Does assigning fifty math problems accomplish any more thanassigning five? Is memorizing word lists the best way to increasevocabulary—especially when it takes away from reading time? Andwhat is the real purpose behind those devilish dioramas? The time our children spend doing homework has skyrocketed inrecent years. Parents spend countless hours cajoling their kids tocomplete such assignments—often without considering whether or notthey serve any worthwhile purpose. Even many teachers are in thedark: Only one of the hundreds the authors interviewed and surveyedhad ever taken a course specifically on homework duringtraining. The truth, according to Sara Bennett and Nancy Kalish, is thatthere is almost no evidence that homework helps elementary schoolstudents achieve academic success and little evidence that it helpsolder students. Yet the nightly burden is taking a serious toll onAmerica’s families. It robs children of the sleep, play, andexercise time they need for prop

"The most talked-about education book this semester."—New York Times Based on a series of controversial Wall Street Journal op-eds,this landmark manifesto gives voice to what everyone knows abouttalent, ability, and intelligence but no one wants to admit. Withfour truths as his framework, Charles Murray, the bestsellingcoauthor of The Bell Curve, sweeps away the hypocrisy, wishfulthinking, and upside-down priorities that grip America’seducational establishment. ?Ability varies. Children differ in their ability to learn,but America’s educational system does its best to ignore this. ?Half of the children are below average. Many children cannotlearn more than rudimentary reading and math. Yet decades ofpolicies have required schools to divert resources to unattainablegoals. ?Too many people are going to college. Only a fraction ofstudents struggling to get a degree can profit from education atthe college level. ?America’s future depends on how we educate the acade

The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine.The tragedy is that my story could have been his. Two kids named Wes Moore were born blocks apart within a year ofeach other. Both grew up fatherless in similar Baltimoreneighborhoods and had difficult childhoods; both hung out on streetcorners with their crews; both ran into trouble with the police.How, then, did one grow up to be a Rhodes Scholar, decoratedveteran, White House Fellow, and business leader, while the otherended up a convicted murderer serving a life sentence? Wes Moore,the author of this fascinating book, sets out to answer thisprofound question. In alternating narratives that take readers fromheart-wrenching losses to moments of surprising redemption, TheOther Wes Moore tells the story of a generation of boys tryingto find their way in a hostile world.

Bringing Chicago circa 1893 to vivid life, Erik Larson'sspellbinding bestseller intertwines the true tale of two men--thebrilliant architect behind the legendary 1893 World's Fair,striving to secure America’s place in the world; and the cunningserial killer who used the fair to lure his victims to their death.Combining meticulous research with nail-biting storytelling, ErikLarson has crafted a narrative with all the wonder of newlydiscovered history and the thrills of the best fiction.

In this astonishing true story, award-winning journalist SoniaNazario recounts the unforgettable odyssey of a Honduran boy whobraves unimaginable hardship and peril to reach his mother in theUnited States. When Enrique is five years old, his mother, Lourdes, too poor tofeed her children, leaves Honduras to work in the United States.The move allows her to send money back home to Enrique so he caneat better and go to school past the third grade. Lourdes promises Enrique she will return quickly. But shestruggles in America. Years pass. He begs for his mother to comeback. Without her, he becomes lonely and troubled. When she calls,Lourdes tells him to be patient. Enrique despairs of ever seeingher again. After eleven years apart, he decides he will go findher. Enrique sets off alone from Tegucigalpa, with little more than aslip of paper bearing his mother’s North Carolina telephone number.Without money, he will make the dangerous and illegal trek up thelength of Mexico the only way he c

2011年夏天美国记者Suki Kim得到了一份在朝鲜首都的平壤科技大学(在这里学习的全部是男学生)教授英语的工作。 Kim出生在韩国，13岁的时候和家人搬来美国居住，Kim可以说一口流利的韩国话，在为期六个月的教学工作中她将所见偷偷记录下来，靠着这些材料撰写了《Without You, There Is No Us》一书。