Ben Chavis has now taken his education model public, after turning around AIPCS, turning it around with family, good books, good teachers, a back-to-basics focus, structure, discipline, high expectations, a taste of free market capitalism, accountability and his unique disdain for educational orthodoxy: “Multicultural specialists, ultraliberal zealots, and college-tainted oppression liberators need not apply [for teaching jobs].” But success was not foreordained for his school. In fact, it was just one vote away—within days of Dr. Chavis taking over as principal—from being ordered closed by the school board. I invite you to follow his rescue and recovery, as he replaces a broken faculty, and fixes a dysfunctional curriculum, and imposes structure and discipline on a school without either. On his journey, Dr. Chavis will take away student computers and refuse to offer the federal school lunch program. He will take mirrors out of the student restrooms and require students and parents sign contracts. He will emphasize perfect attendance for all students, paying students at year end if they have zero unexcused absences, and his attendance rates will climb each year from around 65% to about 98%. He will require teachers focus on teaching language arts (reading, writing, grammar) and math each class day, allocating 90 minutes to each subject. He will adopt an educational model that focuses on the student, requiring approved texts, retaining only quality teachers, administering a program of accountability with an emphasis on rewards for achievement and punishment for misconduct.

And during that time, gradually building on success, his middle school’s performance results will slowly climb from subterranean levels to the top of the performance charts, reaching the magic 800, the benchmark of excellence on the California Academic Performance Index, subsequently with breakneck speed the scores climb above 900, distinguishing the school as one of the top 10 in the state, garnering national recognition for his Oakland school. And along the way he sets Olympian goals for his students. Eventually, he expands his model, adding an AIPCS high school and a second middle school in Oakland: both schools continuing to excel.

It is a redemptive journey and there are now AIM-Ed (AIM to Educate) models of Dr. Chavis’ program being replicated in CA and elsewhere in North America. Besides the story about turning around a troubled, dysfunctional school, this book is also an intriguing story about the life of Ben Chavis, a North Carolina Indian, a story about how he came to challenge just about every politically correct, educationally popular elixir in education today. Mr. Chavis learned from his own life lessons what works: focus on teachers in the classroom—eliminate the bureaucracy and ancillary staff positions; focus on teacher-student relationships—require that a teacher be assigned to the same middle school class for all three years and emphasize core subjects; and focus on discipline—breaking down students that are discipline problems and building them up again. And Dr. Chavis blends all of these ingredients into an educational philosophy that works—works with exceptional results, at both the middle school and high school level.

And when you read this book, you will cry the next time you read about the chaotic, inner-city schools with their 50% flunk-out rates, with students graduating who cannot read, and with the huge waste of so much talent. And when you think about what these youngsters from Indian, Asian, and Hispanic poor families in Oakland accomplished, you might just wonder if the education lobby—consisting of too many left wing fantasy ideologists—is so committed to its religious orthodoxy that it would prefer the current school model over academic justice for students? Would they really prefer a model that just keeps plodding along with more failure over a school system that is successful beyond their dreams? In fact, a model that is so successful that every child in the first high school graduating class takes AP calculus and AP literature, 100% of the 2008 - 2009 seniors are accepted to four-year colleges and universities, and every middle school gets test results placing the class in the top 10 in the Academic Performance Index in the State of CA. And if they would prefer dogma over academic justice, then finally we will know that for some: the schools exist for everyone but the students.

There are many translations of The Consolation of Philosophy (The Consolation), the influential classic written about an imaginary conversation Boethius has with Lady Philosophy while awaiting his execution. So why read Fortune’s Prisoner? How is it different? How is it better?

After reading a translation of The Consolation of Philosophy by David R. Slavitt, in the original style of prosimetric text (alternating prose and verse), I turned to this James Harpur edition offering a collection of just the thirty nine poems. And I am glad I did.

There are several good reasons to purchase this book in addition to a translation of The Consolation. The poems stand together as a complete work by themselves. They are thoughtful, and they are beautiful. Additionally, the author has added several features that I found contributed to a better understanding of the text and verse. First, Appendix II has an excellent overview of each of the five books of The Consolation. Additionally, Harpur gives each of the verses a title, helping the reader to focus on a key idea covered in the poem, and thus meets his stated objective “to suggest the poem’s theme and provide a little orientation.” Furthermore, most of the verses include one or two epigraphs taken either from the verse itself or from an outside source. I enjoyed these thoughtful quotations, and I found they also furthered my understanding of the theme and my enjoyment of the verse. Further, I believe they met the objective of the author: to demonstrate that “Boethius was part of a philosophical and spiritual tradition extending backwards and forwards from his time: indeed ... He preserved and transmitted this tradition.” Fortune’s Prisoner is well worth your consideration.

Education’s End by Anthony Kronman, former Dean of Yale Law School, is an excellent analysis—I highly recommend it—of a critical issue that affects the framework of American society. A thoughtfully planned and carefully balanced argument about the role of the humanities in education, Education’s End exposes the current shortcomings in higher education. For Kronman, the big rocks—the things of value—in education are the questions: What is the meaning of life? How should we spend our time? How can we succeed in the art of living? For much of our history U.S. education included the big rocks; they were part of a college education. Today, this is no longer true.

Kronman reviews what he believes to be an unfortunate path traveled by higher education in the U.S., breaking down the regrettable history into three eras. First, during the antebellum era beginning with the opening of Harvard University, there was a focus on God, a Christian perspective, and an emphasis on “the ancient model of virtue and order.” Second, during the era of secular humanism following the Civil War, there was a focus on family and country, and an emphasis on “modern ideas of individuality and creative freedom.” And third, during our modern era, there is a focus on political correctness and the research ideal. The research ideal places an emphasis on research that restricts scholarship to a narrow field of specialization, and it requires publishing something new with the understanding that any contribution will be superseded.

Chapter 3 (The Research Ideal) is excellent, but Kronman is really just beginning his critique. In Chapter 4 (Political Correctness), he skillfully, but tactfully, slays the three-headed monster of modern political correctness: diversity, multiculturalism, and constructivism (post modernism). After explaining why the natural and social sciences are better able to survive in the current environment, he peels away the layers of misguided intentions that appear to support political correctness exposing the problems for the humanities. For example, discussing why multiculturalism is unacceptable, he explains how “an internal dialogue” carried on by each succeeding generation of thinkers and authors throughout western history offered a unique teaching opportunity that is unavailable in other cultures. Highlighting the weaknesses with each aspect of political correctness, Dean Kronman argues that the status quo short-changes teachers, denies students, and deprives society of a value previously enjoyed during the era of secular humanism.

 Kronman’s arguments are frequently understated, but this book is nothing less than an indictment of how the humanities are taught today: we prepare students for careers, but not for life. Also, he does more than just lament this failure today to ask the big questions. He blames the academy for abandoning a trust respected during the era of secular humanism that it carried forward until the 1960s, keeping alive a continuity—through the humanities—of teaching a curriculum that reached back to the classical era. He explains that this tradition of arts and letters continued a legacy that allowed students to see themselves as a participant in the “great conversation.” As part of that squandered inheritance, Kronman notes the diminished role of the humanities in education today. In the past, humanity teachers felt qualified and confident enough to guide their students through questions about the meaning of life and about how to spend their lives. Unfortunately today few, if any, humanities professors feel it appropriate to ask or instruct on the big question.

President Obama apparently promised—“YOU WON'T BE WAITING IN ANY LINES'—at Portsmouth, N.H. on July 11, 2009. But by every conceivable metric, we see no reason to be sanguine about his ability to deliver on his promise. We see only a shrinking number of physicians. Reduced physician compensation plans for Medicare in the reform bills (increasing the health-care wedge) and other changes will inevitably make the practice of medicine less attractive to foreign trained doctors who presently immigrate to the U.S.; to foreign trained students graduating from U.S. medical schools that currently remain here to practice medicine; and to college graduates contemplating graduate school. In short, with the contemplated reform, where will the doctors come from if Congress is to keep the President’s promise—no waiting in lines?

How can you avoid delays, rationing, and a less than compassionate government system if you don’t first set a goal to increase the number of physicians? As a practical matter, I believe that any medical reform that fails to first address physician shortages will fail to capture the confidence of a majority of Americans. For example, Deroy Murdock (Government Medicine Kills) reported the following about waits in Canada:

In 2008, the average Canadian waited 17.3 weeks from the time his general practitioner referred him to a specialist until he actually received treatment,” Pacific Research Institute president Sally Pipes, a Canadian native, wrote in the July 2 Investor’s Business Daily. “That’s 86 percent longer than the wait in 1993, when the [Fraser] Institute first started quantifying the problem.

 France claims it long ago achieved much of what today's U.S. health-care overhaul is seeking: It covers everyone, and provides what supporters say is high-quality care. But soaring costs are pushing the system into crisis. The result: As Congress fights over whether America should be more like France, the French government is trying to borrow U.S. tactics.

…

In France, "If you are in medical care for the money, you'd better change jobs," says Marc Lanfranchi, a general practitioner from Nancy, an eastern town. On the other hand, medical school is paid for by the government, and malpractice insurance is much cheaper.

In 2000, the World Health Organization ranked France first in a one-time study of the health-care services of 191 countries. The U.S. placed 37th.

To recruit doctors our military has long had a medical education program. Upon graduation the doctor is required to serve on active duty for a number of years. Why can’t Congress create a program to fund medical school and malpractice insurance for those who commit to accept Medicare, Medicaid and public option patients for a set number of years? Why not a goal to at least double the number of providers, thereby ensuring an increased number of providers who will willingly accept patients covered through government programs?

“Work Hard. Be Nice.: How Two Inspired Teachers Created the Most Promising Schools in America” is the story of Dave Levin and Mike Feinberg—founders of the highly successful charter schools known as KIPP [Knowledge is Power Program]—two young teachers starting out in Houston with a two year commitment for Teach for America. The KIPP story is an impressive one: inner city 5^th graders, after one year in KIPP, essentially double their scores over their 4^th grade performance in reading (from 32% to 58%) and in math (from 42% to 84%).

The Levin/Feinberg story is one of inspirational dedication to their students. There are daily evening phone calls from students with homework questions. There is an uncommon effort to teach subject mastery by requiring longer class days—school days begin at 7:30AM and last to 5PM, with periodic half days on Saturday and three weeks of school each summer. There are also struggles and campaigns with supervisors and administrators to get adequate class space.

Mathews tracks their progress from beginning classroom teacher to the present day as leaders of an expanding chartered school program with a national footprint and 66 schools. During the journey they gain teaching skills in the classroom. They discover how to work with and win over parents. They master the art of cooperating with or going around school administrators. They deliver students a disciplined and challenging course of study to ensure success. They push into unchartered territory expanding the number of classes, the number of teachers, and the number of schools under the KIPP umbrella.

They are now receiving national recognition for their success. Their journey, however, would have been much more improbable, if not uneventful, if they hadn’t met Harriett Ball, Rafe Esquith, and Scott Hamilton along the way. Each of these individuals appeared at just the right time, bringing their own expertise to bear and helping our two neophytes move to the next level—in the classroom, in the education bureaucracy, in the business world.

As the KIPP schools expand, Mathews’ notes there are certain pillars that stuck: “(1) high expectations, (2) choice and commitment, (3) more time, (4) power to lead, and (5) focus on results.” He argues KIPP’s success really comes down to a desire to find what works, that is, find what helps the students perform better. It is this continuous quality improvement, this flexibility to see something is not working and make changes, he argues, that explains KIPP’s success.

Matthews does an excellent job of answering the doubters, refuting the critics, and setting out the evidence. In the process he confirms the KIPP motto: “All children will learn.”

 Aura is a page-turner that carries you further into the events in Felipe’s life when he responds to an add that struck him as too good to be true—as if it were written with his name inserted in the add. His employer Consuelo briefs him on his work, but it is Aura, her young, beautiful, spellbinding niece that merges into his very essence.

Yes, comparisons to Gothic literature are helpful, and the mention of Poe rings true, but, for me, I found another comparison more helpful. For those familiar with “The Twilight Zone,” this story takes me back to some of those episodes. It also reminds me of a favorite story about another young man; a young man taken in by a young, beautiful woman; a story also requiring a suspension of belief, a journey into another dimension, a tale of intrigue, mystery, and an unpredictable ending; a story included in: Alfred Hitchcock Presents: 12 Stories They Wouldn’t Let Me Do on TV.

You could also read this diary because the stories are entertaining, especially wife Kate’s education about washing fresh vegetables while on a trip, or the insight learned from a visit to an ancient scholar’s study in the classical Chinese pavilion in Vancouver. Or, you could read it to appreciate the writing, noting the sense of flow, appreciating how the parts fit together smoothly, and the sense of focus, observing the clear unity of the whole. There is a simple understated style in this diary—the words don’t shout at you, they don’t compel you—“notice me,” but the writing reflects measured choices, choosing not just what to write but how. The style is not like a translucent window—to be looked through solely for the underlying ideas. It is more like finely cut beveled glass—to be looked at, to be appreciated, to be enjoyed.

This diary also tells of the author’s love of gardening and his writing. But, truth be told, I believe his real passion is eating. A well-prepared meal, one with the right herbs and spices, the freshest produce, and the right combination of dishes, is an event always noted with relish and joy, documenting the pleasure of eating with friends, the opportunity to share events of the day.

“Taking Retirement” deals a pack of anecdotes and lessons. The diary details a psychological journey and an actual vacation trip. The psychological journey includes an enquiry, or polling, of friends, business contacts, associates, and retirees, soliciting their views of retirement, each offering a range of attitudes and responses about retirement, about leaving work and leaving an identity drawn from that work. The vacation puts distance between the author and the start of his first semester, his first semester as an emeritus professor, a professor without fall classes, without students, without colleagues. Professor Klaus’s personal account describes the start of a new life after 35 years of teaching. It records a search for meaning in retirement, a discovery seeking to balance the ship of life, seeking to reconcile conflicts, complete the journey, prepare to move to a new chapter in life.