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Amid the hype of Race to the Top, online experiments such as Khan Academy, and bestselling books like The Sandbox Investment, we seem to have drawn a line that leads from nursery school along a purely economic route, with money as the final stop. But what price do we all pay for the singular focus on wage as the outcome of education? Susan Engel, a leading psychologist and educator, argues that this economic framework has had a profound impact not only on the way we think about education but also on what happens inside school buildings.
The End of the Rainbow asks what would happen if we changed the implicit goal of education and imagines how different things would be if we made happiness, rather than money, the graduation prize. In this “gem of a book” (Deborah Meier), Engel offers a fascinating alternative view of what education might become: teaching children to read books for pleasure and self-expansion and encouraging collaboration. All of these new skills, she argues, would not only cultivate future success in the world of work but would also make society as a whole a happier place.
The End of the Rainbow asks what would happen if we changed the implicit goal of education and imagines how different things would be if we made happiness, rather than money, the graduation prize. In this “gem of a book” (Deborah Meier), Engel offers a fascinating alternative view of what education might become: teaching children to read books for pleasure and self-expansion and encouraging collaboration. All of these new skills, she argues, would not only cultivate future success in the world of work but would also make society as a whole a happier place.
Price: $17.95
Pages: 240
Publisher: The New Press
Imprint: The New Press
Publication Date:
06 September 2016
Trim Size: 8.25 X 5.50 in
ISBN: 9781620972502
Format: Paperback
"Although Engel's recommendations go against current orthodoxy, she enters this extremely heated public debate with a noncombative tone that is not only refreshing but will illuminate her rationale to even the staunchest supporters of standardized testing"
—Publishers Weekly
"A gem of a book…so many good anecdotes to demonstrate her points, based on her many years of work as a teacher of teachers, time spent in school, and in raising children."
—Deborah Meier
"In this startlingly timely book on education in the United States, Susan Engel critiques the current monetized version of “return on investment” and challenges us to focus on the right returns from the right investments."
—Howard Gardner
"A most enjoyable and provocative read, The End of the Rainbow invites readers to consider the purpose of schooling. Through anecdote and the use of scientific research, Engel makes the argument that schools aim for productivity rather than happiness, with the latter falling by the wayside."
—Roberta Michnick Golinkoff, author of How Babies Talk, Einstein Never Used Flash Cards, and A Mandate for Playful Learning in Preschool
"What, in our hearts, do we wish for our children, and how can schools be designed to help make those wishes come true? These are the most fundamental questions we can ask when thinking about schooling, and in this book Susan Engel combines good sense and empirical research to help us think about them."
—Peter Gray, author of Free to Learn: Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and Better Students for Life
—Publishers Weekly
"A gem of a book…so many good anecdotes to demonstrate her points, based on her many years of work as a teacher of teachers, time spent in school, and in raising children."
—Deborah Meier
"In this startlingly timely book on education in the United States, Susan Engel critiques the current monetized version of “return on investment” and challenges us to focus on the right returns from the right investments."
—Howard Gardner
"A most enjoyable and provocative read, The End of the Rainbow invites readers to consider the purpose of schooling. Through anecdote and the use of scientific research, Engel makes the argument that schools aim for productivity rather than happiness, with the latter falling by the wayside."
—Roberta Michnick Golinkoff, author of How Babies Talk, Einstein Never Used Flash Cards, and A Mandate for Playful Learning in Preschool
"What, in our hearts, do we wish for our children, and how can schools be designed to help make those wishes come true? These are the most fundamental questions we can ask when thinking about schooling, and in this book Susan Engel combines good sense and empirical research to help us think about them."
—Peter Gray, author of Free to Learn: Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and Better Students for Life