of the country. Some schools even offer scholarships to help students who still cannot afford the fees.
How do private school students rate against their peers? Tooley tested 24,000 students in India, Nigeria, Ghana and China in math and language proficiency. In India and Africa, children in private schools almost always excelled over those in public schools; in China, private schools were more likely to be limited to remote locations where travel to public schools was not safe. The one place that the government did better than private schools was in providing playgrounds for schools.
Tooley seems to attribute the cause to a general lack of accountability among government teachers, whereas private school teachers were held directly accountable by parents. With no incentive to excel among government teachers, they often delivered high rates of absenteeism, failed to teach altogether, or allowed classes to collapse into chaos. Tooley also notes that government inspectors meant to assure teaching standards were easily paid off and kept away from government classrooms.
If there’s more I would have asked from Tooley, it would have been how to replicate the successes that he saw in India, Ghana, and Nigeria. If there’s a way to bring about serious and long-term change to the third world, it should be replicated.
Tooley tells the story in a series of anecdotes that is appealing and makes the reading easy. not to mention powerful. Even if third world development is not your cup of tea (it’s not mine), the story is fascinating.
shanehawk's review against another edition
4.0
Riveting read although suffers from a bit of formulaic writing here and there. Still, this is a must-read book for anyone involved in the realm of education and/or international aid. It was certainly eye opening for me…
bookwormmichelle's review
5.0
This magnificent book should be required reading in every teacher training program on the planet. Tooley's intent is to show how many poor children are already being educated by private schools, demonstrate how this is much better than the public school disasters all over the world, show why (using basic economic incentives a high schooler ought to be able to figure out on his own) and then urge the world to begin to get behind private educational solutions now, so as not to leave even more children behind. It is eloquent, passionate, and convincing. I had no idea of the enormous scope of private schools in third-world countries, and I had no idea how well the solution is working, although as a very small low-cost private school myself (homeschool) I suppose I ought not to have been so surprised. Nor am I particularly surprised that Tooley has been met with ridicule and derision from the "aid" community--they are ideologically married to the idea of large-scale government intervention, and initially met microcredit solutions with derision as well. They'd rather build a dam, a gigantic factory, or a "model" school. But I see no other way to judge the present situation other than massive educational negligence on the part of governments and NGO's all over the world, now that we have this clear evidence of what works and what doesn't. Not that that will change many minds, since most international aid workers were educated by governmental behemoths themselves.
Too bad, because there is enough hope packaged in this three hundred pages to make a real difference in the lives of children around the world.
Too bad, because there is enough hope packaged in this three hundred pages to make a real difference in the lives of children around the world.
ninachachu's review
4.0
Although I bought this book several years ago, I only started reading it relatively recently, inspired by great recommendations from a couple of colleagues at work. Very, very inspiring book discussing private education for children at the so-called the bottom of the pyramid, with examples from India, Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana and China. I guess it also resonates because my work environment is basically also an example of social entrepreneurship - applied to higher education.
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