The Quiet Crisis: How Higher Education Is Failing America - Hardcover

Smith, Peter

3.88

8 ratings by Goodreads

9781882982707: The Quiet Crisis: How Higher Education Is Failing America

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1882982703 ISBN 13: 9781882982707

Publisher: Jossey-Bass, 2008

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The Quiet Crisis argues that we are failing to educate large numbers of students in higher education successfully because we are employing an out-of-date educational model that ignores the knowledge and resources available that would make these students successful. This model—the author argues—ignores the newest scientific findings about how we learn; it still favors those in the upper economic strata and works against minorities, despite efforts to level the playing field; and it is slow to harness the power of technology to allow for deeper and better learning.

Drawing on his 30 years as a higher education administrator and policymaker, Peter Smith exposes this hidden crisis in American higher education and makes recommendations for its transformation. Through research data and stories, he argues, clearly and forcefully that our schools are organized for failure and that our historic “industrial model” simply won’t make the grade to compete in the knowledge economy. Unless we rethink higher education profoundly, we will serve a declining percentage of the population successfully each year, and thus we will fail in our mission to create, teach, and sustain the next generation of leaders.

This book will appeal not only to teaching faculty and academic administrators, but also to political leaders, parents, and anyone else who cares about the future of the academy and the bigger picture a successful educational system informs.

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From the Back Cover:

Advance Praise for The Quiet Crisis

"The Quiet Crisis presents an urgent plea for reform in America's higher education systems from an experienced educator who understands what learning is about and its importance to our democracy."
—Leon E. Panetta, Director, The Panetta Institute for Public Policy

"Peter Smith's The Quiet Crisis takes on a daunting task—convincing America that its cherished higher education system, the envy of the world, is flawed. It would seem a fool's errand if it were not for the clear and compelling case that he puts forward, his extensive experience as an academic and as a policymaker, and the urgency of reshaping the system of higher education to meet the enormous—and growing—expectations that society has thrust upon it."
—Frank Newman, Visiting Professor of Public Policy, Center for Public Policy & American Institutions, Brown University

"By writing in such a refreshing personal and passionate way about the connection between teaching and the survival of the American dream, Peter has given the national discussion about the reform of teaching a shot of maral urgency."
—Russell Edgerton, Director, The Pew Forum on Undergraduate Learning

"This book offers a critique of the current state of affairs in higher education and a vision for the future by an individual uniquely qualified to make such judgments."
—Arthur E. Levine, President, Teachers College, Columbia University

"Peter Smith's new book has important lessons for everyone interested in American higher education."
—Tom Ehrlich, Senior Scholar, The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching

"Peter Smith uses his personal, professional, and political experiences to describe how higher education is failing America. We need to have a national conversation about his message."
—Ted Sanders, President, Education Commission of the States

From the Inside Flap:

Behind America's "success data" in higher education looms a significant problem of educational failure defined, not by individual capacity, but largely by race and economic level, as well as learning style. As a result, millions of people of all incomes and races fail to thrive in our institutions, not because they lack the capacity to learn, but because colleges and universities lack the capacity to educate.

In this groundbreaking work, Peter Smith exposes this hidden crisis in American higher education and makes recommendations for its transformation. He argues, clearly and forcefully, that our schools are organized for failure and that our historic "industrial model" simply won't make the grade in the 21st century.

Drawing on the author's personal experiences as a policymaker and administrator in higher education over the last 30 years, this book will appeal not only to teaching faculty and academic administrators, but also to political leaders, parents, and anyone who cares about the future of the academy.

Contents include:

Part One: The Quiet Crisis