Review: The Prize, by Dale Russakoff

THE PRIZE: WHO'S IN CHARGE OF AMERICA'S SCHOOLS

by Dale Russakoff

Houghton Mifflin

September 2014

0547945019 ISBN 13 9780547840512

304 Pages

THE PRIZE: WHO'S IN CHARGE OF AMERICA'S SCHOOLS, commands your attention throughout.  An absorbing book and necessary read for all who think educational reform will ever be realized. There is no easy solution as Russakoff gives the reader insight from a recent example in the Newark, NJ public school system.  The players: I expect had grandiose intent: Christ Christie, Cory Booker, Mark Zuckerberg and Cami Anderson. Who doesn't want to reform education these days?

I consider myself an optimist, but Russakoff's years of research took me on a painful roller coaster ride through the urban city of Newark.  Juggling below amid the dropping test scores, high crime, gangs, single parent homes, and general indifference is the powerhouse quartet with a staggering $200 million to play with, to reform the failing district. Lofty goals for sure, but obviously misplaced. It becomes evident in this case that political gain supersedes all. Once again, uninformed capitalists believe they can mold schools into their corporate model structure. NO!

It is not the teachers! You can't replace community schools without considering the insiders. What about people...students...parents...yes and those dedicated teachers? Support is needed on so many levels. 

Dale Russakoff, a 28 year veteran reporter for Washington Post has delivered a well researched, well paced and comfortable style for all readers. Her experience shows. Her first book gives promise for her future projects. 

As the author concludes and I concur,  you need to 

"....put the real needs of children at the center of the national conversation about education reform, which in its ideological decisiveness is in danger of leaving them behind." (218)

Kudos to Dale Russakoff for unveiling the shortsightedness of people in power. This is a dynamic and valuable addition to educational library book stacks.

~Wisteria Leigh 
September 2015

Disclosure: Self-purchased book. 

View all my review on Goodreads

Disclosure: An uncorrected proof was sent to me with a request for an unbiased review.  This review is my honest opinion.

© [Wisteria Leigh] and [Bookworm's Dinner], [2008-2015]. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to [Wisteria Leigh] and [Bookworm's Dinner] with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Review-Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo

BEHIND THE BEAUTIFUL FOREVERS: LIFE, DEATH, AND HOPE IN A MUMBAI UNDERCITY

Katherine Boo

Random House,
February 12, 2012
$28.00, Hardcover
288 pp, 978-1400067558
Genre: Non-fiction




Sixteen year old Abdul is a collector of garbage, an astute teenager who makes a success of his trade. He deals and competes for small economic gains in the Annadawi slum. Located just beyond the financial capital of Mumbai, it is owned by the Airports Authority of India, yet travelers heading toward the international terminal are greeted by a concrete wall of sunny yellow. A corporate slogan weaves along the wall, “Beautiful Forever Beautiful Forever Beautiful Forever, yet the irony is what is just on the other side. 

Abdul’s younger brother Mirchi says it best: 

“Everything around us is roses, and we’re the shit in between.” 

Katherine Boo reports the uncomfortable truth that several families must endure in the Undercity. The three thousand residents belong to all castes and sub-castes, Muslims, Hindus and the untouchables. They live in 335 huts that sit atop a landscape of slushy waste, toxic debris, unimaginable combinations of obnoxious odors, offal and filth laden with disease. Despite the pervasive dangers and keen competition, Abdul has acquired more than most, and his family’s future appears to be on the rise, but will this trend continue?

Survival is key with the hope that one day life will be better. Abdul has a theory for prosperity that speaks more to the randomness of his fate.

 “It seemed to him fortunes derived not just from what people did, or how well they did it, but from the accidents and catastrophes they dodged. A decent life was the train that hadn’t hit you, the slumlord you hadn’t offended, the malaria you hadn’t caught.” 


Katherine Boo details everyday life, the repulsiveness, squirmy truth and the desperation of those who live in the Mumbai Undercity.  She shares what she has witnessed in her book as she follows the lives of several families.   Imagine living in this environment, let alone having to pay rent to a slumlord who oversees the residents small space carved out amid the detritus. The author manages to show the sorrowful sadness that divides the squalor of slum against the economic gains India has acquired as part of our borderless global community.  She is sensitive and frank with objectivity, although I imagine her subjectivity was hard to curtail. Without hiding behind the airport wall of shining yellow, Katherine Boo reveals the inhumanity and suffering that the people endure and despite the odds, somehow survive. Katherine Boo has received meritorious praise and notable awards, which as readers will discover, are well deserved Thanks to the author for writing an unforgettable book. BEHIND THE BEAUTIFUL FOREVERS,  is a reflective book with global appeal, heartfelt and insightful with a promise to linger long after the end. 




DISCLOSURE: I PURCHASED THE KINDLE EDITION OF THIS BOOK.

© [Wisteria Leigh] and [Bookworm's Dinner], [2012].

With Much Anticipation ....Review-The Little Princes by Conor Grennan

LITTLE PRINCES
One Man’s Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal
Conor Grennan
William Morrow
Memoir
February 2011
978-0-06-193005-8
$25.99, 304pages

The Little Princes should be on everyone's wishlist for 2011!

When Conor Grennan left his full-time job and decided to travel for a year, little did he know his journey would end up consuming his life, heart and soul, with an incessant need to locate children of Nepal who he had made a vow to. Conor Grennan was 29 when he decided to volunteer to help orphans in Nepal, more as a means to impress than for any noble endeavor. Whatever his original intent, he ended up with a deep passion to save the children of Little Princes Orphanage who he believed he left behind in good care.

After three months of volunteering, Conor sets off to travel the world on a bicycle for a year. When he learns that the children he left behind, those he promised would be taken care of by nice people, were actually recaptured by the same child trafficker who took them initially, Conor becomes instantly sickened. He knows the children who came to trust him, now look at him with betrayal.

With an indomitable drive and no idea where to start, he researches how to start a non-profit organization. He knows he needs to raise money, because he is broke, he has spent his life savings traveling the world. He ultimately forms Next Generation Nepal (NGN) and freely admits, his purpose was to find the seven children he left behind. As he lectured and met people he raised money, and was able to return to Nepal to begin his arduous task of searching for his seven kids. Through his efforts, he and his associate in Nepal, Farid, were able to open Dhaulagiri House. Jointly, they set up the home that would accommodate twenty children. They were assisted by Gyan Bahadur from the Child Welfare Board in Kathmandu. They literally had to walk hundreds of miles to try and locate the children and families. During the early stages of their mission, they were caught up in the political unrest in Kathmandu between Maoist rebels and the king’s government, often life threatening.

In reading Little Princes, you will become aware of the child trafficking and the systemic issues in Nepal that create such terrible family separations. You read how easily children become slaves and families loose total contact with them. They believe they have handed them over to be educated, fed and a better life. This book has broadened my schema in so many ways. Nepal is so much more real to me now: the climate, the politics, the culture and the families. His stories of the children, their horrible plight and difficult rescue is just so special, a beautiful book. His organization can be found at nextgenerationnepal.org.

Book Source: I received this book from William Morrow Publisher. This review reflects my candid and truthful opinion.


© [Wisteria Leigh] and [Bookworm's Dinner], [2011].